DVD/VHS Creates Second Shot For Box Office Losers
March 11, 2003
When I first came to The Numbers website, it was to follow
up and track the box office dollars a particular movie was bringing in.
More to
the point, as an admitted Trekkie, I was praying at my alter of Rodenburry in
hopes that the latest installment of the Trek Franchise, Star Trek: Nemesis
was doing well enough in theaters to warrant yet another sequel. Unfortunately
this was not the case and having only made a measly $43,119,879 to date, my
prayers for a Star Trek: The Search for Data follow up was dashed. I knew
that in today’s production houses, if a film doesn’t net around a $100,000,000
in theaters…then that’s pretty much it for any subsequent incarnations…At
least…that is how it used to be.
Let me throw out a few random box office numbers for you. Now, other then modest box office numbers…what do all of these movies share in
common? These movies all range the gambit of genera’s from comedy, to horror,
to Urban Comedy to Action Adventure. They all were released from various movie
houses and they all were released at different times. However, the most
important thing these films share in common, is the fact that despite their
sorry showings in the theaters, each have spawned sequels…and they aren’t
alone.
It seems
that despite poor box office numbers, certain films can enjoy a second wind
thanks to strong DVD/VHS sales and rental numbers. Often, strong after market
sales can double or even triple a movie's profit margin. A trend enjoyed not
just by a few lucky box office weaklings, but also enjoyed by those certain
movies that already were box office powerhouses, sometimes making more in
opening weekend home video sales and
rentals than they did in opening weekend at the theaters. A very recent example
of this being X-Men
, which brought in over $157 million domestically. Subsequent
video sales netted over $60 million - more then opening weekend in the theaters and enough to even generate a DVD re-release early this year ahead of the sequel.
More
importantly, high volume video rentals and sales for the weaker movies can
create the fan base it couldn’t gather in theaters, sometimes snowballing into
block-busting sequels. Here are the numbers for 2 of the larger-grossing
sequels of the films listed above:
With
figures like those, its no wonder studios are giving a second a look to flicks
that flicker out in theaters, but burn bright on home media.
Pat Moran, an analyst at Alexander and Associates in New
York City states "word of mouth has a stronger presence than it does at
the box office because videos are out longer than films are, typically… If
people praise a movie they saw three months ago on video, their friends can
still go out and rent it."
With videos and DVDs continuingly dropping in price, and home
theaters a growing trend, Moran goes on to say, "Video and DVD rentals and
sales are a deciding factor when it comes to making sequels."
Assuming all factors remain the same, perhaps this Trekkie
will see his Star Trek franchise revisited after all.
George W. Horta III
Austin
Powers US Gross $53,883,989
Jeepers
Creepers
US Gross $37,903,067
Shanghai Noon US Gross $56,932,305
Friday US Gross $27,391,242
007: License To
Kill US Gross $34,667,015
007: Die Another Day US Gross $160,728,203
Austin Powers in
Goldmember US Gross $213,079,163
Source: www.cnn.com
Filed under: Star Trek: Nemesis