Amazon Launches ‘Prime Cinema’ for Early Digital Movie Releases (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Ronald Epstein submitted a new blog post

Amazon Launches ‘Prime Cinema’ for Early Digital Movie Releases

Continue reading the Original Blog Post.

 

[Cranston37+]

Once the genie is out of the bottle...

 

[dpippel]

Once the genie is out of the bottle...

You've got that right. Also, I think that the terms "In-Theater Rental" and "In-Theater Purchase" are both poorly worded.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Man, there is no way I'll pay $20 to rent a movie. I understand that movie tickets cost a lot more money than where I'm at, so people might be fine with that price point.

 

[Edwin-S]

"Onward" is going to be on D+ in 13 days. I think I can wait that long and save 20 bucks, probably more like 30 in Canada.

 

[dpippel]

Man, there is no way I'll pay $20 to rent a movie. I understand that movie tickets cost a lot more money than where I'm at, so people might be fine with that price point.

Yeah, I think that's going to be a hard sell for a lot of people. The price needs to come down before I'll bite.

 

[Cranston37+]

"Onward" is going to be on D+ in 13 days. I think I can wait that long and save 20 bucks, probably more like 30 in Canada.

Onward is a little different than the other titles though in that it's a purchase, not a rental...

 

[Malcolm R]

Yep, way too high for purchase or rental, regardless of how "new" the title may be. Not going to rent for $20, and not going to buy for $20. I've bought discs for $20, but with no materials costs and no shipping/packaging cost, digital sales should be priced lower.

 

[Cranston37+]

Man, there is no way I'll pay $20 to rent a movie. I understand that movie tickets cost a lot more money than where I'm at, so people might be fine with that price point.

Yeah, I think that's going to be a hard sell for a lot of people. The price needs to come down before I'll bite.

I personally have no interest in these titles, but I think at $20 they are priced right.

$20 is about what I'd pay for a ticket and popcorn at the theater, and that is also for one viewing only. If I was interested in the movie, I can't lie - I'd rather stay home and watch in my theater than go out.

It's also a great deal if you have multiple people watching. For a family of 4 it would be a steal. Or if you have a few roommates who could each Apple Pay you $5 it's also a great deal for everybody.

 

[dpippel]

I personally have no interest in renting these for $20, but I think they are priced right.

$20 is about that I'd pay for a ticket and popcorn at the theater, and that is also for one viewing only. It's also a great deal if you have multiple people watching. For a family of 4 it would be a steal. Or if you have a few roommates who could each Apple Pay you $5 it's also a great deal.

The difference for me is that when I spend $20-$25 at a theater, I'm paying for the big screen experience. That same price point doesn't fly at home for a rental on a 65" display.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I personally have no interest in these titles, but I think at $20 they are priced right.

$20 is about that I'd pay for a ticket and popcorn at the theater, and that is also for one viewing only. If I was interested in the movie, I can't lie - I'd rather stay home and watch in my theater than go out.

It's also a great deal if you have multiple people watching. For a family of 4 it would be a steal. Or if you have a few roommates who could each Apple Pay you $5 it's also a great deal.

Yeah, but they're not supplying the popcorn at home. Anyhow, how others spend their monies is their business, but I'm not doing it.

 

[Cranston37+]

How about I put it this way - since none of these rentals came in place of a theatrical release and I am very happy to have the option available.

 

[Robert Crawford]

How about I put it this way - since none of these rentals came in place of a theatrical release and I am very happy to have the option available.

If it works for you that's fine, if it doesn't work for me that's fine too.

 

[Traveling Matt]

There's still very little out there about this, and one article said Amazon didn't reply to requests for comment. And older titles are available thru the service too. So it looks to me like another temporary adjustment for now.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I've posted to this effect before, but when I look at my monthly cable bill (including some premium channels) I sort of feel like I've already payed for these films. I just have to wait awhile to see them.

Can't see myself paying $20.00 for a rental. But like Robert said, everyone is free to make their decisions about their money. If I had a large family then it would probably make more sense to use a rental vs. the price of theatrical admission for a large family group. But that is not my situation.

- Walter.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

If it was something I really wanted to see and had nothing else to do, or really needed that break from reality, I could see myself being interested. Any of the titles that would clear that bar for me are already out for home viewing at normal prices, though.

The other factor I hate to acknowledge but is clearly there is: I’m not getting paid at the moment. It’s unclear if a government stimulus will be passed to send cash directly to civilians. So I probably shouldn’t be spending any money except for food, necessarily household and medical supplies, and rent and utility bills. Right now it seems fine to throw $20 at something for a fun break. There may come a time where that’s a luxury that can’t be afforded.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Most of us here probably have extensive Blu-ray collections that we've already paid for over years of buying discs.

When I want a fun break, I'll just put on one of those. There's no need to spend additional money on a higher-priced rental.

 

[TravisR]

So the consensus here from big movie fans who still spend money to own movies is that $20 for a brand new movie is too high. I wonder how that price will go over with the general public who just watch movies on their iPad as a distraction? I think the theaters are safe.

 

[TonyD]

Comcast has this on their service too so what it looks like to me is that all the providers are putting their own name on each one and making it look like it was their own idea and their own thing.

comcast is calling it Xfinity Movie Premiere.
Apple seems to just be calling it home premiere.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Right. All of the providers are giving it a fancy name to take advantage of the fact that the studios are disregarding theatrical windowing for the first time due to the coronavirus. But they're all the same movies for all the same price points at all the different services. There's nothing different about what you get if you rent from Amazon versus Apple or Vudu. It's just about branding it with a marketing name that makes it sound fancy.

Of the studios, I think Disney provided the most value, because they are making Onward available for immediate purchase at the standard price point for a new release, rather than a high-priced rental. If I were interested in making a purely digital purchase, I would do that now with no hesitation. Since I want the disc, I don't feel the need to buy it digitally now and then again later when the disc becomes available. But if someone wants to own it digitally, that provides a much better deal for the consumer than a ridiculously overpriced rental fee.