Amazon is offering a free ticket to “Men in Black 3” for the first 10,000 people to pre-order the film on Blu-ray in the latest sign of the deals studios are willing to strike to boost sluggish home-entertainment revenues.
Customers who pre-order the Blu-ray or 3D Blu-ray versions of “Men in Black 3” between May 23 and June 25 receive a promotional code that can be redeemed by July 5 for a certificate valid for one admission up to $10 to see the movie at participating theaters, SlashFilm reports.
It’s not clear exactly how this would play out in New York, where a regular movie ticket typically costs roughly $13. The Blu-ray discs cost $28.69 and $39.19 for the 3D version, so you’re essentially paying north of $30 for a $10 movie ticket. But, it is an effort by “Men in Black” distributor Sony to boost home-entertainment revenues by offering a deal on movie tickets.
DVD and Blu-ray sales have been down industry-wide for years.
This looks to be the first high-profile national discount on a big-budget summer movie this year, but Amazon did offer a similar deal for Disney’s “The Muppets” last year. In that case, anyone who pre-ordered the DVD got a certificate valid for admission up to $12. It makes sense, though, that Sony would want people to buy their Blu-ray products.
