Hi,
Can you tell me if there is a mandated time (in Australia) between movie release in cinemas and release as a DVD? And, if so, how long is the time between?
Thanks,
Tammy.
Gidday Tammy
There is no mandated time, it's all up to the distributor who is trying to make as much money as possible. Usually they balance the memory factor of having seen a movie and wanting to own a copy with the excitement factor of having to wait to get a copy. These days the usual equation is 3-4 months from cinematic release to DVD rental to DVD retail. With smaller movies the DVD will often hit shelves as a dual rental/retail release.
Kenny took a long time to go to DVD because it was a bit of a sleeper, increasing its movie audience as the theatrical season progressed. (Movies usually open big the decrease as time goes by.)
As it is in Heaven (Så som i himmelen) took over a year to go to DVD because it was doing big box office outside the capital cities and with a limited number of prints it took a long time to tour the regional centres.
Uncontrollable events can also bring a release forward (or, ironically, delay it), such as the movie winning a prestigious film festival/award or a terrorist attack (September 11 affected a lot of films which were re-written to avoid offending various sensibilities).
Ultimately, the biggest factor is always "How can we make the most money from this release?"