Article: “Harry Potter does a little 3Q magic at Time Warner,” WSJ.com, Associated Press, 11/2/11.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Time Warner (Warner Brothers) had a record third quarter profitability due to the success of the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.
As the November 11th release of the Deathly Hallows DVD approaches, an interesting question arises: Why do so many people want to see the movie on the big screen, or buy the DVD, on the first day?
The rule of thumb is that 40% of DVD and domestic box office sales are in the first weekend. For Warner Brothers’ most recent movie, the box office take in the first weekend was 44%.
With that in mind, is there a marginal value of going to the theater and purchasing the DVD on day one rather than waiting a few weeks or months? How much additional enjoyment does the owner get from seeing the movie at midnight, or on opening weekend, rather than waiting for the DVD release?
The facts would suggest that there is. I, and many others, seem to gain a great deal more utility from paying the price of the DVD or movie on day one rather than waiting weeks, even though it may be easier to buy it at that point.
Speaking for myself, having the DVD on the first day provides me more satisfaction than waiting weeks to purchase it.
That being said, will you be watching Deathly Hallows Part 2 on Friday?
As an avid moviegoer myself, I rather enjoyed reading about the marginal value of seeing movies in the theater. For me personally, the marginal value of going to the theater greatly outweighs the value of watching a flick at home. The surround sound, huge screen, and plentiful snacks greatly increases my utility gained from seeing a movie in the theaters. Not to mention bragging rights of seeing it first :)
ReplyDeleteI concur that there is greater utility in attaining a DVD the day it is released or seeing a movie on its opening night. The overall level of satisfaction is much higher while a film is "new and fresh". This correlates with the fact that the marginal utility of watching a movie decreases over time after multiple sittings, affirming the principle of diminishing marginal utility. And yes, I will be watching Deathly Hallows Part 2 on Friday!
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