In bad news for movie studios, spending on home entertainment sales and rentals dropped in the first half of 2007 by 4.8 percent, to end at $10 billion for the first half of the year. Rentals for videos themselves decreased by 3.3 percent, finishing at $3.8 billion.
Overall sales for the industry dropped by 6.5 percent to end up at $6.2 billion said Marketingcharts, citing Video Business research.
The overall box office for the first half was down by 5 percent from last year for DVDs released, while those topping box-office receipts of $100 million or more were also down from last year.
Still the news wasn't bad for everybody, as Fox, Lionsgate and Paramount Home Entertainment all gained market share, with Fox gaining to reach the No. 2 position with a 17 percent share. Sony grew by 40 percent in catalog sales to take the No. 3 position behind Fox.
For the first time, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc sales outperformed VHS in the half.
Too much inventory, netflix, and uncertainty about the HD formats are the driving force behind the decline in DVD sales. Jeffrey Stockton
Posted by: Jeffrey Stockton | October 4, 2007 10:17 PM | Permalink to Comment