The Fair Trade Commission is planning to issue a warning to a movie distributor for discouraging sales of discount tickets for "Star Wars Episode 2," in violation of the Antimonopoly Law, industry sources said Sunday.
The Japanese unit of 20th Century Fox allegedly urged a promoter not to offer discounts in campaigns targeting women and credit-card owners when it signed a contract last year before the film's premiere.
The latest "Star Wars" movie was released in Japan in July 2002, grossing 1.6 billion yen in the first two days.
Movie distributors usually collect 40 percent to 70 percent of admission revenues from promoters in Japan, and they stand to earn more if discounts are not available.