Iron_Giant

http://www.dvdtown.com/news/bloomber...wn-movies/6354

Movie Studios claim DVD sales are down, no duh:

1. All the old titles are already out and everyone has bought them already:
-Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Gone with the wind, ET, Casablanca...

I cannot think of another old title I am dieing to pickup that I do not already have, and I NEVER double dip.

Sales of DVDs starting slowing down a few years back when most of the old titles were all released. After that, we could only buy the NEW titles coming out and a very small amount of old titles that not everyone was looking forward to picking up.

2. Blu-ray has taken anywhere from 5 to 10 percent of the DVD business. Look what has happened to "The Dark Knight" DVD compared to Blu-ray sales.

I soon will be buying more Blu-ray than DVDs or only Blu-ray, depending on the title.

3. Sales of popular new titles have not been effected at all: "The Dark Knight", "Mama Mia"...

The problem is not DVDs, it is the lack of really good movies to watch, ones that are worth buying. My wife is more than happy to let me buy a DVD if it is something we can enjoy together, or a DVD that one of us really loves (TDK, Iron Man or Mama Mia...).

Put out GOOD Product and people will buy it, "junk in junk out"

4. Economy has had a small effect on DVD sales, but no more than the three reason listed above.

We have wised up and will not buy any JUNK DVD they put out.


GIVE US SOMETHING GOOD AND WE WILL FIND A WAY TO BUY IT!!!!!!

nodeerforamonth

yes. It's very "rough".

visitor Q

No kidding. Getting back on "course" though .....

English language ... ain't it a bitch?

NoirFan

Yeah, now that ET and the other 'old titles' are out, the studios might as well close up shop, eh? I apologize. I don't mean to sound course.

Mr. Salty

No need to be abrasive!

philip74

i don`t think the economy effects movies. movies are always a good escape.
i read last night that ticket sales for movie theatres are way up this january.
with over 1 billion turnover, it was one of the best starting months of the year.
as for myself, i can only agree with the previous poster: many old titles are released now and there are just not so many good recent ones being released.
i usually purchase looots if dvds, but it has also decreased during the last months, due to lack of attractive content.

JeffTheAlpaca

I heard instant downloads are still in the early stages so dvds won't be going away anytime soon.

if Blu-Ray players become less expensive maybe that will be the next big cash cow.

I still think only a small group buys blu-ray dvds when most dvds look decent if you use a upconverting dvd player with a HDTV.

marty888

Huh ..... guess I missed the release of THE AFRICAN QUEEN .....the Elia Kazan gems WILD RIVER and AMERICA AMERICA .... GREED along with dozens of other silent classics that existed on VHS .... and the list could go on and on.

Maybe what YOU like is out, but there are literally hundreds and hundreds of titles that movie lovers are still waiting to see released on DVD.

bigE

Elia Kazan is waaaaay over rated! And I love movies, too!! Lighten up dude!!!

dx23

I understand his point though. With the exception of The African Queen, the other movies you mentioned are not mainstream movies that Joe Six-Pack is waiting for. Most of the big budget classic films have already been released on DVD.

To me is all about the way Movie industry puts this in perspective. Yes, sales aren't as good as the previous year, but how many DVD were released in 2007? What titles were released that year? Now compare them to 2008. Was the decline expected? Of course. So the fact here is that they didn't lose money, they just didn't make as much as the previous year. Boo-hoo! Cry me a river.

The Bus

marty888

What you may consider "over rated" others might consider to be near classics, and that's fine - maybe you should "lighten up" in thinking that your tastes should determine DVD availability.

I'll stand by my view that not all the "old movies" are already out on DVD.

chris_sc77

Just saw this News article posted on IMDB:

Slower DVD Sales May Prompt Write-Downs

2 February 2009 1:36 AM, PST

"Faced with a 32-percent drop in shipments of DVDs during the fourth quarter of last year, the media conglomerates that own four studios may wind up writing down the value of their movies, Bloomberg News reported late Friday, citing several entertainment analysts. The drop was the biggest ever, the wire service said. As a result of competition from rental services like Netflix and other online video sites, "making a movie just won't be as profitable as it once was," Barclays Capital analyst Anthony Diclemente told Bloomberg News. Michael Nathanson, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co told the wire service that an additional 11 percent downturn in DVD sales could cause the conglomerates -- Time Warner, Disney, Viacom and News Corp -- to miss internal forecasts. Diclemente said that sales of Blu-ray high-definition disks won't offset the drop in DVD sales. "We don't think Blu-ray is the savior," He added: "Investing in Blu-ray, especially in the teeth of a recession, isn't what the consumer wants.""

Al_Tahoe

Fixed that for ya, Jeff.

Travis McClain

"Making a movie just won't be as profitable as it once was," Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente in New York said in an interview. "There will be a complete bottoms-up reconstruction of the economics of the film business."

Am I the only one tired of investors panicking about the end of the world because reality has finally started to catch up to their insulated world of legalized gambling? Of course DVD sales are down, for all the reasons already mentioned. Movie-watching, is not necessarily the same thing. People are renting more than buying, and theatrical attendance was up in '08--every one of the top 25 grossing films took in a minimum $100 million. Even setting aside The Dark Knight as something of an anomaly, last year was still a pretty good year for the industry. Have none of these analysts heard of cycles, or trends?

Jigen75

I think the main reason is most everything that the average viewer wants is out on DVD now. The new releases still do great but everybody's got Indiana Jones and Star Wars. Blu Ray will get a boost when some morre classics come out but I really don't see it being as big as DVD.

NoirFan

There's a decent R2 edition from Optimum.

Travis McClain

Another thing that just occurred to me, is that no one has discussed the impact of the HD Wars. Remember, two Christmases ago, HD-DVD was still a viable entity. Many collectors were unwilling to buy too many titles on any format for fear of being stuck with obsolete coasters within a couple of years. By the time Blu-ray was declared the victor last spring, I think many collectors had simply broken some of their casual buying habits. We'll always buy our favorite titles, but between the HD Wars and now the economy in general, I think more people are discovering they can, indeed, live without their B-tier titles.

Mr. Salty

I think it's pretty clear he meant big-selling catalog titles, like "Star Wars" and the Indiana Jones films, not just "old movies." Of the titles you mentioned, "African Queen" would probably sell a few tens of thousands, maybe even a few hundred thousand, copies. The other titles would sell far less. So I don't see how they would contribute much to the overall sales figures for DVDs, which are driven by big, mainstream releases.

islandclaws

Here's the problem. Instead of buying discs hand over fist to keep them flourishing in this economy you're letting your wife do the decision making for you. Also, no one should own Mamma Mia.

ernestrp

I was at walmart today and noticed they had a new slew of 4.00 titles that were not there Saturday but they were all FS. If they were WS I would have two or three.

Ethan VanSciver

DVD sales are down since what? October? It's been that long since I've found myself wanting more than one dvd per week. There hasn't been much of interest to buy! Things will pick up around April again.

kefrank

DVD sales have been steadily declining since 2004.

The Antipodean

Seriously, what the heck is up with African Queen anyway? It's not like it's some obscurity!

celmendo

How about they are over priced, stupid digital copies, lame extras and we know most are going to have another edition come out in a few months so why bother?