Here’s another dissenting voice among the ranks of Hollywood, talking about dropping the model of waiting to sell the DVD after the movie has completed its run in the cinema. Previously we talked of Steven Soderbergh releasing DVDs with the movie and in an identical move the new CEO of Disney, Robert Igor has suggested the same tactic to theater owners.
From Cinematical comes the shock that they turned round and said that they were out of their minds. Interesting, especially as the plans meant that the theaters would be selling the DVDs and presumably making a profit on each.
“We are spending too much time chasing box office [dollars] and we are waiting too long to enter the next window,” Iger said. He added that consumers are impatient for content to become available on home video whilst it’s still “relevant”
Yeah I think there’s two extremes being pursued here. We have the current model, which is bleed the public dry for every last drop until the theaters and cinemas are empty at which point shut the film down, wait for them to recover, and then throw the first of several versions of DVDs at them. Then there’s the one pitched above. Sell the DVD from the first showing of the movie.
Well obviously the new suggestion is going to affect ticket sales, without a doubt. If I know I can nip in and buy the DVD on the opening night and it’s not a huge release I’d be very tempted just to head in. Or if my friend is going to see it, “get a DVD for me will you?”.
See I think there’s a third option. Let the movie have it’s cinema run, and as soon as the audience starts to tail, then kick in with the DVD sales in the foyer. Perhaps even cutting the performances and just selling the DVDs, perhaps even delaying the general DVD release by a month to allow it’s sale by the theater owners.
Is that so crazy? I do think there’s a halfway house here that could actually work.
Yeah, that’s what Pablo was saying in an earlier posting last week. It’s a great idea and it’s in the same vein as the post above – not a black or white approach, not one extreme or the other, but a sensible in between. Maximising profits while retaining happy customers.
I still think the best way forward with that kind of approach is to only offer the DVD in exchange for your ticket stub at a discounted rate. Then, say 8 weeks or so after it’s theatrical run, release the DVD wide into the retail market. None of this months long wait crap.
That way you can only own the DVD early ONLY IF you’ve seen at theatres.
Sure it’s not a perfect plan, but Hollywood needs to start concentrating on SAVING theatre-going instead of chasing DVD sales. Nothing was a clearer or more disturbing indication of that trend than the fact that the producers behind Die Hard 4 have a DVD target date before they have a theatrical one.
With the theatre-going experience at the all time low that it is, simply giving people the option to spend $25 to own forever and watch at home or $15 to watch and giving them both options on the spot – 7 out of 10 people will just buy the DVD.
And after all, none of what Disney is talking about seems concerned with piracy, which under their current plan would run RAMPANT.
Disney in particular needs to realise it’s losing sales from churning out poor quality goods, not because their DVDs aren’t “relevant”. But oh no, it’s the good old consumers’ fault as usual.