Sony cooks up early digital release for 'Meatballs' (THR, NYT)

By Nancy Tartaglione

Sony will release "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" digitally on Dec. 8 making it available to Bravia TV owners and the latest generation of networked Sony Blu-ray players almost a month earlier than the Jan. 4 street date for the DVD and Blu-ray discs. The move, less than three months after the film's theatrical release, does not have exhibitors doing a rain dance.

Yesterday, exhibition sources told The Hollywood Reporter that at least four major theater chains were now poised to pull "Meatballs" from theaters: Regal Entertainment, AMC Entertainment, Cinemark and Marcus Theatres.

"Meatballs" took in $1.3 million last weekend, so the accelerated wind-down to the its theatrical campaign likely will cause a modest but quantifiable revenue loss for Sony, says THR.

Still, there's been little reaction from the DVD retail community which could be explained by the $24.95 price for the digital viewing. The price is high enough not to alienate retailers, Sony said.

Sony chief Howard Stringer told The New York Times, "We don't need a war with Wal-Mart or any other organization, and I don't think they're hostile to this. It will make televisions more valuable, and that's a good thing."

(In its interview with Stringer, the NYT did not report on the question of exhibitors.)

This is the second time in recent weeks that studios have met with consternation on the part of exhibs over tightened theatrical windows. Paramount last month said it would release "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" on DVD and Blu-ray on Nov. 3, but the studio assuaged "ballistic" NATO members by characterizing the move as an exception.