Studios Trying to Move Up DVD Release Dates

Sunday

29Nov2009

Studios Trying to Move Up DVD Release Dates

Sunday, November 29, 2009 at 2:39AM

Have you been following the tug-of-war going on between studios about the release windows for DVDs and Blu-ray? It's been pretty fascinating to watch this year, as the bad economy has led to a few drastic measures in an effort to boost a category that has been sluggish overall. While Blu-ray now constitutes a greater percentage of home video sales, sales in general are still down from the previous year, which was down from the previous year.

Paramount jumped the gun on G.I. Joe, putting it on shelves in early November, well before the generally accepted four-month theatrical lifespan was over. Sony was expected to put This Is It in stores before Christmas (probably this past Friday), after announcing a two-week theatrical stint. There was enough behind-the-scenes pressure to force the studio into another plan of attack, so the DVD and Blu-ray won't be available until early next year...and the documentary is still in theaters.

But Sony came up with another way to beat the the four-month window with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, even though it's got to be one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. If you have a Sony Bravia HDTV, you can download the film a month before its DVD release date for $25. And now, as a result of that, Variety writes that the studios, the MPAA, and the FCC will be looking at new models of distribution that will possibly create revenue in the home video sector (if a new timeline is established), while further dwindling the availability of films in theaters.

Exhibitors have not issued any kind of official demand, but they can't be too happy. Sure, there could be negotiations whereby your local cineplex gets an extra screen for Iron Man 2 or whatever to make up for the fact that new releases will only reliably be in theaters for ten weeks, but no matter what exhibitors might gain in all this, they'll definitely lose some of those films on their last legs.

If you think that won't impact you because most people see those movies in the first few weeks...get back to me after you buy some popcorn under a new system like this; the theaters will get their money back somehow.

Read the whole article; there are plenty of factors to consider, including what this could mean to indie outlets like IFC that have capitalized on simultaneous theatrical and VOD releases and how the internet will play a more important role than ever in the distribution of film. Most critically, though, is the decreasing role theaters might play.

Are the studios wrong to want to move up the DVD release dates? No, not really. However, I think the only way it can really work is with some kind of standard. Because of the corporate influence behind the majors, they'll get more of what they want than they'll give away, and we could very well see a 90-day release pattern for theatrical films in the near future.

Colin Boyd |

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