A lot of movies are getting a second chance for success on video and DVD:
- Films that failed to come close to the $100 million mark in theaters can sometimes catch their second wind in DVD and video sales and rentals. Comedies "Office Space" (1999) and Ice Cube's "Friday" are examples of second-wind flicks.
"Films offered in limited release and only marginally promoted, and films with dark or heady messages that studios think audiences can't handle" are other examples of rental films that can hit it big the second time around, says Jim Farrelly, director of the film minor program at the University of Dayton.
....Studios count on these second chances. VHS and DVD rental and retail count for the largest percentage of a studio's revenues, according to Randy Hargrove at Blockbuster's corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
"Renting a movie is less a commitment than going out to a movie," Hargrove says.
Video and DVD rentals and sales are "a deciding factor when it comes to making sequels," says Pat Moran, an analyst at Alexander and Associates in New York City. He says studio heads would have never been interested in making "Shanghai Knights" (2003) with Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan if "Shanghai Noon" (2000) had not caught their attention with cash made from video and DVD sales and rentals.
Similarly, 1989's "Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!" would never have emerged from the "dark side" if 1983's first "Eddie" flick had not done so well on video, observes Keith Simanton, managing editor at IMDb.com, adding that the "Eddie" sequel may have been the first major second-wind movie.
Even blockbusters can arise from video success. "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" did reasonably well at the box office in 1997 but made a killing when it became available to rent, prompting two increasingly successful sequels.
Article comments
1 - Steve Rhodes
While DVDs are cheap, not every one you want to see is worth buying. That is why places like netflix and Greencine.com (which I write for) are so great. For a flat fee, you can rent as many DVDs as you want and no late fees.