Audio Video News

With the market penetration of DVD players now at 33% and growing, the film industry is ramping up production to release an unprecedented number of new titles, as well as plenty of old favorites in the new format.

DVD sales and rentals grew tremendously in the month after the September 11 terrorist attacks, and continue to do well as people tend to stay home (or "cocoon"). Internet DVD source Netflix.com reported an increase in business, as have rental outlets like Blockbuster and Best Buy, Inc. The industry expects the DVD market to explode in the fourth quarter, according to many sources. Demand is "already starting to exceed studio expectations," said Kelley Avery of DreamWorks' video division.

Anticipating an increase in demand, movie studios have announced upcoming releases of titles certain to rent, and sell, by the millions. Among them are the mid-October issues of a four-disc set by Paramount of The Godfather and a two-disc version of Disney's animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Also a guaranteed winner will be a two-disc issue of Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace, due out later this month from Twentieth Century Fox. Paramount Home Video expects The Godfather to be its most profitable product this season, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Action film and science fiction fans alike will rush to scoop up copies of The Matrix, coming in November from Warner Brothers. Shrek, the recent animated hit from DreamWorks, will appear in a two-disc version with a new ending and some fascinating interactive effects, including a feature that lets viewers dub their own voices for those of some characters. The DVD rental market may hit 39.5 million units for the holiday season, according to Adams Media Research. That number is well over double last year's 15.5 million. As many as 320 million DVDs will have been sold by the end of the year, almost double last year's figure of 168 million.