CINEMARK THEATER CHAIN REFUSES TO SHOW ‘TOWER HEIST’ AS A RESULT OF EARLY VOD PLAN

As I mentioned yesterday, Universal is closing the window on VOD even further, offering Brett Ratner’s upcoming “Tower Heist” just three weeks after its theatrical release on pay-per-view for $59.99.

Theatre owners see the writing on the wall and have now decided to further cut their own throats by becoming even more difficult to deal with. Cinemark is the third largest theatre franchise in America. Translation: a huge chunk of Americans won’t be able to see “Tower Heist” and will now get even more used to WAITING for home video.

With the convenience of Streaming as the future and people becoming more and more unwilling to purchase DVDs, Universal’s attempt to turn those negatives into a positive with this idea is a smart move.

If you have a family of four, $60 is cheap. If you and your buddies see everything new every Friday night, $60 is cheap. We’re not just talking about the ticket price, we’re talking about the obscene cost of food and drinks and gas and parking.

Furthermore, you don’t have to deal with obnoxious theatre-talkers at home, a phenomenon that’s only getting worse — and that, my friends, is solely the fault of crybaby theatre owners like Cinemark.

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