Dimension Announces 19 DVD Sequels, Plus a New 'Halloween'

More and more, the big studios are relying on home video to bolster their bottom lines. The rage of direct-to-DVD sequels and remakes is becoming quite profitable; we read a report that the American Pie off-shoots have made something like $20 million, which is a healthy return.Dimension is going all in, greenlighting 18 new direct-to-DVD movies. All of them to be released next year. Variety reports that the movies have $3 - $6 million budgets, and Dimension will use those tax breaks offered in places like Louisiana and New Mexico to ease its financial burden even more. The total investment, not counting marketing and advertising, is going to be in the $80 million range, so how much business would these things have to do to turn a comfortable profit? All of that success depends largely on the titles that will get sequelized, and unfortunately, it's a crop that includes Pulse 2, plus sequels for Children of the Corn, Feast, and Hell Ride. Hell Ride, by the way, made $213,000. Seriously, how many of those would you even watch for free? There's also a zombie movie called Dead by Daylight (from the production company behind Hostel), and Midnight Man 2 and 3, which makes me wonder about Midnight Man 1 of all a sudden.The most notable names on this list are further down the line. Dimension is proposing sequels for Piranha 3-D and the upcoming Halloween follow-up. Wait a minute: There's a Halloween sequel?As opening weekends go, Halloween did pretty well last August. However, when you consider that it only made $50 million worldwide after its first three days in theaters, you begin to realize that people were initially curious about this but their interest waned in a hurry. Also, Rob Zombie said he won't be coming back. And if they couldn't drum up big money last year with Zombie at the helm, then the sequel probably won't do anything, either.And if they're already making a bunch of horror movies on the cheap for DVD sales, doesn't Dimension stand a better chance skipping the theatrical run for the Halloween sequel and making it one of the (too) many DVD-only titles?