Warner Bros. Discovery has said British laws that restrict the period distributors can require exhibitors to screen their films may now be “outdated,” and it is time for the UK government to consider repealing the legislation.
The longtime Exhibition Periods law, codified in 1996, limits the period a distributor may require an exhibitor to show a film in the first six weeks of theatrical release to a maximum of two weeks.
Warner Bros. said that “given the move to digital exhibition and additional flexibility exhibitors have to show screenings,” the Periods law may no longer hold relevance, and scrapping the law may open up new sources of revenue for distributors.
Warner Bros. made the comments in a written submission to the UK Parliament’s influential Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, which is holding an inquiry on high-end film and TV.
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