Would You Pay $30 for a New Release Movie?

Before you try to answer that question, it might help to appreciate the entire scenario. Would you pay $30 for a brand-spanking new release – as in, not even available on DVD or Blu-ray – via an on-demand service? Oh, and it should be emphasized that this would be a $30 rental… gone once you watch it, or gone after the predetermined amount of time.

This idea surfaced due to the fact that DVD sales are dwindling, and the movie companies, desperate to make an honest buck, thought that giving people the chance to watch a brand-new movie from the comfort of their own home prior to an official disc release, would be desirable. That it is… but $30? That’s going to be a hard sell, especially since it’s little more than a rental.

For those who tend to watch movies with groups of friends, the fee might not seem like too bad of a deal. After all, it’s not uncommon for large groups of friends to get together to watch Pay-Per-View content and have the costs split up amongst everyone. But generally speaking, PPV content that people tend to group together for are special events, not a simple movie. You’d have to imagine that for movies, a common “large” group would be six-ish people.

Regardless of that kind of analysis, $30 would no doubt be of interest to some people, while it’s not at all for others. Personally, I am never that impatient when it comes to new release movies, and generally I have no problem waiting for months after a release to pick up a movie I want… it’s not as though we’re in a drought and there aren’t a billion other movies out there to watch. But that’s just me.

Would YOU pay $30 for a “pre-release” rental? I could see some instances where I could consider it, but I think it’d be a rare day when I’d actually go through with it.

As noted by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, movie studios are hesitant to shorten the typical 120-day post-theater-debut window, but they’re also looking for new ways to make up for the decline in DVD sales. After all, there was a 10 percent increase in box office spending year-over-year in the US in 2009, while there was a 13 percent decrease in DVD sales. The studios are interested in finding that sweet spot where they can take advantage of viewers who don’t like the theater, but also want to see a movie soon after it comes out.