The New York Times-20080128-Direct-to-DVD Releases Shed Their Loser Label

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Direct-to-DVD Releases Shed Their Loser Label

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If you missed the red-carpet premiere for the latest American Pie movie, you are not alone. There wasn't one. American Pie Presents: Beta House, the sixth film in the popular comedy series, was sent straight to DVD.

But it's not another failed straight-to-video movie collecting dust in Blockbuster. Beta House, which reached stores late last month, was made specifically for a DVD release and is likely to end up more profitable for Universal Studios than some of the company's theatrical releases. The film, which cost less than $10 million to make, is expected to sell more than a million units -- in line with two previous American Pie installments that were produced specifically for DVD release, according to Universal. That translates to sales of about $30 million before adding revenue from rentals and the sale of distribution rights to cable networks.

Once a dumping ground for movies considered virtually unwatchable, the direct-to-DVD pipeline is becoming increasingly important to mainstream film franchises.

Hollywood's new direct-to-DVD strategy rests on calculating a sequel's chances at the multiplex. Three big-screen American Pie movies rained money on Universal, selling more than $750 million of tickets worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. But Universal had a decision to make when it came to approving a fourth installment for a theatrical release. The third film, American Wedding, cost $55 million plus tens of millions more to market -- far more than its predecessor. Yet its ticket sales were 28 percent lower.

In previous years, the studio would have either pulled the plug on the series or continued to serve up sequels in theaters to increasingly smaller audiences. Opting for diminished returns was typically the industry's course -- why leave money on the table? -- which is how wince-inducing films like Police Academy 6: City Under Siege ended up at the multiplex.

But studios have realized that the power of the DVD market gives them another option. They drop everything but the franchise concepts and the titles, and hire cheaper acting talent. Add a marketing campaign of decent weight to increase the size of the audience that remains and -- presto -- more profit, pound for pound, than some big action flicks. Oh, and get rid of that pejorative-sounding direct-to-DVD term. Call it DVD Premiere.

It is a reflection of how people consume media these days, said Tom Siegrist, vice president for production of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. If you approach it in a smart way, looking into your catalog of released films to see what you can build on, these things really sell.

Universal, for example, hired a new cast and released American Pie Presents: Band Camp and American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile straight to DVD. Those did so well that Beta House was produced and the studio is weighing a seventh installment, though costs are rising with each release.

The direct-to-video business was making titillating, low-quality movies to feed the rental channel, said Craig Kornblau, the president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. We discovered we could keep franchises alive with made-for-DVD movies if we made them feature quality.

The number of direct-to-DVD films has grown 36 percent since 2005 with 675 released last year, according to Adams Media Research. The business totals about $1 billion in annual sales. (All DVD sales came to $15.7 billion last year.)

Warner Brothers entered the direct-to-DVD competition a few months ago with an approach that signals how competitive the business has become. The studio thinks that making sequels and prequels of established movie brands is no longer good enough, said Diane Nelson, the president of Warner Premiere.

Instead, Ms. Nelson is trying out an array of new ideas. For instance, this summer Warner Premiere will release Get Smarter: Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control on DVD in conjunction with Get Smart, a big-screen comedy based on the 1960s television series. The projects were filmed back to back with supporting characters appearing in both. (The star of the newest Get Smart, Steve Carell, appears only in the bigger project.)

The quality of direct-to-DVD titles may be improving, but few movie fans will confuse these releases with what they see in theaters. For starters, few of the original stars appear. When Universal decided last fall to make a direct-to-DVD prequel to The Scorpion King, it replaced Dwayne Johnson, known as the Rock, with a lesser-known wrestler-turned-actor, Randy Couture.

We weren't going to be able to afford the Rock, but when we took a look at Randy we saw that he is actually quite good, Mr. Kornblau said.

DVD Premiere movies are also much more explicit -- full-frontal nudity is a hallmark of the American Pie Presents films -- because they are not required to meet the same rating standards as theatrical releases. Too graphic, too disturbing and too shocking for general audiences is how Lionsgate describes some horror sequels in promotional material, adding that the studio had defied the system by sidestepping theaters.

Special effects in these films, while improving as a result of cheaper digital technology, often require a little more imagination from viewers. Garfield and Dr. Dolittle were both hits in theaters, but talking animals are expensive. John Davis, the producer behind both franchises, said the direct-to-DVD sequels of those films use less sophisticated effects.

We feel our quality is really terrific, but a television set is a little more forgiving than a movie screen, he said. The mouth movements on the animals don't need to match quite as precisely. Mr. Davis is now working on two new direct-to-DVD installments of Dr. Dolittle -- without Eddie Murphy -- and another Garfield.

So many studios and top-level filmmakers are flirting with the direct-to-DVD business that it risks mirroring the troubled theatrical landscape, where movies that were once sure-fire moneymakers are having a harder time breaking through because of a glut of releases. The producer Joel Silver, known for the Matrix trilogy, recently signed a deal to produce 10 direct-to-DVD titles. Ashley Tisdale, a teenage actress known for her roles in Disney's High School Musical blockbusters, just completed a DVD movie called Picture This.

Real stars and real filmmakers have started giving DVD exclusives a shot, said Scott Hettrick, former editor of the trade publication Video Business, but with more product hitting store shelves I think we're going to see less consistency in sales.

A boom in animated direct-to-video titles in the 1990s led to similar saturation, resulting in studios like Walt Disney sharply reducing their output, Mr. Hettrick noted.

Some cast continuity from movie to movie is important, Mr. Kornblau said, which is why the American Pie DVD spinoffs all feature Eugene Levy as a father figure -- even though the character's son stopped appearing after the series ended its run in theaters.

We think he is crucial to this franchise because his character represents the heart of the movie, Mr. Kornblau said. His presence reminds fans that we are maintaining the integrity of the franchise. (Mr. Levy declined to be interviewed.)

One trap that studios are still learning to avoid is becoming hypnotized by a made-for-DVD movie and giving it a shot in theaters. Daddy Day Camp, intended as a DVD sequel to the 2003 Eddie Murphy hit Daddy Day Care, was received so well by test audiences that Sony gave it a shot in the big leagues last summer. It sold just $13 million in tickets.

[Illustration]PHOTOS: The sixth of the American Pie series, Beta House, arrived in stores last month. (PHOTOGRAPH BY UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT) (pg.C1); Above, a scene from another Universal Home Studios release, Bring It On: In It to Win It. Left, Jaclyn Smith and Eugene Levy in Beta House. Mr. Levy is a staple of the American Pie spinoffs. (PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER H. STRANKS/UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT) (pg.C4)