Directors’ fury
(
)
James Cameron and Michael Bay are among the Hollywood bigwigs blasting a plan to allow consumers to rent just-released movies at home while they’re still playing in theaters.
A number of big-name directors and producers sent an open letter to the industry protesting so-called “premium” video-on-demand services that would let users rent films just 60 days after they debut in theaters — cutting the waiting time roughly in half.
The film group, including Peter Jackson and Brett Ratner, sent their letter in support of the theater owners who argue that a new home-video window could kill their business and “irrevocably harm” the financial model of the film industry.
“If wiser heads do not prevail, the cannibalization of theatrical revenue in favor of a faulty, premature home-video window could lead to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue,” the letter read.
The group argues that specialty films, which rely on a slow build in awareness, would be threatened under the new model.
The bigwigs also claim that piracy risks will be greater because of the availability of the digital copy of a movie.
The letter was released a day in advance of DirecTV’s first early video-on-demand offering, Sony Picture’s “Just Go With It,” which will cost $30 for a 48-hour pass. DirecTV is the first pay-TV company to launch a movie in the new window but other cable companies and studios are expected to follow suit.
Typically, movies aren’t available on video-on-demand until 130 days after they debut in a cinema. The industry is talking about a new distribution model that cuts that window to 60 days.
Hollywood studios are scrambling to replace revenue from lost DVD sales as consumers turn to VOD and other delivery options. Barclays Capital estimates that DVD sales are down 17 percent year-to-date, while box-office revenue fell 20 percent in the first quarter.

