I know some of you have been left feeling angry and confused over the decision to not release Thor in the US and Canada until weeks after countries like Australia and the UK. Well, thanks to The Hollywood Reporter, we can now shed some light on why exactly that decision was made. Here are some of the relevent excerpts from their report:
"The people who ask that question are fanboys who are mad because they want to see it first," noted Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige at Monday's U.S. Thor premiere. "I don't blame them."
The decision rested with Marvel's distribution partner, Paramount. And when we pressed the studio's Rob Moore, he said only, "It's a global market now." Meaning that these days, international audiences are considered equally or more important when planning releases of Hollywood movies.
Plus, the peculiarities of this year's calendar also came into play.
Paramount took advantage of the big European holiday called May Day, as well as the English royal wedding on April 29, which provided many countries with a three or four-day weekend.
The early worldwide opening was also designed to maximize returns for Thor before the next big summer movie, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, chases the same four-quadrant audience in mid-May.
"It's a strategy that's worked out pretty well," Moore said.
He ain't kidding. Thor already has made close to $100 million before landing in America.
So, there you have it. Not a decision by Marvel Studios, but by Paramount instead. While I was certainly grateful to see
Thor a few weeks earlier, I see no reason why a big blockbuster movie like this can't be released across the world simultaneously, and this will hopefully be the case when Disney take over distribution starting with
The Avengers next year. On the other hand,
Thor has made over $100 million worldwide so far and has been praised by critics, so perhaps it was a good business decision after all? Be sure to share your thoughts in the usual place!
With an all star cast which includes Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury,
Thor is out now in the UK and will be released shortly after in the US on May 6, later this week!
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