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Topic: Piracy

Watch brand-new movies in your home -- after a $20,000 setup fee

Summary: If you're one of those people who gets enraged when you hear about how movie studios are considering letting you watch a recent movie in your home for $50 a pop, you may not want to read the rest of this. If you're a multimillionaire who can't bother going to a movie theater, however, this post could be for you.

Sean Portnoy

By for Home Theater |

If you're one of those people who gets enraged when you hear about how movie studios are considering letting you watch a recent movie in your home for $50 a pop, you may not want to read the rest of this. If you're a multimillionaire who can't bother going to a movie theater, however, this post could be for you.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a new service is launching next year with the promise that you can watch new movies in your home. Not films that have been in the theaters for a month or two -- brand spankin' new titles. Prima Cinema will provide this service to you for just a small setup fee. Small if you're a movie studio head or an Internet tycoon, that is.

Prima Cinema is planning to charge $20,000 to put a digital delivery device in your home that gives you the ability to watch new flicks beamed into your home. You'll then pay $500 for the privilege of viewing each new film in your home theater.

Hollywood's reaction is mixed. Some studios fear that such a service puts new movies at a greater risk for piracy, since a pristine digital copy will be going out to individuals, though it's unclear if anyone who is rich enough for the service would really be that interested in spreading them across the Internet. Others think Prima could be tapping a tiny, but profitable, niche of ultra-wealthy who might not bother going to the movies otherwise.

Despite the eye-popping costs involved, Prima's service is just another sign that the future of new movies is home viewership and that trips to the cineplex will be fewer and for more "event" pictures. Someday in the not-so-distant future the promise of Prima will be available to everyone, not just the Steven Spielbergs of the world.

Topic: Piracy

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17 comments
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  • Whah??

    That's like saying digital music and MP3 players will be the death of live concerts.<br><br>OK - so maybe the experience of sitting in a crowd watching a gi-normous screen and listening to speakers loud enough to rattle your stomach leaves you unimpressed.<br><br>I feel for you. I really do.
    Takalok
    Reply Vote

    • Anybody who can afford and wants this has a theater room

      with a ginormous screen and speakers loud enough to rattle your stomach. Guaranteed.
      frgough
      Reply Vote

  • I disagree

    [i]Prima?s service is just another sign that the future of new movies is home viewership and that trips to the cineplex will be fewer and for more ?event? pictures[/i]

    I disagree, all this is is taking advantage of new technologies to those that can afford it, just [i]another[/i] avenue of delivery, not an overall replacement. A great many people still leave the kids at home and do a "dinner and a movie" night, (or whatever), so this won't be a replacement for the big screen, just another way for those with money to ot have to leave their homes
    John Zern
    Reply Vote

  • Invalid conclusion

    [i]it?s unclear if anyone who is rich enough for the service would really be that interested in spreading them across the Internet. [/i]

    What about video pirates? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me--$20k up front and $500 per movie. You don't have to put it on the Net--sell high-quality copies for maybe $50-75 each. A LOT of people would be interested in buying THAT--college frats, guys who get together to watch sports, "Coffee Klatches", employees at small offices who can chip in and circulate the disk (or make MORE copies... presumably the pirate wouldn't include DRM<g>), anyone with a large family and a small conscience ...
    Rick_R
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Watch brand-new movies in your home -- after a $20,000 setup fee

      @Rick_R

      That seems like a bit of a stretch. I wouldn't pay $50 for a movie. For a high quality blu ray, pirated, I might be willing to pay a guy $20, although probably not even that much. But let's just say there are people who will. You'd have to sell 1025 copies of the very first movie you "rented" just to break even. Do you know 1000 people?

      The only place this might happen, and it's still a big might, are the little tiny gas stations that already sell the crappy pirated DVDs. I don't see those guys making this kind of investment.
      LiquidLearner
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Watch brand-new movies in your home -- after a $20,000 setup fee

        @LiquidLearner They don't need to break even with the first movie if they don't get caught. But it will be high profile if they do.
        Keggplant
        Reply Vote

  • Piracy

    [i]Some studios fear that such a service puts new movies at a greater risk for piracy, since a pristine digital copy will be going out to individuals, though it?s unclear if anyone who is rich enough for the service would really be that interested in spreading them across the Internet. [/i]

    The richer they are, the nuttier they tend to be. Especially if they did not come into the money on their own. There will be plenty of piracy attempts.
    Michael Kelly
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Watch brand-new movies in your home -- after a $20,000 setup fee

    Make up your mind, after the set-up fee is it $500 or $50? You mentioned both.
    hasanria@...
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Watch brand-new movies in your home -- after a $20,000 setup fee

      @hasanria@... <br>I think the fee is $50 for viewing each movie. I could be wrong or just it is a typo.
      Ram U
      Reply Vote

  • Wait... is it $50 a pop, or $500?

    Either way, there's no way ANY film is worth that much. Good God, you just have to wait a while and it comes around on the movie channels anyway.
    rgcustomer@...
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Watch brand-new movies in your home -- after a $20,000 setup fee

    $50 to watch a recent (do they mean it is still in the theaters and/or it just came out?) isn?t bad ? if you got a decent home theater. Crowd a bunch of people. No parking worries ? or snow storms ? or getting the kids popcorn and soft drinks (add plenty of $$$ there). But $20,000 is a bit too much!
    Gis Bun
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Watch brand-new movies in your home -- after a $20,000 setup fee

    I see a whole new business model. Mini-theaters. I could see a whole lot of appeal to a mini semi private screening. You could offer things a larger theater can't like better seating, better and plentiful food and snacks, fine dining to go with the show.
    RRboy
    Reply Vote

    • Not really

      believe it or not, all "rebroadcasts" (which is all playing a movie is) is covered by rules and regulations.

      Believe it or not, it is copywrite infringement to have people over to watch the superbowl on a screen larger then 55 inches (yes, true. There are actually a number of rules you have to follow, even if it's in your own house.)

      So you know there are rules that apply to movies, too, just for the express purpose to stop people from doing what you suggest.
      John Zern
      Reply Vote

  • Rich People buy all sorts of Things...

    The rest of us would never consider buying. And for the uber celebrities and the very rich, going out in public is really not an option. Aside from the nagging fans, and loathsome paparazzi, there is a danger element to consider. This would be a service some of them would welcome.
    jpr75_z
    Reply Vote

  • Maybe not such a bad deal if it's $50/movie

    Ok, $20k is a very steep price of admission, but that price will come down too. If I consider 5 kids plus the Mrs = $70 (or $91 if its 3D) to get in the door at the theater for the latest Disney flick (unless we go to the matinee). Then we hit the concession stand for another $30 - $40. Now we get to deal with the "Theater Experience". Yelling, kicking, screaming kids all over the place along with the Mother of the Year candidate that lets her child run up and down the isle while she spends the entire movie texting or talking to an adult next to her. Whoops, now the 2nd youngest needs to go to the bathroom and we miss 10 minutes of the movie (ok, I admit it I actually like most Disney movies).<br><br>Yup, $50 is beginning to sound like a deal for the family. Oh, and as far as getting with the Mrs for a dinner and movie night...do you have a clue what it costs per hour to get a babysitter for 5? We don't get out to see many movies. It would be nice to not wait for PPV or Netflix to catch a movie.
    PrimeRisk
    Reply Vote

  • Waste of money

    Even if I had the cash for this I couldn't justify it considering 99% of major studio movies are garbage.
    ScotlynHatt
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Watch brand-new movies in your home -- after a $20,000 setup fee

    If the price per movie is $500 rather than $50 I can see that being more of a deal breaker than the $20K setup. For somebody willing to put $20K into their home theater (I know more than a few that have) putting an additional $20K into it to be able to view movies when they hit theaters wouldn't be that much of a stretch if the movies are $50. If the price goes up to $500 then I don't see it happening except for those with tons of money to burn. Even if you only watch 1 movie a month this way that's $6K a year, starts making the $20K look like a not so big investment in the long run.
    non-biased
    Reply Vote
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