And by "a good idea" I mean "my idea."
You may have noticed that the time between the theatrical release of a motion picture and its DVD release is getting shorter. MUCH shorter.
My idea: Eliminate the time discrepancy COMPLETELY. Release movies on DVD at the same time they are in the theater.
In fact, SELL THEM IN THE THEATER. There’s no better time to hit a person up to by a DVD of a movie than when they’ve just seen it and are all excited about it. Make them wait 3-6 months and their enthusiasm will cool and you’ll have less of a chance of selling them that DVD.
I know I’ve come out of a movie and really wanted a DVD of it only to find myself thinking, months later when it finally comes out, "Was it really that good? Do really want to spend the money for a DVD?" My memories of the movie have faded enough that I end up not buying one, even though I now have the chance.
Selling DVDs in the theater would also (a) help boost flagging theater revenues (good for the theaters) and (b) cut down on film piracy if people can buy a legitimate copy the same way selling songs through iTunes cuts down on illegal downloading (good for the studios) and (c) please the customer (good for the customer)!
I know, I know.
People will argue that letting people buy the DVDs will cut down on ticket sales. Maybe so. Maybe not. You can cut down on that some if you only sell the DVDs in the theater while the movie is showing, so you have to go there to buy them.
At any rate, it gives customers more choice, and in principle, that’s a good thing. (Me being a customer.)
I think it’s an idea that’s at least worth experimenting with.
Did you patent your idea? Then you could sue the MPAA!
Of course, musical performers sell their CDs at most performances. But I think movie theaters would need to be given a significant carrot to sell DVDs that would undercut their concession stand sales, where they make most of their money.
Very true, Kevin. But if the DVD were sold only at the cinemas showing the picture while it was still in general release, they might do OK. You know they’d be selling the DVDs at list price so their concession revenue might even increase! There are consumers who would purchase the DVD there rather than wait for it to appear in retail or online stores – where it would probably be much cheaper. (Nearly 50% in some cases. Amazon will have the deluxe, 2-disc version of Batman Begins for only $15.98 – a 48% savings off the list price.) This assumes consumers are not very savvy about where to purchase such items, which I don’t think most are since grocery stores wouldn’t stock newly released DVDs at full price if they weren’t making any money. So, Jimmy’s idea could work very well! Especially if the studios marketed it as a “collector’s item” with content that won’t be available on the DVD when it hits the stores.
It’s a great idea! The people who go to the theatre go because they want the big-screen experience — and there are many people who never go to the theatre and always wait for the video/DVD release — I don’t think that would change. But, I do agree they would sell more DVDs — it is kind of the same principle as bands selling CDs at their concerts or authors selling books at book-signings. Hey they could even make special movie-theatre releases and make a collectibles market out of it!
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