The heroes of Avengers: Age of Ultron won’t be assembling at a number of German theaters, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Theaters in 193 small towns in Germany are refusing to screen the Marvel blockbuster, citing Disney’s raised rental fee for the film, according to the German publication Deutsche Welle. In total, the film is being kept from 686 screens.
Cinema owners told DW that they were taken aback when Disney announced it was upping the fee from 47.7 to 53 percent of ticket sales. Additionally, Disney is cutting its advertising spend and will not provide advances for 3D glasses.
“We are worried, particularly about eastern Germany,” Karl-Heinz Meier, spokesman for advocacy group I.G. Nord, told DW. “When prices go up, then we have a serious problem that could force movie theaters to close.”
The Joss Whedon-directed film, which stars Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans, opened April 23 in Germany. It got off to a big start at the international box office this weekend and hits U.S. theaters on May 1.
A Marvel Entertainment rep did not immediately respond to a request for comment.