SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon.com blocked the pre-order option of Walt Disney hit movie “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and other titles in disk form, repeating a tactic used in disputes with publisher Hachette and Warner Bros.
“Maleficent,” another Disney summer blockbuster, also isn’t available for DVD pre-order on Amazon’s website. The world’s largest online retailer still offers both movies in pre- order on its online streaming service.
Amazon’s clashes with media companies have intensified in the past months as the Seattle-based company seeks to use its heft in markets from books to home video to demand better terms from its vendors. While the dispute with Time Warner’s Warner Bros. is getting resolved, the spat with French publisher Hachette Book Group is escalating.
“They are squeezing studios on DVD pricing, understandable given their market position,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities who rates Amazon the equivalent of a hold. “Disney can’t cut them off, and Amazon can cut Disney off, so I would say Amazon has the leverage.”
Home Media Magazine reported the disappearance of the pre- order option for some Disney DVDs, also including “Muppets Most Wanted” and “Million Dollar Arm,” last week. When Amazon removed pre-orders for Warner Bros. titles from mid-May to late June, it was the first time it used the tactic during negotiations with a movie studio, Home Media Magazine said.
Paul Roeder, a spokesman for Burbank, Calif.-based Disney, declined to comment. Amazon didn’t return calls seeking comment.
Studios count on the home-entertainment market, including DVD sales from Amazon, to help deliver profits. In fact few films reach profitability in theaters because studios split ticket sales with exhibitors.
“Captain America” is the top-grossing movie in U.S. and Canadian theaters this year, with ticket sales of $259.5 million, according to researcher Box Office Mojo. “Maleficent” is fourth.
Among the Warner Bros. pre-orders that Amazon blocked for about a month earlier this year were “Transcendence” with Johnny Depp and “The Lego Movie,” the second top-grossing movie this year. Those titles are now available.
