DVDs downward spiral

Thirty years ago, box office receipts amounted to 55 percent of the worldwide revenue coming to movie studios. Today, box office accounts for only 20 percent of the pie and DVD sales account for a whopping 59 percent of studio revenues.

That's why the drastic decline in DVD sales is sending shocks through the industry. According to the trade magazine Variety, DVD sales dropped 11 percent last year. DVDs that were expected to perform well, such as "The Dark Knight" and the latest "Indiana Jones" all fell way below expectations. The obvious reason for this is the slumping ecomony but there are others who say it is more than that.

One culprit, interestingly, is Blue Ray, which has emerged as the winner in the high-definition DVD sweepstakes. Apparently, while the average consumer saw a major difference between videotapes and DVDs, they are not seeing the differences between regular DVDs and Blue Ray. The prices on regular DVDs are being discounted out of a belief more consumers are turning to Blue Ray, a turn that hasn't yet materialized. As a result, DVD revenues are down. It is also believed on-line downloading has cannibalized DVD sales.

So what does this mean? As far as I'm concerned, it's not a pleasant outlook. Studios may just want to release their major theatrical product on DVD and hold up on those that only enjoyed limited releases, which are often the movies I really want to see, films like the magnificent "4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days." I'm hoping this doesn't happen, but when the industry is controlled by bean counters instead of artistic types, who knows what these devils might do.