Lone Wolf

Is anyone else having this problem? Normally I get to Movie Gallery around 10 every Tuesday. Last week they had not received 300. I had thought about buying it so I ended up picking it up from Walmart. Today they didn't have TMNT or Unaccompanied Minors even though they were both advertised on their new release board.

The girl working, who I had never seen before and opened the store ten minutes late, told me Movie Gallery was going broke. "If you don't pay your bills, they don't send you movies." I don't see this happening.

Has anyone else had any problems with Movie Gallery lately? It's the only choice I've got in my town, although with the amount of expansion going on I'm hoping for a Blockbuster.

cerial442

That sucks. Have you thought about joining an online retailer like Netflix?

Jah-Wren Ryel

I think Blockbuster is in much more danger of going broke than Movie Gallery is. They've been hemorrhaging cash for years.

EdTheRipper

Hollywood didn't get TMNT or Unaccompanied Minors in today either. They had shelf space set aside for TMNT but none for Unaccompanied Minors. The girl said there was a late shipment and that TMNT would be in later today.

Seantn

My guess would be that perhaps Movie Gallery (Or at least the one that you go to) broke street date on some DVDs and now they're being punished.

A few years ago, I was talking to a friend who worked at Best Buy, and he said that they accidentally put some DVDs out on the shelf a week prior to their actual release dates, and as punishment, the studio decided to send them some future releases 1-2 weeks late.

chris_sc77

I rent from netflix but I buy my pre-viewed dvd's from Movie gallery.
They have some great deals sometimes on used DVD's for sale

Cardsfan111

Seems to me if I were an employee and I thought my employer were going broke and not paying their bills, that I'd be finding me a new job!

Jam Master Jay

It might be something studio related. My Hollywood Video only got 2 copies of The Astronaut Farmer, got 300 the day it came out and had still not received TMNT or Unaccompanied Minors yet. They are all WB movies too.

EdTheRipper

Now that you mention it, I remember my Hollywood Video only getting a couple of copies of The Astronaut Farmer too. At the time, I didn't think much of it.

cisman

The B&M rental stores aren't doing to good. I used to hit MG every tuesday to get my new releases. Once I started with Netflix I've not been back. It's just too easy not worrying about going in and picking up the movies and taking them back. Plus I'm not a heavy Netflix user by any means and they are much cheaper than MG.

Lone Wolf

I forgot I posted this. I've been thinking about getting Netflix lately. If a Blockbuster comes to town I'll probably go with them. With Netflix how fast are you able to get the new releases? A lot of times if I don't watch it the week it comes out I forget about it and never get around to seeing it.

My Movie Gallery only got 2 copies of The Astronaut Farmer in. I still haven't watched it. I was the second one in the door. The guy ahead of me got a copy and the other had been taken home by an employee and not brought back.

The Monkees

The reason that the B&M rental stores are not getting any or very little copies of WB movies is because of Direct Download, where you can watch the movie on your computer the day of release. The movies also show up on Comcast On-Demand. This didn't happen with 300. They are doing it with smaller releases to see if there is an audience for it first.

so it goes

TMNT is a Weinstein release so the MG's normal distributors wouldn't be shipping it to them. They have to get the movies some other way which would cause the delay. Some movies (Hannibal Rising for instance) the managers had to go out on tuesday and buy them and then expense them if they wanted their stores to carry the movies.

Movie Gallery is definitely losing money. They are constantly making poor business decisions and taking away the few good deals they may have, giving customers fewer and fewer reasons to return. I believe upwards of 75 stores are to be closing soon, which doesn't sound like much when you have more than 2000, but it is just the start.

EdTheRipper

Not according to Dvd Empire...
http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_ite...earchID=308441
That lists it as a Warner Brothers release.

Same for Movieweb...
http://www.movieweb.com/dvd/release/...9/features.php

Lone Wolf

I believe that I read somewhere that TMNT was a coproduction with Warner Bros. getting video rights.

stingermck

Well maybe I can catch some nice liquidation sales:

Movie Gallery Could Close Stores


Movie Gallery, the country's second-largest video rental chain behind Blockbuster, may be in its death throes and could go belly-up on Tuesday when it is likely to disclose its inability to meet extended loan obligations and creditors begin foreclosure proceedings, according to Home Media Retail magazine. The company operates 4,500 stores, including the Hollywood Video chain, which it acquired in 2005 for $1.1 billion. Michael Pachter, analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles, told Home Media: "They are not quite dead yet but they are definitely passed out."

http://www.imdb.com/news/sb/2007-08-13/

EdTheRipper

Definitely a WB issue because Hollywood had no copies of Aqua Teen Hunger Force in today.

stingermck

It sounds like a 'not pay your bills' issue

stingermck

Movie Gallery Stays Alive -- Barely


Movie Gallery, the nation's No. 2 video rental chain after Blockbuster, has apparently dodged a bullet. It said in a statement today (Thursday) that some lenders had agreed to allow it to delay the current month's debt payments until August 27 provided that there be no delay in future payments. Movie Gallery had said earlier this month that it did not have funds on hand to meet current debt payments.

Lone Wolf

They had one copy at mine.

EdTheRipper

Not even a facing for it at my Hollywood. I'm going back tomorrow morning so I'll keep an eye out for it.

Not really a WB issue but it IS related to Hollywood...I wish they'd carry more tv on dvd. I rented Rome Season 1 there when it came out so I was expecting to do the same for the second season. Of course, they aren't carrying it. Their selection of tv on dvd just seems to get worse and worse. They went from two bays on the new release wall down to a single bay. Kind of disappointing.

EdTheRipper

Hollywood does have Aqua Teen Hunger Force...2 copies on the tv on dvd wall. Explains why I couldn't find it the other day.
Also, they do have Season 2 of Rome. One facing for all 5 discs. I'm not really a fan of that shelving layout.

Lone Wolf

No Redline or The Ex this morning. I'm not in a hurry to see Redline but I was looking forward to The Ex. The Ex is by 2929 Productions which made Black Christmas so I'm guessing this is a Weinstein release.

I did some quick research and they are both Weinstein movies. This is ridiculous. If I had known this I could have saved myself a trip this morning. I also think the employees should be better educated on these movies and why they don't have them on the shelves instead of looking at me like I'm an idiot when I ask for them.

Draven

I've never been in there, but the Movie Gallery down the street from my house is having a "store closing" sale, so obviously at least one is closing their doors.

I think it's just going to get worse. It's just to darn convenient to rent online - I haven't been in a video store to rent anything in years.

EdTheRipper

Both are "Blockbuster Exclusives".
If I had to guess, I'd say that Hollywood/Movie Gallery employees have been instructed not to tell customers the reason that they don't have these titles. I really doubt if the powers-that-be want their employees directing customers to the competitor.