Inoxtag: Outlaw, the release of Kaizen in cinemas risks being expensive

Last week marked the big return of YouTuber Inoxtag to the forefront. Back from his ascent of Everest, the French videographer was ready to unveil his documentary, Kaizen, both on YouTube and in theaters. However, this broadcast was not well received by the CNC, the National Center for Cinema and the Animated Image, which intends to counterattack.

controversy surrounding the release of Kaizen in theaters

It's proven, Kaizenwas a real success. 25 million views in just five days on YouTube, hundreds of packed sessions spread across France, broadcasting rights acquired by the TF1 group for broadcast on TF1 starting September 28 and then on TF1 on October 8, Inoxtag is hitting hard. However, this success is not to everyone's taste, and in particular the CNC.

And for good reason, for Olivier Henrard, deputy general manager and interim president of the CNC, Kaizen could create a “bad precedent”. “The problem is that Kaizen could create a bad precedent, since the distributor MK2 has clearly and knowingly exceeded the limit of 500 sessions, a limit that is the result of consultation with the sector” he explains to 20 Minutes. A broken media timeline, enough to make cinemas sweat, especially since it is MK2 that is at fault in this specific case.

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If we refer to the media timeline, it is possible to present a documentary or a feature film in an exceptional manner, without having to wait for a certain duration to elapse, but for 500 screenings in only two days.This is what MK2 and Inoxtag did for Kaizen, except that the documentary slightly skipped the rule by offering 800 screenings of Kaizen over 2 days. The cinemas wanted to increase the number of screenings to meet demand and MK2 stepped up to the plate.

“We will have to think again about this regulation to ensure that the cinema does not become an accessory, and perhaps consider more dissuasive sanctions. These exceptional sessions, which are an essential breath of fresh air and which must be preserved, must not, however, call into question the balance of the sector”, explains Olivier Henrard to 20 Minutes. Especially since it is not for a question of money that the CNC wishes to punish this gap.

As the French daily explains, “Kaizenis subject to the TSA (additional special tax) levied on tickets which helps to finance French cinema“. “Of course,we are delighted to see young people returning to cinemas, but they must not become a launch pad or a promotion platform for free or paid platforms. The cinema is not intended to be a showcase for other modes of distribution“. continues Henrard.