Warner sees profit in pricey DVD mega-sets
HOME MEDIA EXPO: Harry Potter, others coming in Q4
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 7/17/2007
JULY 17 | LAS VEGAS—Summer blockbusters get a lot of the buzz in the fourth quarter on DVD, but Warner Home Video believes retail also will find deluxe box sets particularly valuable because of their relatively richer profit margins—and at the studio’s Monday night reception here, retailers agreed.
At the event for key retailers, Warner showed off 14 such DVD collections that the studio will make available for retail this fourth quarter. Since many of these multiple-disc sets are lavishly packaged and include exclusive add-ons, they carry pricing of $100 to $200 or more. Sets will include Harry Potter Years 1-5 Limited Edition Gift Set and The Gilmore Girls: The Complete Series.
“There are opportunities in the marketplace at a time when there is erosion in pricing,” said Jeff Baker, Warner senior VP and general manager of theatrical catalog and sales. “We are moving upwards in price" with the upcoming collections.
The high-end collections fit a new merchandising scheme rolled out in Circuit City stores in April this year.
“We re-merchandised the highest margin product into the highest trafficked areas of the stores,” said Leigh Ann Moore, Circuit City merchandise manager. “There are great margin opportunities when you put your best foot forward [with deluxe product offerings]. We have sold Troy as low as $6.99. And now this is another way to invest" in that title.
A Target buyer also praised Warner’s premium pricing initiative, explaining, “DVD collections are a great part of the overall business.”
Such DVD collector sets represented more than $500 million in consumer purchases last year, according to Warner research. Year-to-date, the category is 7% higher in sales than the same 2006 frame, the studio believes.
Baker also singled out Warner’s upcoming 25th anniversary Blade Runner releases, which include four-disc and five-disc configurations, as especially critical for the studio.
Taking Blade Runner and Harry together, “this will mean $40 million in consumer sales,” estimated Baker.
Title details
The Harry Potter set, priced at $119.97 standard-definition and $149.99 Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD, will hold the first five films including the most recent theatrical installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It represents the first time Warner has enhanced a Potter collection with exclusive memorabilia, which includes bookmarks and collectible trading cards.
The five-disc Blade Runner set is $78.92 and four-disc is $34.99. Blu-ray and HD DVD versions of the five-disc configuration also will be available day and date.
At $258.82, Gilmore Girls carries all seven seasons of the show packed into a collectible retro doll case. It features a 60-page booklet, among other items.
Exact street dates for Potter, Blade Runner and Gilmore Girls sets haven’t yet been specified.
Warner also is touting upcoming new versions of catalog releases, including the Sept. 18 bow of Troy Ultimate Collector’s Edition Director’s Cut, not yet seen in theaters, for $39.92.
Other top-line Warner collections heading to shelves during the holidays include The O.C.: The Complete Series (street date not set), featuring all 92 episodes across 28 discs held in a keepsake box for $179.92; Full House: The Complete Series, Nov. 6, spanning 192 episodes across 32 DVDs, $169.72; Planet Earth/Blue Planet Box Set, Oct. 2, carrying 15 hours of programming on 10 discs for $119.99; and America’s Game: The Super Bowl Champions (street date not set), holding 40 episodes of the NFL TV series across 40 discs; pricing still to be determined.
