First it was blocking books, now Amazon is denying access to films as a negotiation tactic.
Apparently, Amazon is now at war with Disney over the prices of DVDs and Blu-rays. Currently, the online retailer is not allowing preorders of the disc versions of recent films like Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," or Disney's own "Maleficent," "Million Dollar Arm" or "Muppets Most Wanted."
Searching through Amazon's site, some films aren't listed at all, though you can preorder some as a digital download of these films. Other films, you can sign-up for an email notification of when the preorder becomes available, presumably when price negotiations between the two corporations are finished.
Amazon had a similar row with Warner Bros. in May and June, denying new release preorders for the studio's films, but that was ironed out in a few weeks. On the other hand, the online retailer's conflict with book publisher Hachette has been going on for months, driving 900+ authors to fight back. If the feud with Disney continues, maybe film stars and animated characters will take a stand next?
While it seems like a similar situation as the one between Amazon and Hachette, on closer examination, there is a big difference. While Disney is a big corporation that may have a slight decrease in sales due to the blocking of preorders, Hachette's authors aren't faceless corporations that can just move on from loss of sales. Either way, consumers can ignore these negotiations and buy their books or films elsewhere.
