Has the DVD movie become Hollywoods saviour?

August 29, 2005

heystoopid used our news submit to tell us "An interesting article appeared in the the latest online edition of
the New York Times dated August 28th (free registration required), this article
is most informative, showing why Iger @ Disney wishes to simultaneously issue
DVD's at theatre release, for sales of DVD's account for more than a substantial
slice of hollywood"s income, where even turkeys make money on DVD's. Note the
amount of lost revenue deemed to be from the cause of piracy, is a mere 60% of
that attributed to pirated music."

Here is an exerpt from the article mentioned
above:

Hollywood reported global revenue of $84 billion in 2004, according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the accounting firm. With most theatrical releases amounting to little more than an unprofitable, expensive form of marketing, DVD's have become Hollywood"s lifeblood:

Together with videos, they kick in $55.6
billion, or about two-thirds of the industry's annual haul, with
box-office receipts making up most of the rest. The Motion Picture
Association of America estimates that piracy involving bootleg DVD's
deprived the film industry of more than $3 billion in sales last year.
That figure does not include lost sales from pirated works peddled online,
for which industry insiders say they have no reliable estimate but which
they assume to be substantial.

Why the MPAA bothers to offer their assumptions on piracy, when they are
willing to admit the figures were pulled from the air is a bit of a
mystery. Perhaps it's to justify their jihad against the public for
downloading from P2P. Also, we have to wonder if the DVD is a blessing or a
curse in the sense of the public receiving a quality product. If we can believe
the other figures, then it seems that the typical DVD buyer is less demanding
than your average theater patron.

For example, a few bad reviews from friends was enough to keep me from
visiting the cinema in order to gaze upon Spielbergs' last effort, "The War of
the Worlds". I was anxiously awaiting this film, however I half suspected
it would be less than satisfying science fiction when I got wind of the fact Tom
Cruise was going to have a starring role. Having said that, I am positive
the DVD will land in my hands before long, one way or another and I'll have a
look at some Martian devastation on my home setup!

Source: New York Times