Hollywood Studios Pushing for $30 Home Rentals of Newly Released Movies
Several Hollywood studios have been considering offering movie rentals of freshly theater premiered movies to those who want to watch it from the comfort of their homes instead. Napster Founder Sean Parker has floated the idea last year, suggesting a $50 fee for same day rental for a movie premiere. He has received mixed reactions from everyone in the movie industry with some saying that the move will be catastrophic for movie theater profits as it will cut directly with their viewership.
Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg, as well as J.J. Abrams however, support the idea, with Jackson stating in an interview with Variety that this could attract a whole set of new viewers which do not go to the cinema.
Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujiharahad a similar idea as Sean Parker but with a 17-day delay from the movie theater premiere date. Many however, thought that the $50 asking price was too high considering the almost 3-week delay so a more palatable $30 might be more realistic. Both Warner Bros. and Fox approve of the idea and also are working towards shortening the release of home versions as DVD/Blu-Ray sales continue to dwindle. Lionsgate, Paramount and Sony are also considering the idea, but Disney Studios expressed zero interest in shortening the release window.
