German cinemas in dispute over Avengers fee

Several hundred cinemas in Germany are refusing to screen the new Avengers film in a dispute with Disney over rental fees.

News agency dpa reported that 686 cinemas in 193 mostly small towns refused to show Avengers: Age Of Ultron,which opened on Thursday.

It said the dispute was over a decision to raise the rental fee for the film to 53% of ticket sales rather than the 47.7% usually charged to small-town cinemas.

Karl-Heinz Meier, of IG Nord, a group representing cinema operators in northern Germany, said they would have been prepared to go as far as a 50% fee.

He added: “Disney will have to do without 686 screens on which the film otherwise would have been shown.”

Mr Meier says film-goers have expressed understanding.