Marcus Theatres drops the ball on Sweeny Todd

• December 21, 2007
• James Skemp
• dvd / movie

Well, I missed this when it first came out, and only saw it while trying to find show times for tomorrow ...

Milwaukee, Wis., December 13, 2007.....

Marcus Theatres Corporation, a division of The Marcus Corporation (NYSE: MCS), today announced it was not able to reach an agreement with Paramount Pictures on the film cost of the new motion picture, Sweeney Todd, which will be released by Paramount on December 21, 2007.

"Unfortunately, as a result of the negotiations with Paramount reaching an impasse, Marcus Theatres will not be showing Sweeney Todd at any of its locations," said Bruce J. Olson, president of Marcus Theatres® "This decision was reluctantly reached because the price requested by Paramount to show the film in Marcus Theatres was too expensive in the opinion of our film buyers," added Olson.

"Our customers are our first priority.  We must be able to control all of our costs so that we can continue to provide the best entertainment value for our guests. This commitment is the foundation of our business," said Olson.

(From http://www.marcustheatres.com/index_sub.cfm?pageid=subpages/sweenytodd.html )

Looks like we'll be heading over to Star Cinema on Saturday to watch the film. With the reviews being so positive, for a musical, in this day of action and special effects, it's unfortunate that Marcus won't be making it's usual mint from their showings, but I suppose the other theatres won't mind, eh?