(High-Def Digest) - While a quick turnaround for Blu-ray
and DVD releases may please consumers, theater owners are
calling foul.
Paramount has sparked the ire of the North Association of
Theater Owners (NATO) with the incredibly quick release of
a pair of films to home video. The release dates in
question involve 'The Goods,' starring Jeremy Piven, and
'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra' (Amazon.com:
http://xrl.us/RiseCobra ) starring a lot of people who
should have known better.
Falling only 88 days after the theatrical release, these
movies beat the 129 day industry average by over a full
month. When considering that 'G.I Joe' in particular had a
fairly long tail, this window seems even shorter. The worry
from NATO of course, is that these quick releases will mean
a decrease in theater revenue.
Ellis Jacob of Cineplex believes that consumers will be
less likely to see movies at the theater if availability
increases. “We at Cineplex have invested a lot of money in
our theaters and in new technology such as 3D,” he says.
“So when something like this happens, it creates an issue
with people from the standpoint of entertainment choices.
If a guest of ours knows a movie is going to be on DVD in
less than 90 days, then they know that if they miss it they
can catch it on DVD not too much later.”
NATO president John Fithian took a less diplomatic tact,
saying “Our members are ballistic. We don't know what
Paramount is up to, but it's highly objectionable.”
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