Rebelphoenix

Ok...so a few weeks ago I remember seeing Piranha DVD OR Blu-Ray for $19.99 first week. the fact that they are the same price pretty much makes DVD irrelevant IMO.
And this week with Saw: The Final Chapter...the dvd is $15.99, the blu ray WITH the dvd is $19.99....and the DVD is the theatrical version. so if youre in the market for DVD, how does it make sense to not spend an extra $4 to STILL get your dvd PLUS the uncut blu ray, plus all the features.

but my point is , the above examples show HOW much more affordable and smarter it is to purchase blu ray....but some studios dont do that.

why is Case 39, a crap movie, $29.99?? People see prices like THAT and mutter to themselves that blu ray is too expensive. The DVD version is $19.99....pretty high for a crap barebones release.

Just wondering what you guys think about some of the studios approaches to blu ray

Matthew Chmiel

With a lot of the BD+DVD(+DC) combo packs, specifically when it comes to new releases, the bonus material only exists on the Blu-ray disc. The only new release that I've seen where the BD+DVD(+DC) combo pack included the retail version of said DVD was Scott Pilgrim vs. the World which only included the audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and galleries. Every other release with the DVD has contained the film only or the film and digital copy on the same disc.

For a new release, a studio is trying to make as much of a profit off of it as they can, especially in the case of Case 39 where it was a box office disaster and the studio is still in the red. If you don't like it, too fucking bad. If you want a new release now, you'll have it now. If you want to save money, wait and the BD will drop in price.

Most consumers, especially Joe Sixpack, are stupid. Whatever. It is what it is.

islandclaws

I don't get it either, but if people feel like they need a movie that badly, they'll buy it. I have a friend who shops like that - buying what he wants without waiting for sales. He paid $30 for Green Zone, then felt like an idiot when it was dirt cheap a couple weeks later during the holidays.

As for pricing discrepancies, I think Matthew covered it. Shitty films need to recoup their losses, big films can afford a lower price.

DeanoBKN

Usually only the mainstream, popular releases of the week are priced on sale, because they are what draws in the customers. Pricing Case 39 on sale is just wasted money to their eyes.

Regardless, learn to wait and over time you could get almost anything for dirt cheap.

flansered

New Releases (especially with tv shows) are priced higher to capitalize on the people who have to have it right now. I've learned that unless it's something that I am going to watch right away, I usually tend to wait awhile to pick them up. Sometimes it pays off.

KOROVAMILK

I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the amount of product being replicated to make the price lower. The more you make, the cheaper it can be to make a profit. I looked into replicating a bluray of my film not to long ago and it basically came out to costing almost $30 per packaged bluray. That made it not worth it, to break even we would have to sell 100% of our product at cost. Now studios making 100,000+ can get a substantial discount not to mention the amount of different properties they have going to replication. But for all that expect everything to be cheap out there ( and trust me I look for deals too ) - keep in mind that this stuff actually cost money time and effort to make happen.

Rebelphoenix

But you would think prices would LOWER to combat competition. I mean I'm sure Case 39 is stream-able on netflix, if not than you can get it delivered....then redbox has a rental for $1 or $1.50 for blu (never used a redbox so not sure on blu pricing)
Are there ENOUGH people out there purchasing new release blu rays at $29.99 to not warrant a change?

--I'm not referring to re-releases of classics (with followings)..those could sell for whatever u price them for.....I'm talking bout NEW movies, that for the most part, are blind buys.

KOROVAMILK

Just keep in mind that there's a lot more than meets the eye here and it really depends on what the property is. If it's something that is expected to sell a large amount of product then they will be able to sell it cheaper. If it's unknown on how well it will sell or there isn't as much of a market for it, then the price has to justify the production. It's economics. Blu-ray costs a tremendous amount more to produce vs a standard def dvd.

KOROVAMILK

Netflix and the like do put a damper on the profitability of a lot of films being distributed. It could also be a price in the beginning to try and cut some loses due to On Demand services.

Rebelphoenix

but that kind of brings me to my point....a blind buy crap movie is being priced out of most peoples budget. On paper, yeah, $29.99 times a certain amount of copies will recoup the studio money.....but realistically, WHO is buying? That price won't help the studio when the product is sitting on the shelf

KOROVAMILK

There is no easy answer, but simply money is the key. I don't think the initial intent is to rip everyone off. It's probably more to do with trying not to take a loss. Most products are on a pricing schedule. My best advice is to wait until the price is right for you. Or if it's something you just gotta have, then live with the price.

orangerunner

Yeah I've never really understood the pricing. I guess it comes down to balancing price and volume.

Dark Knight sold 600,000 copies on the first day so they can price that cheaper than something like Case 39 which, no matter what the price, is probably going to sell close to the same amount whether it's $19.99 or $29.99 given its limited demand. In six months you'll see it for $9.99 or less if there is a surplus.

I suppose titles like Case 39 sell many of their copies to the rental companies.

In the stores around here like Best Buy, the $19.99 Blu-ray vs. $18.99 DVD just seems to last about 3 days after its initial release. After that, the Blu-ray goes up to $26.95 or more whereas the DVD tends to stay at $18.99.

Matthew Chmiel

Case 39 is not available on Netflix for streaming purposes. 99% of most new releases aren't available to stream on Netflix.

The audiences who have already adapted to Blu-ray are mostly, entirely different than those who use DVD. Most people who have adapted to Blu-ray purchase titles rather than rent, very similar to the first five years of DVD. Once the mainstream adopted it is when the rental options came into play.

Half of my purchases this year have been new releases, and, well, look at this expert from the 2011 HD Spending Tab.

While I bought the last three on/around street date; both The Expendables and The Other Guys were on Blu-ray for around a month (give or take).

In the case of Piranha and Saw, those two titles will probably not get discounted more than that because of the fact they're 3D titles.

JOE29

If a bluray is too expensive which most are compared to the standard DVD, plus new releases. I just do what Matt chimel said if it's too expensive I just wait til it comes down in price to buy it. i'll even buy it used, I don't care. And if it doesn't come down enough for my liking too fuckin bad. I'll just watch the ones that I already have until they do come down in price. Even if it takes a few years to come down to the price that i'm happy with. I just looked on Amazon, Case 39 bluray is going for $15 used already. So if there's a price you're not happy with just wait a while and they will come down.

beebs

Retailers set the pricing.

Top movies of the week that retailers think will bring in foot traffic = lower pricing.
The rest of the movies = higher prices.

There should be a wiki on this.

Rebelphoenix

Its gotta be the studios, which in the case of Case 39 is Paramount

because I believe Lions Gate released 'Buried' last week, it wasnt on sale anwhere, but it is $19.99 for a blu-ray/dvd combo. And believe me, in its LIMITED theatrical run, 'Buried' did not make a lot of money

davidh777

It starts with the studios. Think of Fox and their $39.99 list price for catalog Blu in the early days. I think it's hard to say that if Machete is this price, then some Kino title should be the same price.

But if list prices are the same, then it comes down to the retailer's pricing.

Matthew Chmiel

Buried has an MSRP of $29.95, which is a rarity considering its a new release from a larger distributor. Give it a few weeks and I'm sure one will find this for under $14.99 at Best Buy like past Lionsgate releases.

Case 39, a Paramount title, has an MSRP of $34.95. A few dollars more, but what'll drive more people into a store?

Again to use Machete as an example, Fox has it with an MSRP of $39.99. Again, I won't be shocked to see it at Best Buy for under $14.99 within the next few weeks (or end of the fiscal quarter).

If studios want to utilize these price points, why not? I'm patient and can wait. As I've mentioned in previous threads, I like to stick to a budget when it comes to Blu-rays:

New Releases (0 - 6 months): -/+ $20.00
Catalog Releases: -/+ $10.00

There are some exemptions to the rules where I'll go above and beyond the budget points for specific titles (ahem, Battle Royale, ahem); but it's kept me fairly grounded when it comes to what I should and what I shouldn't buy.

JOE29

I've been waiting to buy Machete blu ever since it was released, but i'm not going to pay the high price for it. i'll just watch what I already have and wait for the price drop. then buy it. Same thing for Case 39, etc.

Spottedfeather

You guys really think that 30 dollars (which most blu-ray even arent) is too much for blu-rays ? Well, in the 80s, VHS would cost anywhere from 30 to 50 dollars....sometimes even more. Rental stores would buy a VHS tape over a hundred dollars. Read that again. Still think blu-ray's are still expensive ? Don't worry. When as many people have blu-ray as have dvd, then the prices will be the same. But they won't get to that price point for another five years.

orangerunner

If you look at the big picture Blu-ray is not expensive but as comparative value goes, it sometimes still is.

Sure, I paid $30 for a used copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark back in 1984 and it was a great deal! That was how much money it took at the time to take home a pre-recorded tape from the store. Back then you could only buy movies used from rental stores. You simply couldn't buy a pre-recorded tape at the local K-Mart or record store at that time.

It's whole different ballgame now with millions of unwanted VHS tapes, Laserdiscs, used DVDs for a $1, downloads etc. on the market. Home video has been grossly devalued over the last ten years and will continue to be.

I still have a receipt for a non-stereo VHS machine I bought in 1998 and it was $219.00 and yet in 2009 I balked at paying that much for a Blu-ray player because DVD players were only $29.95.

With Blu-ray, when you see a catalogue title for $19.99 and then the same title on DVD for $3.99 it is, comparatively speaking, seen as too much money.

Alan Smithee

In that example I see the $3.99 DVD as too little money. Blu-Ray prices are heading in the right direction, they're not as expensive as they were the first couple years they were out. Definitely better than $40 laserdiscs or $80 VHS tapes.

beebs

20% too high.

davidh777

I picked a poor random example with Machete. I was thinking it'd be not that high, but the list price is actually higher than Kino's Our Hospitality

PopcornTreeCt

Machete is a B movie at an A price.