AUG. 26 | Those consumers still stuck in the VHS era will get a new shove toward DVD this fourth quarter.
20th Century Fox and LucasFilm will release Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, expected to be one of the season’s top sellers, on DVD only. Star Wars will be the first major new release to skip VHS, some say a move that is unsurprising because of its heavy DVD audience.
Distribution sources said recent Star Wars releases have seen heavy VHS returns from retailers unable to sell off the tapes. LucasFilm and Fox declined to comment other than to confirm that there would be no VHS version.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment has been the most aggressive studio to do away with VHS releases. The studio will skip VHS for Dark Water, The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Herbie: Fully Loaded and retailers and distributors say the studio has told them that it will cut VHS altogether early next year.
So far, Fox and Buena Vista are the only studios to announce major releases only for DVD, however retailers are continuing to watch to see if other upcoming releases might get the same treatment.
Although Fox is going DVD only on the latest Star Wars release, the studio is still sticking to VHS for Sept. 27 release Robots and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s The Interpreter and DreamWorks Home Entertainment’ Madagascar will both get a VHS release. However, some retailers say they’ve been told the studios won’t offer returns on VHS purchases for either title, which could discourage retailers from buying too heavily.
HBO Video remains the only supplier connected to a major to completely cut VHS releases so far.
Even as studios continue to release films on VHS, fewer and fewer retailers are carrying the format. Wal-Mart, which hasn’t said definitively that it will get out of VHS, no longer carries all new releases on the format even on its Web site. The top seller of home entertainment is skipping VHS for Sin City, Sahara, Monster-in-Law, Crash and Batman Begins, among others, according to the company’s Web site.E-mail Jennifer Netherby