View Full Version : £24.99 R2 DVDs
craig@rewind
29-10-2001, 13:39
What was the story behind There's Something About Mary from FOX and Austin Powers 2 from EiV? Both of these were single disc releases and had an RRP of £24.99. However, these were the only titles released at this higher price. The sales figures showed they sold well so why did they choose to only release 1 title at this higher price point?
Don't get me wrong, I am glad they are now £19.99 (should be no more than this for 1 disc releases) or lower but I was just wondering.
Bapapapa
29-10-2001, 13:43
Eh?
Did you not take your medication this morning?
Single disc releases shouldn't be any more than £14.99. Double-disc releases shouldn't be any more than £17.99 in my opinion.
I haven't paid £19.99 for a single disc release for quite a while now.
craig@rewind
29-10-2001, 13:58
There was nothing wrong with what I have just posted.
Why did these publishers decide to release 2 titles at £24.99 and no other ones? They sold loads so they must have been pleased with the results so I wonder why they chose these 2 and why they didn't release anymore?
charlie angel
29-10-2001, 15:03
On a related note, I'm sure Fox first released Titanic for £29.99 on R2 :eek:
craig@rewind
29-10-2001, 15:04
You're right! I had forgotten about that bare bones non-anamorphic travesty!
these titles were released at a time when dvd was still not a huge consumer market in the UK. Both companies released the highly popular titles at this price to compensate for any possible loss of rental revenue. Obviously people weren't interested either way at that price so down they came
Cap'n Al
29-10-2001, 20:06
For whatever reason, it's become the norm for a 2-disc set to retail at £24.99 (Castaway and Unbreakable being just the latest examples); of course, it's always possible to pick them up for less in their R1 versions.
Originally posted by craig@rewind
What was the story behind There's Something About Mary from FOX and Austin Powers 2 from EiV? Both of these were single disc releases and had an RRP of £24.99. However, these were the only titles released at this higher price. The sales figures showed they sold well so why did they choose to only release 1 title at this higher price point?
Don't get me wrong, I am glad they are now £19.99 (should be no more than this for 1 disc releases) or lower but I was just wondering.
With Fox:
It happened when Fox entered the UK DVD market, they thought they could get away with charging us £24.99 (MSRP) for their single disc release. (I think it was TSAM and Titanic that were priced at this level)
It backfired on them when a massive boycott of their dvds was organised via the net, this also included some stores refusing to carry stock of the discs.
With EiV:
There's Something About Mary was released as at a low rental price of £24.99 (EiV were experimenting with a rental window), a couple of months after the release the RRP was dropped to £19.99 when the announced the retail version. They decided not to continue the rental window system when they saw the boycott of Fox.
Cornelius
29-10-2001, 21:07
This was early in the life of dvd, there weren't that many players around and owned mostly by early adopters. Couple that with the fact there weren't that many good titles around and you have a sellers market. Both Fox and EIV probably thought they could charge a premium for what were very popular films, in the case of Fox the most successful film at the box office. Fox miscalculated because Titanic was a 'chick flick' and dvd players were big boys toys and never the twain did meet. Perhaps they thought dvd would be a niche product like laserdisc and so tried to charge a higher price but the mass market appeal of dvd put paid to that.
SqueakyG
29-10-2001, 21:31
Yeah, I remember this. About a year ago when I got into DVD, most discs were 14.99 or 19.99. I noticed that for some odd reason, There's Something About Mary was £24.99, and I wondered why the hell it was so expensive. Oh well.
But Austin Powers 2 went through a long phase when it was £9.99 in most shops. It's back to full price now though.
dean richardson
30-10-2001, 10:09
didnt fight club, (also from fox) have a £24.99 rrp. I remember laughing at that ridiculous price in hmv a few months back.
the only reason we are getting discs @ 15 ish pounds is the internet, forcing prices down. I mean how many people still buy discs (not in a sale) from either virgin or hmv. until recently they thought £20 is fair for a disc.:(
Originally posted by dean richardson
I mean how many people still buy discs (not in a sale) from either virgin or hmv.
I'd have thought a large amount of people still do. Many more than buy online.
Or did you mean how many people on these forums? In which case very few I'd have thought apart from for when they just can't wait that 1 extra day for it to arrive ;)
samuelowens
30-10-2001, 11:05
Crumbs - 25 quid for a disc (but how many stores charge full whack anyway?).
In Australia at the moment, There's Something About Mary is currently selling for 25 dollars (and can be had for less).
My how times change (for the better).
I remember buying my first DVD almost 3 years ago now...
The negotiator I think...
It was £15.99 - I remember that much and I watched it on my computer......
Oh how times change - you can get that for less than a tenner!
:eek:
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2012, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.