Weinstein Company signs exclusive rental deal with Blockbuster. BAD IDEA.

Michael Allred · 11-16-2006, 02:23 PM

http://www.dvdactive.com/news/indust...ntal-deal.html

Quote:

The Weinstein Company and Blockbuster have announced that all future theatrical and made-for-DVD movies (within the United States) will be made available for rental - exclusively - through Blockbuster's internet and store based outlets. This means that those who normally rent titles produced by The Weinstein Company will have to become a member of Blockbuster to continue doing this - Blockbuster has obtained a three year exclusivity period for each new title.

Exclusive titles will include: Bobby - starring Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Sharon Store, Elijah Wood and Lindsay Lohan; School for Scoundrels - starring Billy Bob Thornton; The Protector - a martial arts film starring Tony Jaa; Shut Up & Sing - a documentary following the Dixie Chicks recording their first album after the Iraq War; Miss Potter - the Beatrix Potter biopic starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor; Grindhouse - the double feature from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez; The Nanny Diaries - starring Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti; and Arthur and The Invisibles - the CGI animated family adventure.

This deal will not affect existing titles such as Lucky # Slevin - which has maintained a high position in the rental charts for recent months. Retail sales of all Weinstein titles will also remain unaffected and will continue to be distributed by Genius Products.

The agreement begins on January and is secured for the next four years. Blockbuster additionally plans to present a select range of The Weinstein Company movies through special displays in-store, and will arrange an agreement whereby if a particular title in the selection is out-of-stock then a free rental voucher will be provided to the customer.

Great idea.....NOT. The nearest Blockbuster is 30(+) minutes away and I'm not trekking THAT far for movies. This basically means that Weinstein flicks I'm really interested in, I'll have to see in theaters and if I like them, I'll just buy the DVD on release date. The other stuff will just have to go unseen until they hit the movie channels.

I'm curious though, will other movie studios follow the same path in the future? Say what if Warner Brothers signs a exclusive rental deal with Hollywood Video and FOX goes exclusive with Family Video, etc etc etc? Is this going to break down into individual tribes?

Why would the Weinstein company essentially limit their rental business to just ONE company knowing that a percentage of consumers will never see those films (for whatever reason....Blockbuster is too far away from them, they simply don't like that company, whatever.) The deal seems pretty narrow minded to me.

TravisR · 11-16-2006, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Allred

Why would the Weinstein company essentially limit their rental business to just ONE company knowing that a percentage of consumers will never see those films.

Blockbuster will get way more copies of each movie than they would have without this deal. They may even be selling more copies to Blockbuster than they would have to all the other rental outlets total. People will rent any title if there's alot of them (I guess they figure 'It must be good if they have this many copies') so it's a win for Blockbuster too.

Personally, I doubt you have to worry about other studios doing the same thing because the Weinstein company is doing it just to try to get more recognition for their titles and big studios don't need to worry about that.

Jon Martin · 11-16-2006, 02:35 PM

This is a HORRIBLE idea. I haven't been to a Blockbuster in years. And, quite honestly, those titles aren't enough for me to get a membership.

I'm staying with Netflix, and will just have to wait for cable if I want to see a film.

And just thought, what about independent video stores? This isn't fair to them.

One of the titles listed is Quentin Tarantino's GRINDHOUSE. All the independent stores that championed him, and where he once worked, won't be able to carry his latest film.

Aaron Silverman · 11-16-2006, 03:57 PM

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Originally Posted by Jon Martin

I'm staying with Netflix, and will just have to wait for cable if I want to see a film.

Don't forget about the 3-year window. If you're still interested after 3 years, the titles will show up on Netflix.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Martin

And just thought, what about independent video stores? This isn't fair to them.

Oh yeah, Blockbuster is ALL ABOUT being fair to independent video stores.

Heathen · 11-16-2006, 04:17 PM

Not only is this just plain stupid on just about every front, it is practically impossible with them being out for sell-through. All one has to do is go to their nearest Wal-Mat or Best Buy and purchase items for their stores. Hell, even Net-Flix can take this route if they so deemed. If I were head of Net-Flix, I'd develop a plan to get those titles from sell-through outlets. There is nothing Blockbuster or Weinstein can do about it either (It's call the First Sale Doctrine)... It just adds a minute level of complexity for stocking individual stores. Other than that, it should be business as usual.

**HTF Ads**

Aaron Silverman · 11-16-2006, 04:59 PM

First Sale Doctrine doesn't allow you to rent things out; it means that you can sell them outright. There's a big difference. Those sell-through copies will not be legally rentable.

Stephen_J_H · 11-16-2006, 05:32 PM

All the more reason video rental is going down the toilet....
I haven't been in a Blockbuster in nearly 4 years; I'd rather go to Rogers Video. They usually have a better selection, and their prices are more reasonable, as is their version of "No Late Fees."

Mark Kalzer · 11-16-2006, 05:46 PM

Yeah this is a just plain stupid idea. I highly doubt it has any effect in Canada since Weinstien's products are distributed through Alliance (Finally, having Alliance counts for something) but still the principle applies. I always had a bit more respect for the Weinstein's...what a dissapointment. Way to not stick out for the little guy. Do they think that any of these video store clerk filmmakers they flaunt so much didn't come from mom and pop shops?