Topic: Should DvDs come out on the same day as the theatrical release?

[Nile Boogie]

Sounds crazy? I thought so too. Then I got to talking with some folks about it and it might not be such a bad idea. I live and work in West Philly. Anytime a movie comes and sometimes before, the bootlegs are on sale on the corner of my job and more often in any corner store. People who buy bootlegs are people who wouldn't go to the movies to see the film anyway so why not appease the folks with a bare bones copy of the film. Example: Revenge of the Sith, you may or may not have seen the news stories saying this was the most pirated movie ever yet the damn thing still made $375,000,000 in the states alone. Most people I know who own the bootleg still went to the movies to see it. That got us to thinking, if a bare-bones DvD came out on the same day would we have gone to see it? Strangely enough all of us said yes, then we would buy the bare-bones copy and then we would buy the "Special Edition" when that came out in a few months or so(milk money for all!)  Now yes that was StarWars, which is its own case but I believe it to relevant to most movies. I'm not sure this makes sense to anyone else but my crazy cohorts and it might even be bad business. Just a thought.

[Ian Sane]

I think it would be a disaster.  A know a lot of people who don't really care much about picture and sound and thus only go to the theatre to see a movie sooner or in rare situations like Star Wars where they feel the film has enough going for it visually to see it on a big screen.  Those people don't buy bootlegs because for most it's a pain in the butt to do and it's illegal.  However if DVD copies are already available they would pretty much never see anything in theatre at all.  Hell I know I would only check out really visual films.  I would never see a comedy or drama in theatre again.  What do you need a theatre for for a talking movie?  Plus it would keep people from seeing a movie in theatre twice.  If you're already seen it in theatre once you might just rent or buy the movie to see it again instead of going to the theatre.

I just think it would really kill movie ticket sales.  If it was a good idea they probably would have done it during the VHS days when every video release was barebones.

[KDR_11k]

Noone cares. Torrents come out before the theatrical release so why bother with DVDs that are three months late?

But anyway, this is the MPAA we're talking about. The MPAA tries to hold to its ancient business model with all power, including bribing politicians to outlaw all possible competition. How about selling downloads instead of (or more likely in addition to) DVDs? Noooo, that goes against their business model. Remember how agitated they got over VHS? "Oh no, everybody will just record the movies off the TV, noone will go to the cinema anymore"! Result? After many lawsuits the MPAA embraced the medium and learned how to increase their profits by more than 100% by releasing everything on VHS after it doesn't sell tickets anymore.

[King of Twitch]

The picture quality in theaters is terrible, but DVDs are a little expensive. If they're going to charge $9 and still have 10 mins of commercials, the option would be nice.

[mantidor]

here movie theaters are dying and something like this would kill them inmediatly, Im not sure about how the situation of movie theaters is in the states...

[Nephilim]

Bad idea, most people dont even care about the theaters release
Its only the underground svcd scum who ruin things
Im happy waiting 6months for it to become a rental

[Pale]

I wouldn't go see anything anymore... considering a dvd is 20 bucks and I can keep it, and 2 movie tickets are 15-20 depending on where you go.  It would just be silly.

[KDR_11k]

MJRx: No. No ads on the DVD. Would you like to watch ten minutes of ads when you want to watch a movie? I wouldn't. F#ck them, I'm the customer, not a shareholder, the only thing that matters to me is what I get. And what price I get it at. I won't buy a DVD that costs more than 8-10 Euros and I won't buy a DVD that includes ads.

Movie theatres are dying because they have less and less to offer over "the competition" and the MPAA takes all the money they get from ticket sales. That's why the stuff they sell there is so expensive, it's their only source of income. Which would you rather do:

-Pay 8 bucks per person, pay ~5 bucks per person for concessions, wait thirty minutes while the ads run before the movie starts, deal with morons that believe they can do anything because they bought a ticket, get a huge screen and loud sound and watch it only once. Starts at a set time and you need to get there first and go home after.
-Pay 18 bucks flat, pay maybe one or two bucks for concessions, wait five minutes at most, know all the people in the room, get a small screen and average sound (unless you paid thousands for some "home theatre setup") and watch, pause and fast forward as often as you'd like. Starts whenever you want and you can stay home or go to a friend (where you will probably do more before and after the movie).

[King of Twitch]

Sorry, I meant, around here anyways theater tickets are $9 with tons of ads so I'd like a non-ad version. Until then I'll continue to stick it to 'em by sneaking in drinks and food for a fraction of the cost.  

[Infernal Monkey]

Quote
Originally posted by: KDR_11k
MJRx: No. No ads on the DVD. Would you like to watch ten minutes of ads when you want to watch a movie? I wouldn't. F#ck them, I'm the customer, not a shareholder, the only thing that matters to me is what I get. And what price I get it at. I won't buy a DVD that costs more than 8-10 Euros and I won't buy a DVD that includes ads.

I remember when lots of rental DVDs FORCED a good five minutes or so of adverts into the movie. =\ Put in disc, can't skip ads, eventually arrive at menu screen. Thank God they stopped that rubbish eventually.

[KDR_11k]

I think that was Disney and their parent company who did that and I think they still do. A computer can ignore the "no skip" orders and usually fiddling with the stop, fast forward and menu buttons of the DVd player gets me past any forced ads as well.

[PaLaDiN]

I'd never go to the theatre again... need my subtitles if I can get them.

Then again, more movies are getting .srt files before they ever come out.

[MattVDB]

Maybe it's just me, or my field of study, but over the past year I have become fond of theaters.  Where I grew up the theater was trash, but now that I live in the city with a THX theater, nothing compares.  I've seen the home movie setups, and have a decent setup myself, but honestly, nothing compares with a properly tuned theater.  Note: properly tuned.  Most aren't, but those that are a true joy to experience.

Personally, I wouldn't like the movie to release early on DVD.  Not unless they made it a crappy transfer with stereo sound.  Most people I know would be fine with a stripped down version, and wouldn't visit theaters.  I mean, if you payed 15 for a stipped down version you could watch at home with friends, or pay 7-9 a piece, what would you do?  2 people pool their money, buy it, and the others buy snacks.  That would kill theaters so fast.  Considering I make films, with a not to distant goal of theatrical releases, killing theaters would have a huge impact on my life.  I directly oppose early DVD release.  I say, if it's good enough that you go through the trouble of Bit Torrenting it, at least give them a few bucks from your pocket and watch it in the theater as well.  Heck, I know people who have payed theater prices, and not even stayed to watch it.  They just wanted to support it.

[couchmonkey]

I like theatres.  There's something more interesting about seeing a movie in a theatre than at home.  I like having the reactions of other people, an of course I'll never have a screen to match the size of a theatre screen at home.

I am annoyed by theatre ticket prices, though.

[Hostile Creation]

No way, I love going to the theatre.  My friends and I will do a bunch of stuff one day and round it up with a movie and food.  The theatre is great, because depending where you go you can get what you want.  A comedy you can be in a place full of people, and it's even better if everyone else is laughing with you.  Two friends and I went to see Sin City in a seedy, run down mall theater at midnight, which only added to the awesome atmosphere of the movie.  Not too long ago a friend and I (one who went with me to see Sin City) saw Land of the Dead.  It was a matinee, but he and I were the only ones in the theatre.  It was awesome, all that emptiness, just him and me and the movie and awesome.
I really like going to see movies.

[The Omen]

Theatres are toilets anymore.  I want to pay $10-20 to keep a movie, and all the extras, such as commentary or deleted scenes.  I don't want to pay $10 to listen to dopey teenagers and their cell phones 'blowing up, yo'.  I don't want babies crying and ruining the entire movie because the Mother is too lazy to take the baby outside.  I don't want to sit for 15 minutes watching previews of movies.  I like having my snacks in my home, not paying $10 on top of the already spent $10,.  When they start making theatres that cater to the film lover, and not the casual a-hole, I may return.  But until then, I'll take my 51" HD widescreen, my surround sound, and my piece and quiet.

In other words, yes, they should just release the dvds the same day as the film opens.  A good way to do this is to offer a discount on the DVD if you go to see the film in the theatre.  How about $20 for the film and the DVD?

[KDR_11k]

I've never run into such problems (except for the ads) in a cinema and cinema prices seem to be lower here than in the US (~6 Euros at the larger, more expensive ones, I think it goes down to ~4 at smaller ones). I don't buy DVDs (cinema is already expensive but 20 Euros for watching a movie?!?), only rent them. Well, I do buy some but only when they're 5 Euros or lower, the only price I deem acceptable for something as use-once-throw-away as DVDs.

When they start making theatres that cater to the film lover, and not the casual a-hole

Might want to look around, there are those "art cinemas" that show indy movies and generally don't appeal to the casual a-holes.

[The Omen]

There are, you're right.  They're few and far between, and you're usually talking a 30 mile drive, one way, in which case I say screw it, I'll buy the dvd.  

I only buy DVDs, I don't rent at all.  I enjoy making blind buys, too.  Especially on older movies, or horror movies.