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Recommend Studios Trying to Move Up DVD Release Dates (Email)

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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.

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