Why don't theatres sell DVDs?

[Michael Wisniewski]

Profit would seem to be such a big motivator. Odd isn't it that most theatres don't sell DVDs/CDs of current movies.

[Andrew Wills]

I think that would be a great way of upping their profit levels.

They could sell DVDs in the foyer (like they're planning or have done with Soderberghs 'Bubble'). Normal price, but if you produce the cinema ticket of the film your purchasing on DVD you get the ticket price taken off.

Personally I would love a deal like that.

I love buying films on DVD, I have nearly a huge collection with no duplicates (apart from some special editions). But I also love going to the cinema.

Lately though going to the cinema annoys me for a few reasons.

First the cost. Second the people. Third the fact that eventually I'm going to buy it on DVD. So a film needs to have some kind of spectacle aspect to it that DVD can't reproduce, such as King Kong, Star Wars, Sin City or Serenity (the three films I saw last year at the cinema).

If the DVD's were sold in the foyer after the film I would purchase them straight away to save the money, and it would encourage me to go the cinema more, I get to see the film on the big screen, then buy it for cheaper to watch again and again at my own pace on the small screen.

If theatres adapted to that kind of model it would really encourage me to go the cinema more often.

I don't see what harm it would cause.

Maybe they could delay general shop release until after the films run at the theatre too (4-5 weeks or so), which would prevent people buying it in the shops.

[K. Forman]

It seems kind of foolish for them to sell the DVD, when there will be a Director's Special Unrated DVD in another month.

[Boyd Ostroff]

Originally Posted by Andrew Wills

Normal price, but if you produce the cinema ticket of the film your purchasing on DVD you get the ticket price taken off.

Personally I would love a deal like that.

Heh, considering what they sell concessions for at the theatre, do you really think they would sell DVD's at a discount price? :-) I agree that it's an interesting concept however.

BTW, I read an article in the business news which said WalMart is the largest seller of DVD's in the US. Actually I find it unbelievable that you can go there and dig through their big bargain bin and get DVD's for $5. I've bought a bunch of really good films that way for my own collection.

[J. Stephen McDonald]

The way I envision the selling of recorded movies to individuals is like this: At some time ahead, maybe sooner than we'd like to think, corporations, including the entertainment industry, will completely dominate the world. They will implant control chips in our brains and solid-state memory modules in our abdomens. For a price, they will download movies into our memory units and we can play them internally by reciting the activation codes. We will lie back, closing our eyes, while they run through our brains. Each time we watch them, a fee will be deducted from our bank accounts. Each month, we will be required to stand in a "scanning zone", where the tally of our charges will be read. Of course, we will have no output ports, from which we could share our purchases with others. This is the logical extension of anti-copy systems that are used in our equipment today. There will also be blocking codes that will keep us from talking about the plots, so as not to discourage our friends from buying them. Those who evade having the chips implanted and remain "native", will have no access to any electronic entertainment or information. Since most people will have the chips, they will spend almost all of their free time in this internal viewing mode and will be no fun at all, with which to play. Come to think about it, a lot of folks are pretty much like that, already.