Shrek Spoiler: Wal-Mart ruined a big surprise

[lael]

Here's a little gift for you then, Lael, MahnaMahna online!

~ Thanks Sr. Beauregard! *rips into gift* It's not even my birthday!
I love it! I'm now in the know!

Thank you!

*picks up wrapping paper, ponders re-gifting*

 

[muppet baby]

I wouldn't rule it out.

In the days of VHS, there was usually a six-month wait between theatrical release and home video release.

Today, a lot of studios want to get their new product out on the streets and into the home as quick as they can.

Example: The Departed opened in November of last year. By February, it was not only on DVD, but STILL playing in theatres! Casino Royale also came out in November, and by March, you could buy it at your local Wal-Mart or Best Buy.

So I predict by fall we'll see a lot of summer blockbusters out on DVD, Blu-Ray, HD...

Actually, I just read an interview with Seth Rogen, who is the male lead in Knocked Up, which just opened Friday. He said he's already working with the director on extras for the DVD!

Some directors do think ahead to DVD while they're shooting their film. Some will shoot material specifically for the DVD in their down time, and even shoot extra footage, knowing it probably won't make it into the final, theatrical cut, but will end up on the DVD.

Kevin Smith and Robert Rodriguez are two DVD-friendly directors who come to mind.

Oh yes i had a feeling the where doing all of those things for DVD as fast as they come out .

i mean in a way they are getting a lot more money out of a DVD than they are a VHS because of of all the potential of the ecitment of what you can add to it .

Also the dvds last longer also he he that is one reason that i love them so much .

 

[Drtooth]

In the old days, you had to wait well over a year in some cases for movies to hit video. Like Disney's titles, for example. Now they come out so soon after the movie no wonder why they film industry is whining about how they're losing money... and the 10 dollar tickets and pointless commercials don't help either. I really wanna see Shrek 3 in the theater.

As for the McD's toys... I think they're rushing it out so they can have that stupid Surf's Up movie as figures (that is indeed what the next one is, not Ratatoullie). I mean, I LOVE penguins, but come on!

 

[D'Snowth]

But the thing of it is, however that may be, DVD will not ALWAYS be the first choice, because believe it or not, a lot of people out there (including myself) like the experience of seeing a good movie at the theaters, and not only that, but it gives you an idea of whether or not you might like the movie enough to own it on DVD or not.

Not only that, but also in most cases, a new DVD release costs more than seeing the actual movie in theaters (NOT including those goodies like popcorn, chocolate bars, sodas, et cetera), so if you buy the DVD and it turns out you don't like the movie, you just wasted $19 or more on something that'll end up just sitting there on your shelf for a long time.

 

[muppet baby]

But the thing of it is, however that may be, DVD will not ALWAYS be the first choice, because believe it or not, a lot of people out there (including myself) like the experience of seeing a good movie at the theaters, and not only that, but it gives you an idea of whether or not you might like the movie enough to own it on DVD or not.

Not only that, but also in most cases, a new DVD release costs more than seeing the actual movie in theaters (NOT including those goodies like popcorn, chocolate bars, sodas, et cetera), so if you buy the DVD and it turns out you don't like the movie, you just wasted $19 or more on something that'll end up just sitting there on your shelf for a long time.

Great Point i go to the movies a lot and really that is how i can tell that i want to buy the movie .
i hate to say it but there where serveral movies that i really wanted to see on the big screen and i did not make to see them there , but i am watching movies at the moment on the satilite movie stations, and i am happy to say that i liked some of them and i am going to buy the dvds to those at some time .
and that has been great for the ones that i missed because that way i know if i want the dvd or not that way .

One thing that , that i love to get food wize at the movies is a hot Dog my mom and i do that for lunch sometimes .

 

[Teheheman]

See, THAT is why you rent it on DVD first BEFORE you waste all that money on buying the movie. They have rental places that rent them for a buck or 2 for 2 days or something like that, so you watch it, and you don't like it, you only spent a buck or 2 instead of the 8-10 you WOULDA spent at the movies. That's the way I do it anyways.

Daniel

 

[D'Snowth]

So you don't like going to the theater at all?

 

[Teheheman]

Eh, it's alright, I mean, if you get free tickets to a movie that you woulda wanted to see anyways, I'd go. But other than that, I'd rather just rent it on DVD.

Daniel

 

[Winslow Leach]

I worked in a video store in the days before DVD. The store I worked at was a mom and pop franchise that was rapidly growing across the state. At its height, I believe we had close to 20 stores scattered around CT.

New movies came out every Tuesday (like today). Most new titles on videocassette cost about $100, but the store got a slight discount, as we obviously bought in bulk. That's $100 for a no-frills, basic videotape. No widescreen or extra features. Sometimes if a movie was really popular, like say, Independence Day or Men in Black, it came priced to own, so the consumer could purchase it as well.

In 3-6 months, the $100 videotapes would drastically go down in price to $19.95 or less, and you'd be able to buy it at your local K-Mart or Bradlee's. But the primary goal of the video business then was to rent.

Our store became the most popular out of 'em all (including the first store that opened, in another town). Eventually we expanded to add more video boxes on the shelves, and soon we had 15-20 copies of a new Hollywood blockbuster (sometimes more), and at least 5 copies of smaller, independent films.

One day a customer came in and asked the manager, "do you guys rent DVDs?" The manager explained to the customer that DVD was just a fad, something for techno-heads, and would never catch on. Videotape was here to stay!

Less than a year later, a tiny space in the store held several select DVD titles...but VHS was still dominant, and the studios were still charging an arm and a leg to retailers for titles like Dante's Peak and Daylight.

To make a long story short, about a year ago, the store I worked at sold off all their VHS tapes to make room for DVDs, which by now had overtaken cassettes. This past fall, the store actually was remodeled again...to less than half the size it was at its most popular.

Example: when I worked till midnight on weekends, the store was so big, I actually had to walk through it to make sure there was no one left inside. Today, you can stand at the checkout counter and get a view of the entire store.

The store I worked at is now closing, as are several others that cropped up through the 1990s. What was once a very profitable business that successfully kept its head above water battling the Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos is now closing many of its doors. And this was a business that was ranked #1 in the state for more than 15 years in a row! A store that was powerful enough to have celebrities like Dee Snider come in to promote his new movie and do a Q&A with fans.

So it seems people are more interested in buying these days (or renting online, instead of actually having to go OUT to a video store). Either that, or this particular chain of stores had financial problems; I don't know the reason why. The remaining stores in the state (about half now) have all gone digital, and sold or threw away their old videos. A lot of them are literally shrinking in size, since DVDs take up less space.

But I know people who have killer home theatre systems who haven't been to a movie theatre in years. They just buy movies all the time, and watch them on their own equipment.

Personally, I enjoy going to the theatre, preferably on opening night, and especially if its a guaranteed crowd-pleaser like Grindhouse, Casino Royale or Knocked Up. There's just so much...energy. You can't get that at home.

But I still have a gigantic DVD collection!

 

[Ilikemuppets]

That's interesting how that used to work. I have no idea new titles costs that much. You don't see them for that much to parches anymore like that. Especially with Wall-mart being so huge now, which takes up even less retail space for it's movies and has even fewer titles. But big chains also shut out most of the smaller independent chains that were around before that had a better selection. But downloading it the future and the end of it, You can't go further in quality, technology and convenience then that, All this HD, blue-ray stuff it more of a fad, But down loading will become more popular and out last all of it.