Odeon agrees Alice in Wonderland screening deal

Odeon announced today that it has reached a deal with Disney to show Tim Burton's 3D fantasy adventure Alice In Wonderland in cinemas.

The agreement was announced on the same day that Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway will join the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall for the royal world premiere of the movie at an Odeon cinema in London's Leicester Square.

The chain said earlier this week that Alice In Wonderland would not be screened in Odeon cinemas in the UK and Ireland, with other films taking priority.

Odeon's stance was a response to Disney's plan to reduce the gap between the film's cinema debut and DVD release to around three months rather than the usual 17 weeks.

But Odeon said in a statement that it was "pleased to announce that, following detailed negotiations with the Walt Disney Company Ltd, an enduring agreement has been reached encompassing all the different aspects of both companies' commercial relationship.

"Odeon is pleased to announce that it will now be showing Alice In Wonderland beginning March 5 in its cinemas in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria."

The movie features Depp as the Mad Hatter, Hathaway as the White Queen, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Australian rising star Mia Wasikowska as Alice and Little Britain star Matt Lucas who plays Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Odeon has always said it would host tonight's premiere out of "respect" for those involved, including the Royal Family, the charity which will benefit from the event and the film talent.

A host of British stars provided the voices for Wonderland's magical inhabitants, including Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, Alan Rickman as Absolem the caterpillar, Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit, Paul Whitehouse as the March Hare, Timothy Spall as Bayard, Barbara Windsor as the Dormouse and Sir Christopher Lee as the Jabberwocky.

The Walt Disney Pictures movie is inspired by Lewis Carroll's classic tales about Alice.

Burton's Alice In Wonderland features a new adventure as 19-year-old Alice returns to Wonderland for the first time since she was a child with no memory of her previous adventures there.

The premiere will raise cash for The Prince's Foundation for Children and the Arts.

Bob Chapek, president of distribution for the Walt Disney Studios, said: "We feel that it's important for us to maintain a healthy business on the exhibition side and a healthy business on the home video side.

"We think this is in the best interest of theatre owners, because a healthy movie business is good for them and allows us to invest in high-quality, innovative content.

"We remain committed to theatrical windows, with the need for exceptions to accommodate a shortened timeframe on a case-by-case basis, such as with Disney's Alice In Wonderland."

Last Thursday, Cineworld announced that it had reached an agreement with Disney and would be showing Alice In Wonderland nationwide on more than 150 screens.

And on Tuesday Vue announced that it had also struck a deal with Disney which will see the film screened in all its cinemas.

The movie is also having 26 regional premieres in the UK today, in places including Birmingham, Bradford, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Ipswich, Liverpool, Llandudno, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Nottingham, Sheffield, Solihull and Yeovil.

The regional premieres will show live CCTV footage broadcast from the London premiere.