SultanOfWhat
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2012
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- Real Name
- Matt
The DVD Biz Has Circled the Drain for Years. In 2024, It Goes Down the Tubes
[Excerpts]
DEG did not publish the exact split of Physical Product between sales and rentals, but rough estimates can be calculated based on the existing information. DVD rentals in 2022 were $502.35 million, so assuming the “more than 50%” decline in rentals from 2022 means roughly 55% of that number, that puts physical rentals revenue for 2023 around $225 million.
If you subtract that number from Physical Product (roughly $1.6 billion), that leaves 2023 physical DVD sales at around $1.36 billion — a 16% decline from 2022.
VIP+ projects 2024 will be the first year the DVD will be a sub-billion-dollar business. Truth be told, it could have very well crossed that benchmark this year had it not been for the successful Blu-ray release of “Oppenheimer” in the fourth quarter.
It’s easy to picture home video enthusiasts meticulously sorting through shelves of Criterion and Kino Lorber releases. But per DEG’s findings, the health of home entertainment is inextricably linked to the same films that lead the box-office charts.
This has bleak implications for the home market in 2024. Last year’s strikes pushed most of Disney’s intended slate and others to 2025, while hands-down home hits such as another “Spider-Verse” sequel and a new Jordan Peele film remain undated. March’s “Dune 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” in July are sure bets, but otherwise dependable franchises, including “John Wick” and “Mad Max,” will see spinoff films bow this year in “Ballerina” and “Furiosa,” respectively, making them tougher guesses among decades-late sequels to “Gladiator” and “Twister.”
For its part, DEG acknowledges the cloud the 2024 box office will cast over the DVD marketplace in this year’s report, stating, “Announced delays in 2024 theatrical releases due to the Hollywood strikes may have an adverse impact in the next few quarters.”
All in all, it’s going to make for a humbling final-stage collapse for a product that was once the toast of Hollywood. Introduced in 1996 as a digital, higher-quality replacement to the analog VHS tape, the DVD experienced an exponential rise in its heyday similar to what streaming is enjoying today.
[Excerpts]
DEG did not publish the exact split of Physical Product between sales and rentals, but rough estimates can be calculated based on the existing information. DVD rentals in 2022 were $502.35 million, so assuming the “more than 50%” decline in rentals from 2022 means roughly 55% of that number, that puts physical rentals revenue for 2023 around $225 million.
If you subtract that number from Physical Product (roughly $1.6 billion), that leaves 2023 physical DVD sales at around $1.36 billion — a 16% decline from 2022.
VIP+ projects 2024 will be the first year the DVD will be a sub-billion-dollar business. Truth be told, it could have very well crossed that benchmark this year had it not been for the successful Blu-ray release of “Oppenheimer” in the fourth quarter.
It’s easy to picture home video enthusiasts meticulously sorting through shelves of Criterion and Kino Lorber releases. But per DEG’s findings, the health of home entertainment is inextricably linked to the same films that lead the box-office charts.
This has bleak implications for the home market in 2024. Last year’s strikes pushed most of Disney’s intended slate and others to 2025, while hands-down home hits such as another “Spider-Verse” sequel and a new Jordan Peele film remain undated. March’s “Dune 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” in July are sure bets, but otherwise dependable franchises, including “John Wick” and “Mad Max,” will see spinoff films bow this year in “Ballerina” and “Furiosa,” respectively, making them tougher guesses among decades-late sequels to “Gladiator” and “Twister.”
For its part, DEG acknowledges the cloud the 2024 box office will cast over the DVD marketplace in this year’s report, stating, “Announced delays in 2024 theatrical releases due to the Hollywood strikes may have an adverse impact in the next few quarters.”
All in all, it’s going to make for a humbling final-stage collapse for a product that was once the toast of Hollywood. Introduced in 1996 as a digital, higher-quality replacement to the analog VHS tape, the DVD experienced an exponential rise in its heyday similar to what streaming is enjoying today.