Nov. 2, 2015
Disney is so determined to maintain the secrecy of the highly anticipated “Star Wars” movie that it asked its publishing partner to delay the release of the hardcover book tied to the film and sacrifice holiday sales.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the franchise’s first new issue in a decade, will reach theaters Dec. 17, but the print edition of the novel won’t be released until Jan. 5, after the holiday gift-giving season has ended.
The unusual delay is because of Disney’s fears that printed copies of the book, which would have to start rolling off presses long before they hit store shelves, could be stolen by people who want to spill plot details online. The e-book will be released Dec. 18, since it is easier to control digital files before they go on sale.
The movies have been a particularly profitable portion of the book's business. Publishers often issue them two months before the related movie’s release to take advantage of the excitement over movie trailers.
Opportunities like a new “Star Wars” movie are rare. The most recent trailer for “The Force Awakens” was watched 128 million times in just 24 hours and advance ticket sales are breaking records.
A spokeswoman for the Disney unit that oversees “Star Wars,” confirmed that the company requested that the hardcover edition’s publication be delayed “in an effort to keep as many surprises as possible for audiences seeing the movie on the big screen.”
Publishers and book retailers rely on holiday sales for a large chunk of their business. December accounted for 15% of last year’s total unit sales of physical books, which covers about 85% of the print book market in the U.S.
The publisher said, “We would love to release both formats of the novelization simultaneously and not miss the holidays,” he said, “but we recognize the importance of protecting the story for the fans.”
“You don’t know what the reviews will be, or how the movie will ultimately be received, but if you are out with the trailer when people are beginning to get excited, that’s a terrific opportunity to sell books,” said Jamie Raab, publisher of Grand Central Publishing.
J.J. Abrams, director of “The Force Awakens,” has long been obsessive about withholding plot details of his movies before they launch, and Disney has revealed very little about the plot of “The Force Awakens” so far in trailers and other promotions.
The delayed release of the hardcover edition struck some as a disappointment. “It would have been nice to have the book for the holidays,” said Linda Tonnesen, the buyer for the Mysterious Galaxy bookstore in San Diego, which hosts several “Star Wars”-related events each year. “I have no control over what publishers do.”
Yet another Disney-related article by yours truly... I. Love. Disney.
So there seems to be a lot of controversy and disagreement regarding whether the book should be published before the holidays or not, but it seems as if the decision to delay the book has already been made. This particular article made it seem as if the movies are really the main path of profit for "Star Wars". Not sure if I agree with that without some facts to back it up, but I suppose it is possible. Now, if this is true, then postponing the release of the book could very well be a good idea for the promotion of the movie. If spoilers are released, this will definitely impact the overall sales of the movie. Seems pretty unfair for authors, editors and publishers involved who spent all of their time and effort to get the book ready, but it is what it is. If this delay will in fact raise profit for Disney, then I suppose this is the best rout to take.
The idea of giving as little information as possible in promoting is Disney's tactic to get more people interested in the movie. They want people to purchase tickets because they are completely unaware of what that are about to watch, therefore they are intrigued.
This promotion is related to social/cultural. Our present culture (overall) is more likely to spend money on the film, rather than take the time to read the book... sad but true.
Sorry this is so long guys....if you read the first few paragraphs you'll get the gist lol
ReplyDelete