Editing Fantasia (1940 film) (section)

==== 1940–1941 roadshows with Fantasound ====
[[File:Promises Promises at Broadway Theatre.JPG|right|thumb|upright=0.75|The film's first roadshow opened at the Broadway Theatre in New York City on November 13, 1940.]]
RKO balked at the idea of distributing ''Fantasia'', which it described as a "longhair musical",{{sfn|Thomas|1994|p=161}} and believed its duration of two hours and five minutes plus intermission was too long for a general release.{{sfn|Grant|1998|p=178}}<ref name=dvdreleasehistory>{{cite AV media |title=Re-Release Schedule ''The Fantasia Legacy'' |medium=DVD |year=2000 |publisher=Walt Disney Home Entertainment}}</ref> It relaxed its exclusive distribution contract with Disney, who wanted a more prestigious exhibit in the form of a limited-run [[Roadshow theatrical release|roadshow attraction]]. A total of thirteen roadshows were held across the United States; each involving two daily screenings with seat reservations booked in advance at higher prices and a fifteen-minute intermission. Disney hired film salesman Irving Ludwig to manage the first eleven engagements,{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=340}} who was given specific instructions regarding each aspect of the film's presentation, including the setup of outside theater marquees and curtain and lighting cues. Patrons were taken to their seats by staff hired and trained by Disney,<ref name=makingofdvd>{{cite AV media notes |title=The Making of Fantasia |type=Documentary film |year=2000 |publisher=Walt Disney Home Entertainment}}</ref> and were given a program booklet illustrated by [[Gyo Fujikawa]].<ref name=15facts />

The first roadshow opened at the [[The Broadway Theatre|Broadway Theatre]] in New York City on November 13, 1940, the same theater where [[Steamboat Willie]] appeared 12 years earlier.<ref name=15facts>{{cite web |url=http://d23.disney.go.com/articles/120210_NF_FEAT_Fantasia.html |title=15 Fascinating Facts About ''Fantasia'' |website=D23 |access-date=January 16, 2011 |date=December 2, 2010 |first=Jim |last=Fanning |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109071743/http://d23.disney.go.com/news/2010/12/15-fascinating-facts-about-fantasia|archive-date=2012-01-09}}</ref> The Disneys had secured a year's lease with the venue that was fully equipped with Fantasound, which took personnel a week working around the clock to install.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=341}} Proceeds made on the night went to the [[British War Relief Society]] following the [[Battle of Britain]].{{sfn|Culhane|1983|pp=30–31}} Ticket demand was so great that eight telephone operators were employed to handle the extra calls while the adjoining store was rented out to cater the box office bookings.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=345}} ''Fantasia'' ran at the Broadway for forty-nine consecutive weeks, the longest run achieved by a film at the time.{{sfn|Hall|Neale|2010|p=110}} Its run continued for a total of fifty-seven weeks until February 28, 1942.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/03/01/archives/by-way-of-report.html |title=By Way of Report |work=The New York Times |page=X3 |date=March 1, 1942 |first=Thomas M. |last=Pryor |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The remaining twelve roadshows were held throughout 1941, which included a 39-week run{{sfn|Hall|Neale|2010|p=110}} at the [[Carthay Circle Theatre]] in Los Angeles from January 29.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21162302/the-los-angeles-times/|title=Celebrities attend film premiere |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=June 6, 2011 |date=January 30, 1941 |first=Read |last=Kendall |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fO08AAAAIBAJ&pg=3789%2C5540970 |title=''Fantasia'' in last 2 weeks |work=Oxnard Press-Courier |access-date=June 6, 2011 |date= October 7, 1941 |via=[[Google News Archive]]}}</ref> ''Fantasia'' broke the long-run record at the venue in its twenty-eighth week; a record previously held by ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=S-08AAAAIBAJ&pg=6973%2C3119681 |title=''Fantasia'' passes ''Gone With Wind'' Theater Record |newspaper=[[Oxnard Press-Courier]]|access-date=February 12, 2011 |date=August 5, 1941 |via=Google News Archive}}</ref> Its eight-week run at the [[Byham Theater|Fulton Theatre]] in [[Pittsburgh]] attracted over 50,000 people with reservations being made from cities located one hundred miles from the venue.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EcwaAAAAIBAJ&pg=3082%2C3940441 |title=Disney movie to be held at the Fulton Theater eighth and final week |work=The Pittsburgh Press |access-date=January 16, 2011 |date=April 18, 1941 |via=Google News Archive}}</ref> Engagements were also held at the [[American Conservatory Theater|Geary Theatre]] in [[San Francisco]] for eight months,<ref name=15facts /> the [[Hanna Theatre]] in [[Cleveland]] for nine weeks,<ref>{{cite news|title=''Fantasia'' Stays another Week|last=March |first=W. Ward |date=May 8, 1941 |newspaper=[[The Cleveland Plain Dealer]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Disney at highest and best with ''Fantasia''|last=March |first=W. Ward |date=March 19, 1941 |newspaper=[[The Cleveland Plain Dealer]]}}</ref> the [[Cutler Majestic Theatre|Majestic Theatre]] in [[Boston]],<ref name=15facts /> the [[Apollo Theater, Chicago|Apollo Theater]] in [[Chicago]],<ref name=tribune85>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-02-08-8501080333-story.html|title=The Film That Saved Mickey|first=David|last=Prescott|date=February 8, 1985|newspaper=The Chicago Tribune|access-date=January 6, 2012}}</ref> and also in [[Philadelphia]], [[Detroit]], [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], [[Minneapolis]], [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Baltimore]].{{sfn|Amernic|Craig|2006|p=194}}

''Fantasia'' grossed over $300,000 in the first sixteen weeks in New York; over $20,000 in the opening five weeks in San Francisco; and almost the same amount in the first ten weeks both in Los Angeles and Boston.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=345}} The first eleven roadshows earned a total of $1.3&nbsp;million by April 1941,{{sfn|Hall|Neale|2010|p=110}} but the $85,000 in production and installation costs of a single Fantasound setup,{{sfn|Shepherd|2003|pp=3–6}}{{sfn|Goldmark|Taylor|2002|p=87}} along with theatres having to be leased,{{sfn|Eagan|2010|pp=323–324}} forced Disney to exceed their loan limits.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=347}} The onset of the Second World War prevented plans for a potential release in Europe, normally the source of as much as forty-five per cent of the studio's income.{{sfn|Culhane|1983|pp=30–31}} Up to eighty-eight engagements were outlined across five years, but wartime demands for material limited the number of Fantasound prints to sixteen.{{sfn|Hall|Neale|2010|p=110}} All but one of the Fantasound setups were dismantled and given to the war effort.{{sfn|Goldmark|Taylor|2002|p=88}} Upon acquiring the film's distribution rights in April 1941, RKO initially continued the roadshow booking policy but presented the film in mono, which was easier to exhibit.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/04/28/archives/rko-will-distribute-goldwyn-productions-and-acquires-rights-to.html |title=RKO Will Distribute Goldwyn Productions and Acquires Rights to ''Fantasia''|first=Douglas W. |last=Churchill |work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 28, 1941}}</ref>{{sfn|Hall|Neale|2010|p=110}} The combined average receipts from each roadshow was around $325,000, which placed ''Fantasia'' at an even greater loss than ''Pinocchio''.{{sfn|Barrier|2008|p=162}}