Catalogue/Foreign Films Blu-ray VS DVD

[DukeTogo84]

So I'm really curious to see what others might think about this.

Without giving away the title a certain film might be making it to the home media front, but there is a potential for it to be a DVD release only, due to Blu-rays costing more to manufacture.

The big question I have is do new releases of catalogue/foreign films typically sell better on DVD or Blu-ray? For example, Kino tends to release its film on both formats, but where does the film typically sell more? DVD or Blu-ray?

I would think that most of the sales would come from Blu-ray as most people who buy these type of films are cinephiles and would want to see the films with the best quality possible.

What does everyone think?

[AgentOrange]

Well I'd think if it's a catalog film it likely had a DVD release already, so in those cases I would assume something new to blu-ray would sell substantially better than a re-issue of a DVD (even if it's an "upgrade" to a previous DVD).

For those catalog films that are actually new to both DVD and blu-ray I would like to think the blu-ray, but sadly it isn't that obvious. I've seen plenty of claims that certain things (such as TV shows) sell better on DVD. This is mind boggling to me, but seems to reflect what some stores and studios choose to do with DVD only release of TV seasons and such.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

For those catalog films that are actually new to both DVD and blu-ray I would like to think the blu-ray, but sadly it isn't that obvious. I've seen plenty of claims that certain things (such as TV shows) sell better on DVD. This is mind boggling to me, but seems to reflect what some stores and studios choose to do with DVD only release of TV seasons and such.

Yeah, certain shows tend to sell better on DVD which has always been odd to me.

I've never seen any data on catalogue and foreign films though. Really curious to see how those sell with DVD VS Blu-ray.

[Thomas Irwin]

There are unfortunately, a lot of people still reluctant to move to Blu-ray, even with 4K becoming fairly firmly established. I know a few people who still own little beyond VHS. DVD probably wins due to the sheer proliferation of Walmart alone.

[monwobbbo]

impossible to answer without knowing what title. an obscure foreign title with a bit of a following would likely sell better on blu-ray whereas a well known film that would find it's way to walmart dump bins would likely do better on DVD. really depends on what audience a given title appeals to.

[shinobipopcorn]

If it's something that has a snowball's chance of being released in the first place, I'll take anything. My TV still does a good job of displaying VHS, so a DVD is the least of my problems.

[DukeTogo84]

So is there anyway of seeing numbers for catalogue films sales? I'm really curious to see the comparison between blu-ray and DVD figures.

[meremortal]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

So is there anyway of seeing numbers for catalogue films sales? I'm really curious to see the comparison between blu-ray and DVD figures.

Probably weak blu sales for deeper catalog titles without a strong cult following or a major studio classic with many fans. Some of the Anchor Bay/Starz movies from the 80s-90s are just now going out of stock like 4-5 years later and some folks have speculated those had low press runs of say 2000 or fewer. And sadly even some major blockbusters like Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia or As Good as it Gets did not even get a studio release and were instead limited edition Twilight Time titles.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by meremortal

Probably weak blu sales for deeper catalog titles without a strong cult following or a major studio classic with many fans. Some of the Anchor Bay/Starz movies from the 80s-90s are just now going out of stock like 4-5 years later and some folks have speculated those had low press runs of say 2000 or fewer. And sadly even some major blockbusters like Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia or As Good as it Gets did not even get a studio release and were instead limited edition Twilight Time titles.

So would you say most boutique labels tend to produce about 2000 copies or so? I know Twilight Does about 3000, but wondering about other smaller labels as well.

[meremortal]

3000 or fewer sounds about right. I know TT have gone as high as 5000 before. And in the old days of 'limited edition' dvds you'd sometimes see really high numbers like 100000, which I thought was pretty funny.