Shochiku risutora

[Aaron Gerow]

Shochiku announced last week that in a major reconstruction of their 
distribution system they will end their current block booking system for 
Japanese films, thus in effect dissolving their current theater chain for 
Japanese productions.  By June, the current chain will be reorganized in 
a new chain which will specialize in neither foreign or Japanese films 
and which can freely extend bookings depending on popularity.

Shochiku announced the move as a "big bang" which will revitalize both 
the company and the industry, but it's not certain whether the move will 
stop the oligopolistic practices which, under the blook booking system, 
prevented many independents from getting a wider release for their films.

Aaron Gerow
Yokohama National University
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