Home theater

Would You Pay $30 For an At-Home, One-Time Movie?

Bloomberg's Ronald Grover and Kelly Riddell are reporting that Sony, Warner Bros., and Disney are exploring the idea of letting consumers watch movies at home, shortly after they leave theaters and before they're available on DVD and from services such as iTunes, Amazon Video on Demand, and CinemaNow. The movies might be available via cable companies and/or on game consoles, and the price the Bloomberg story mentions is "as much as $30."

That sounds like a boatload of money given that you can rent Avatar for $3.99 or buy it for $14.99 right now. I suppose that the studios hope that folks will compare the $30 price to the cost and effort involved in hauling a family of three, four, or more down to a theater and paying for tickets, popcorn, and drinks.

And...well, $30 still sounds like a lot for a movie you can watch only at home, and only once. $15 might be more in my personal ballpark.

Subscribe to the Now Playing Newsletter