Paramount funds D Cinema
October 15, 2007
Paramount Pictures International has agreed to help fund European cinemas which are installing new generation projectors. Hollywood studios and exhibitors have tussled over who should bear the cost of the upgrade, with cinema owners arguing that studios should pay a “virtual print fee” as it will be cheaper for them to distribute their films electronically than at a cost of $1,200 (E845) per traditional film reel.
Paramount did not disclose the terms of its deal with Arts Alliance Media, a London-based film distribution services group. AAM struck similar deals in June with Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures International which will enable the conversion of 7,000 European screens over two years.