U.S. cinemas back out of Soderbergh's 'Bubble'

Some of the largest U.S. cinema chains are refusing to show Steven Soderbergh's film Bubble because of an innovation in the way the film is distributed.

Bubble, a low-budget movie made with untried actors, is being sold on DVD and shown on cable TV the same day it debuts at the theatre.

Theatre chains in more than 15 states have refused to show the film, saying Soderbergh's plan will take a big chunk out of their bottom line.

"It's the biggest threat to the viability of the cinema industry today," John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, said of the so-called "day and date" release strategy.

If a high-profile Hollywood name like Soderbergh, director of Sex, Lies and Videotape, Erin Brockovich and Traffic, is tryingsimultaneous release, there is too great a danger of the strategy becoming acceptable to the mainstream, the group says.

Cinema owners are losing out because North Americans no longer go to the movies as often. Part of the reason for their reluctance is the opportunity to see the film on DVD just a few weeks after its release.

The prospect of rapid release of films on the internet or even via cell phone also threatens theatre owners.

Bubble opens Jan. 27 and so far will be shown only at Landmark Theaters, which holds a handful of cinemas across the U.S. and is owned by the company that backed the film.

Bubble is the first of six films to be produced under a partnership between Soderbergh and 2929 Entertainment. Founded by billionaires Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban, the company owns Magnolia Pictures, which will distribute Bubble, and HDNet Movies, the cable TV channel that will air it.

All six films willhavesimultaneous cable, cinema and DVD release.

Bubble, about a murderous love triangle at a small-town doll factory, was shot on high-definition video and runs just 73 minutes.

The performers are all first-time actors from Parkersburg, West Virginia, where the movie was set. The film had no script they improvised their dialogue based on an outline by screenwriter Coleman Hough, who also wrote Soderbergh's similarly stripped-down Full Frontal.

The time between theatre release and the DVD release of films has been shrinking, from about six months in 1994 to about four months today. Films typically earn half their revenue from home video release.

Studios also see the value of having their big-budget promotional campaigns carry over to support a film's DVD release.

But theatre owners, already losing out because of shrinking audiences, say simultaneous release could lead to a string of cinema bankruptcies.