Everyone seems to have an opinion as to why DVD sales have cratered since hitting their peak in 2006, but no one’s looking at the obvious answer. Plunging sales have been blamed on piracy, competing technologies such as video games and low-priced rental outlets like Redbox … everything but the quality of the actual films.
First and foremost, I’m a movie lover. Nothing competes for my attention in this regard, including dollar rentals and the like. But I’m just not buying anywhere near the number of new releases I did just ten years ago. Obviously, this is anecdotal evidence, so make your own comparisons:
1998 — I purchased 15 of the top 20 money makers…
1999 — 18 of the top 20.
2000 — 16 of the top 20.
2001 — 14 of the top 20.
And nothing’s changed. My tastes are the same. I still enjoy and don’t regret a single purchase (well, maybe “Planet of the Apes” — but I keep watching thinking it will get better). Now flash-forward to the last few years and the numbers collapse:
2006 — 5 of the top 20.
2007 — 9 of the top 20.
2008 — 6 of the top 20
2009 — 6 of the top 20 (thus far, that I intend to purchase)
Box office attendance has been much steadier than DVD sales, so the crash in the home video market might have something to do with the “fool me once” rule. Gambling, sight unseen, on a night out at the movies is an American tradition — something to do — a kind of event. Purchasing the same film to take home with the idea of watching again and again is a completely different buyer’s decision, one where you ask yourself if you want to relive your theatrical experience.
In my case, increasingly, the answer’s been no, and in many cases, hell no.
Sometimes the simple answer really is the right one … or the one the industry just doesn’t want to face.
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