Regal, AMC said teaming on acquiring/releasing indie pics; Ortenberg CEO of new venture? (LAT)

By Nancy Tartaglione

Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment are close to launching a joint venture to acquire and release independent movies, The Los Angeles Times reports citing people familiar with the matter. Per The LAT, the partners have hired Tom Ortenberg as chief executive.

The move potentially disrupts the longtime and delicate business relationship between theater operators and studios, in which they have acted as partners and divided a movie's box office ticket sales. Instead, the venture would essentially thrust theaters into the studio's role of distributor, turning a partner into a rival as the theaters' own movies compete for screens against those from the studios.

However, LAT sources said the joint venture would not compete with studios in the big budget arena. Rather, the purview is for indie pics that might otherwise not see the inside of a movie theater.

AMC and Regal hope in part that by acquiring their own movies for distribution they will fill the supply-and-demand gap created by Hollywood's downshift in movie making. From 2007 to 2010, the number of movie releases in the U.S. dropped 16%, according to Box Office Mojo. At the same time, the theater industry's trade group estimates that the number of screens in the country has risen 3%, making fewer pictures available for a larger number of screens.

AMC and Regal together control 31% of US screens. Films falling under the j-v, however, will also be offered to other cinemas. The aim for AMC and Regal is also to release movies on DVD, TV and the Internet, the LAT said.