New Warner Movie Gets Released To Theaters And DVD At Same Time, Not Same Place

Culture

from the teeny-tiny-test dept

The idea that movie piracy can be reduced by simultaneous theater and DVD releases has been batted around for a little while now. The logic is simple: give people a choice of what medium they want to see a movie, and they’ll be less likely to try obtaining it by unsanctioned means. Earlier this year, Blockbuster UK’s chief voiced this opinion. Then a couple months ago, director Steven Soderbergh pursued this strategy in his new film deal, which calls for releasing his next six films in theaters, DVD, pay-per-view, and satellite TV at the same time. Now a major studio is testing the waters: Warner released the DVD of a new movie in China the day it appeared in U.S. theaters. While this is an encouraging sign of creative thinking on the studio’s part, there are a couple of caveats. First, the movie in question — “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” — was seen by about 10 people in U.S., won’t be released in Chinese theaters, and is in little danger of significant piracy. Second, the DVD release is limited to China, where unquestionably tons of piracy occurs but not with this movie. Third, there’s almost no hope they’ll try a simultaneous release in the U.S. because, as one analyst in the story puts it, cinemas still sell several billion tickets a year and “that drives the DVD payday.” Of course, it doesn’t have to be that way. Hollywood could simply improve the theater experience, which would not only offset sales lost to DVDs but also rescue theaters from the painful decline they are already in. This would also help validate Soderbergh and other forward-thinking types, so that pretty much guarantees it will never happen.