Vue Cinemas presses ahead with plans to screen Tim Burton’s 3D animation despite rival chain Odeon & UCI boycotting the film over DVD release windows.

Vue has confirmed that it will be showing Tim Burton’s 3D animation Alice In Wonderland at all of its 69 cinemas in the UK and Ireland, despite Disney’s decision to shorten the release window between theatrical and DVD from 17 week to 12.

It released a statement saying that it had entered into an “important and far reaching agreement with The Walt Disney Company UK that will deliver more choice for cinema goers while also providing more flexibility for the studio.”

According to the statement, the agreement will allow Disney to adopt the same approach on a “limited number of films”.

The decision to shorten the release windows has led Odeon & UCI Cinemas, the UK’s largest exhibitor, to boycott the film over concerns that will create a precedent for high profile releases, undermining the investment cinema operators have made in 3D conversion.

Tim Richards, CEO of Vue Entertainment, said: “We are delighted that we have reached an agreement with our partners at Disney. This is a win-win for everyone in the entertainment business and in particular for our customers by offering greater film choice. This agreement is also likely to grow the business for all the key stakeholders.”

Richards added: “We are looking forward to showing Alice in Wonderland in Digital 3D at Vue and wish it great success both in cinema and later on DVD/BluRay.”

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