The Chicken And The Egg

The March 22nd edition of Variety had a great article on how the window between a film's theatrical debut, and its release on DVD, continues to shrink.

Diane Garrett writes:

...for films grossing more than $50 million at the domestic B.O. showed an 11% drop to 136 days (about 4½ months) in 2005, including all but one $50 million-plus film, "Syriana," whose DVD date has not been announced.

That drop outpaces the 4% domestic B.O. decline (or perhaps goes hand in hand with it) and comes after windows for similar movies held steady in 2004.

This trend is no surprise. Studios want to make as much cash as they can, and since the box office trend continues to be shaky (at least for now), the best way to recoup their loses is for a quick turnaround.

Theater owners balk at the faster timetable, because they believe the faster a film makes it to disc, it means that it's more likely that audiences will just wait and see a flick in their own home. While I'm sure that the faster DVD release schedule plays a part in the box office dip...it's not the main reason. I think the down turn has more to do with...

The advent of home theater systems-Who wants to go to the movies, when you can recreate the experience, in the comfort of your own home?

Which in turn means...

...No annoying commercials to sit through before the trailers start. If I wanted to see the latest ad for Coca-Cola or Mountain Dew, I would stay home and wait for 'em to flash across my TV screen. I think movie tickets are already high enough--I should not have to pay to watch any ads at the movies.

...I don't have to hear the ring tone of a person's cell phone because he or she forgot to turn it off.

...I don't have to hear parents hush the little ones cause they couldn't get a sitter.

I could go on...but you get the idea.

Don't fret theater owners. The news isn't all bad. Remember the film Bubble from a few months ago?

Magnolia Pictures tested the viability of simultaneous theatrical and DVD release with 'Bubble,' but the results have been inconclusive.

Who knows? Things may turn around soon. Superman Returns, Poseidon and X3 (among others) due in a few months, all have a lot of buzz around them. And just may help reverse things a bit. If that happens, I doubt theater owners will care when the DVDs come out, they will be too busy counting their larger returns.

To read the entire article, click here.