Group takes issue with movie studio demands on members

Forget Ultron. A new challenger has emerged to take on the Avengers: the National Association of Theatre Owners.

Actually, the target of the association's ire isn't the blockbuster movie itself but Walt Disney Studios, which used the film's popularity to force theater owners to comply with a list of unprecedented conditions before they were allowed to show it, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Among the studio's demands were a larger share of box office receipts and limits to when theaters could offer matinee discounts.

In a letter to Disney, NATO CEO John Fithian said his group had received an "avalanche of complaints, concerns and fears" about the movie studio's conditions, according to the newspaper.

Fithian was particularly concerned about the movie studio using a nationwide average for ticket prices to calculate its cut of the revenue, noting that ticket prices in rural communities are usually less than those in metropolitan areas. As a result, Disney was flirting with breaking state and federal antitrust laws, he warned.

The studio's response? In an email obtained by The Wall Street Journal, a Disney executive said his company deals with theater owners and it was not appropriate for their association to involve itself in the matter. http://on.wsj.com/1ABObAd

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