http://www.animationmagazine.net/art...rticle_id=5258

DVD Sales Join CD Sales—Heading South
Thursday, April 06, 2006
By: Chris Grove

Has the DVD market finally reached the saturation point? One of the
most successful consumer products in modern history, home video sales
fell the first quarter of 2006 4.3% and video rentals sagged 4.4%,
according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter.

That’s a stat that’s being obscured somewhat by the big recent debut
of Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe DVD which sold 4 million units on Tuesday, its first day in
the store. Brokeback Mountain sold 1.4 million its first day, a strong
number for a drama.

In addition to softening demand (and perhaps because of it) the
numbers of DVD releases in the first quarter of 2006 were down 14%
from the same period last year. This is the first year the new release
schedule has tightened since the DVD format was introduced in spring
1997.

Meanwhile, the latest (and, we’re sure, not the last) iteration of
King Kong had a big week last week in DVD sales and rentals. The Peter
Jackson film sold 6.5 million units the week ending April 2nd. Memoirs
of a Geisha pulled up a distant second with about 1.25 million units.

For all of Kong’s romantic élan, Geisha maybe the perfect date-night
rental. With a reported $5.9 million in rental revenues, the film
trailed Kong rentals by just half-a-million dollars. The leader the
week before, Chicken Little dropped to third place.






"Arguing with anonymous strangers on the Internet is a sucker's game
because they almost always turn out to be -- or to be indistinguishable from
-- self-righteous sixteen-year-olds possessing infinite amounts of free time."
- Neil Stephenson, _Cryptonomicon_

For me personally, I have nearly every favorite older movie I could want. Other
than a few new releases, I haven't been buying much lately.

--
"I'm not a cool person in real life, but I play one on the Internet"
Galley

Allan wrote:
They have raised the average purchase price and I quit buying
hardly any DVDs. I was buying about $1000 of DVDs per year
and I have almost stopped.

In my opinion, the distributors have gotten gready and it has hurt
sales. I am seeing way too many DVDs going for over $20, when
it used to be that it was rare to see a price over $20 unless it was
a Superbit DVD.

X-No-archive: yes

"Mark Jones" <noemail@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:xbPZf.1772$sq5.190@newsread2.news.atl.earthli nk.net...
Where are you buying them?
With price matching, etc, I still get most new movies for $15 to $18 each.

No increases that I have noted.

Allan <Spamsuckhard@finallykantica22admitstobebrianlamb. org> wrote:

Wait a minute... What is the cause and what is the effect?
With 14% less new product, sales were only down 4.3%?
Doesn't sound like a softening market to me. Sounds like the producers are
getting lazy.

"Allan" <Spamsuckhard@finallykantica22admitstobebrianlamb. org> wrote in
message news:h66e329rpaqffum94l0jgm0dag1kfkhigb@4ax.com...
<snipped below>

So 100 mil for King Kong in one week in DVD sales means nothing?

Debbie Proctor
maraskywalker@earthlink.net

In article <2mnf32pu30si5ik6epet2b1top28r708ir@4ax.com>, Kimba W. Lion
<kimbawlion@aol.com> wrote:

It means that they're not releasing titles they don't think will sell,
or at least delaying them. The 14% they didn't put out, assuming the
choices were based on previous sales of similar films, probably
wouldn't have made enough to cover costs.

--
Chris Mack "Refugee, total shit. That's how I've always seen us.
'Invid Fan' Not a help, you'll admit, to agreement between us."
-'Deal/No Deal', CHESS

My issue is different... I'm tired of the new product pattern where on
a new release a single-disc version, pretty much movie-only, is $15
and a double-disc set with extras is $25. Potter 4 did this, Narnia
and others did this. Back in the old days you could get the 2-disc
version on release day for $16-17.

So to me $15 for movie-only is an overpayment and I just rent for the
most part.

In article <j6hi329f17hvb1v6qoc31qpdog0mq0rqgi@4ax.com>, despondent
<the@despondent.net> wrote:

trying to find out if people will buy the movie without the extras
(saving the studio the cost of making them), and/or if people are
willing to pay for those extras.

--
Chris Mack "Refugee, total shit. That's how I've always seen us.
'Invid Fan' Not a help, you'll admit, to agreement between us."
-'Deal/No Deal', CHESS

Kimba W. Lion wrote:
you beat me to it, Kimba.

14% less product and sales were down 4.3%. Duh. and so then people
are buying MORE of the product there is, but there's just less product
obeing put out there.

-goro-

In article <j6hi329f17hvb1v6qoc31qpdog0mq0rqgi@4ax.com>,
despondent <the@despondent.net> wrote:

I have mixed feelings about this. Typically the MSRP for the one disk
set is 25 or 30 and the 2 disk set is 30 or 33. But the B&M stores are
carrying the 1 disk set for 13.99 or so with the 2 disk set for 24.99 or
so. I dislike the idea because the difference between the one and two
disk sets is too much (at least on opening week) BUT I appreciate the
ability of getting the two disk set and I'm sure that lots of more
casual fans of a particular movie appreciate the option of not having to
pay for what they don't want.

dick
-- so I've been buying the deluxe editions on line for a few dollars
less than the b&m prices.

In article <Xns97A493F5136BCvannatNOSPAMusibmcom@207.115.17.1 02>, Tim
V. <tsvemail-usenet@yahoo.com> wrote:

Same for those against Hollywood.

--
Chris Mack "Refugee, total shit. That's how I've always seen us.
'Invid Fan' Not a help, you'll admit, to agreement between us."
-'Deal/No Deal', CHESS

Invid Fan <invid@localnet.com> wrote in news:130420061838214306%
invid@localnet.com:

agreed.


--
Tim.

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liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin

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