Starz tests VOD first with El Superbeasto
DIGITAL: Rob Zombie movie coming to theaters, DVD later
By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 9/8/2009
SEPT. 8 | DIGITAL: Starz Media debuted rocker/filmmaker Rob Zombie’s latest horror flick, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, on video-on-demand Monday (Sept. 7), days before it premieres in theaters and two full weeks before it hits DVD.
El Superbeasto will be priced at the premium $6.99 in its early VOD release.
The animated Superbeasto marks the first time Starz has released a film on VOD before DVD or theatrical, and the studio will charge a premium of $6.99 to customers who choose to watch it earlier.
Marc DeBevoise, Starz Media’s senior VP of digital media, business development and strategy, emphasized that the VOD debut was a test and the studio isn’t planning early VOD releases for other films as Magnolia Entertainment and IFC Films have done.
Superbeasto debuted on VOD on Comcast, DirecTV and Dish Network. On Sept. 12, it’ll get a limited theatrical release in 50 theaters, followed by a simultaneous DVD and wide VOD release on Sept. 22.
The release coincides with Zombie’s release of Halloween II two weeks ago and his upcoming album from Interscope, both of which played into the Superbeasto release strategy.
“It’s the right timeframe,” DeBevoise said. “It’s a totally different piece of content than you see anywhere else. We felt this was the one to really experiment it on.”
The R-rated, animated Superbeasto features Tom Papa as the voice of crime-fighting secret agent Beasto who battles crazy Dr. Satan (voiced by Paul Giamatti) to win over Velvet Von Black (voiced by Rosario Dawson).
Comcast, DirecTV and Dish will promote the film more heavily than they would if it were to debut on or after the film’s DVD release, part of the reason Starz is releasing it early. The strategy also will give it a higher profile on VOD.
Horror films tend to do well on VOD, which is another reason Starz chose to experiment with Superbeasto.
Zombie, who developed the film with Starz Media’s Film Roman, filmed special callouts and bonus features to help promote the early VOD release.
Starz will watch to see if consumers choose to pay more for the early VOD release and whether theatrical and DVD revenue are affected.
But Starz has no plans to change its release strategy for other films. The studio typically releases films on VOD 30 days after their DVD release, a strategy DeBevoise said Starz plans to continue.
“Our thing is maximizing the value of a title on all distribution,” he said, adding that the strategy of releasing a film first in theaters, then on DVD and later on VOD “makes the most sense right now.”
