Movie Windows

This post has nothing to do with watching multimedia on that terrible operating system from Seattle. This is about the ever shrinking window of time between the theatrical release of films and the DVD release. A new article at Box Office Prophets sums up the challenges of simultaneous theatrical and DVD release.

Mark Cuban, the billionaire and controversial owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, has founded 2929 Entertainment with plans to distribute films simultaneously in theatres, on DVD and on pay television.

It will be interesting to see how this thing shakes out. I personally think that it could be the death of movie theatres (because of the reasons outlined in the BOP article), and for that reason it won't succeed. Theatrical release is absolutely essential to the successful release of even a mid-budget film. A release in the cinema gives a film credibility. Other than genre films (especially kid flicks), when was the last time you recall rushing out to buy a DVD of a film that wasn't in theatres first? I don't think it's impossible for DVD premieres to gain legitmiacy, but it will take some years to change the mindset of the average film fan.

Another reason I don't see the marketplace allowing the death of the cinemaplex, is that people like going to the movies. I have a nice surround sound system, and I would have a large HDTV if I weren't too cheap to buy one. It's great, especially for watching my favorite films over and over again. Until I can build a home theatre with a 50-foot-wide screen and enough seats for 100 people, it just won't be as much fun as a good experience in the cinema.

Nothing beats hearing a crowd's reaction to a good scare or a great joke. I like hearing the sniffles of men and women alike in the anonymous darkness of a theatre. Cinema has always been a communal experience. Take film out of the theatre, and it's just television.

Category:

• Film