Unsuccesful Films' DVDs Cost Too Much (1 Viewer)

[Adam W]

I don't understand why movies that didn't make that much money at the box office cost so much on DVD. I had to pay 28.99 for Harrison's Flowers and 25.99 for The Believer. If they want more people to buy these movies or at least see them why aren't they cheaper. Even worse, Harrison's Flowers was bare bones. Can someone explain to me where these prices come from.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Welcome to HTF!

If you read the descriptions of the various forums, you'll see that DVD questions belong in the Software section. I'm moving this thread there now.

M.

 

[Justin1]

Well, it's pretty simple. No theater sales="a flop". Flops cost studios money out of their budgets. Once budgets are negative, cash flow becomes an issue. Marketing a DVD and discounting it for retailers becomes a problem. Doing this would require more money being possibly lost. Therefore, the studios will rarely take the increased short term loss in hopes of breaking even long term. On the flipside, flops don't sell good in ads for retailers. Even running great deals on flops won't bring business into the stores. Therefore, the stores aren't generating large purchase orders. All in all, nobody wants to step up to the plate and bite the bullet with an unproven product.

 

[Adam W]

I somewhat understand that a little, but I was at Best Buy and I saw Buffalo Soldiers advertised and on sale for 19.99 and was excited to see a movie that didn't make any money for a good price. Was this movie different or just a change in the way studios are now marketing more indie or movies that bombed?

 

[Dick]

Hmmm... THE BELIEVER has a retail price of $24.99, so it looks like you got screwed. Typically titles with this list price can be had for twenty bucks or less online.

 

[Kami]

I hear ya. I remember when Donnie Darko first came out, the price was outrageous....then about a year later or so they released it again and it was dirt cheap, about 1/3 its previous price in stores!

 

[CraigF]

Yeah, I've often thought it's a delicate balance with pricing of non-hits at the box office. You'd think they'd want to recover as much money as they can and price cheap, but that's not what happens. And then there's big name flops, like Gigli, which we all know will eventually be in the bargain bin with the rest of its ilk, but still they price it highish when new. The decent movies that didn't do the BO seem to stay priced high unless they become cult films, like a good portion of the Criterion line, so pricing high can work too. Possibly the pricing of flops with big name actors has a lot to do with the royalties the actors have to be paid.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Deep Discount DVD is selling The Believer for about $17.

For comparison shopping, the site www.dvdpricesearch.com is a useful tool to check the online prices of currently available or announced titles.

For catalog or non-mainstream films, you will generally find less expensive pricing online than at large retailers.

 

[Paul Arnette]

An interesting thread that reinforces an opinion that I have been forming for sometime.

However, shouldn't the title of this thread be:

"Unsuccesful Film's DVDs Cost Too Much"

rather than

"Unsuccesful DVD's cost too much"

I think editing the title would give people a better idea of what's being discussed.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I always wonder how many of those B-movies on laserdisc from Image got sold at $39.99 each.

 

[Adam W]

As far as I know, you can not edit the title of the forum. I realized the title of the forum was wrong as soon as one person posted a reply.
I also thought of another movie that wasn't even in theaters but sells cheap: Boondock Saints is only 9.99, and the Dancer Upstairs sells for only 14.99. yet Confessions of a Dangerous Mind cost me 23.99 on sale!

 

[Michael Reuben]

I assume you mean "the title of the thread". If you want a thread title changed, please contact a moderator by email or private message.

However, I take it from your response that Paul Arnette's rephrasing is acceptable and have changed the title accordingly (w/corrected punctuation).

M.

 

[Brian E]

Are you buying at Suncoast or another retailer that charges full MSRP? Best Buy only want $19.99 for Confessions as their regular price. It's also a Buena Vista title & overall their titles cost more than stuff from other studios.

 

[Daniel`D]

I'm with everybody on this. I think they should be cheper even when they first come out. I even thought about picking up Gigli but when I saw that it was 19.98 I knew that I would never buy until it was at the most, $11!

 

[Thomas T]

I guess I'm an odd duck when it comes to DVD pricing. If I REALLY want a film that I REALLY love I don't wan't to wait, I don't care what it costs. I'll pay through the nose to get it. I don't want to comparison shop, I want it right now! On movies that I want but aren't that excited about, I'll wait and look for the best price. On the other hand, if I don't like a film, I wouldn't pay 99 cents for it!

One of my best friends and I are DVD junkies and we often go DVd hunting together. Invariably, he heads off to the used or discount bins first while I head off to the new releases section. He's always chiding me for paying full price yet his shelves are crowded with the worst B movie garbage because "it was only $6.99" etc.