BREAKING: The Weinstein Co. Form an Exclusive Pact with Blockbuster
Filed under: Deals, The Weinstein Co., DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Home Entertainment
Get ready to file this one into your WTF folder, folks. According to Variety, The Weinstein Co. has sealed a four-year deal with Blockbuster for them to be the exclusive rental outfit for all Weinstein releases. Yes, that means folks like Netflix will not be allowed to carry any films from the company starting in January. Once again, WTF?
So, to put this in simpler terms, if you're one of those people who might want to wait to watch flicks like Bobby, Shut Up and Sing or School for Scoundrels on DVD, and you only watch films through Netflix, then you're sh*t out of luck. Sure, it seems like a fabulous deal for Blockbuster (who are constantly trying to one-up their rival), but what does The Weinstein Co. get out of this? Well, it appears Blockbuster will market the hell out of all their releases, which includes a slew of front-of-store advertisements. However, while advertisements are great and all, they're now making it that much harder for people to catch their films on DVD. Those friends of mine who rent through Netflix will not sign up or switch to a Blockbuster account just to watch, say, The Dixie Chicks. So, The Weinstein Co. could potentially lose a lot of money here -- a gamble they're willing to take, I suppose.
What do you think?









Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-15-2006 @ 1:14PM
Erik Call said...
The news isn't all that bad. The Weinsteins are no longer in their golden era. Miramax was a good thing for them and they failed to recognize it.
Their previous and current releases have been lackluster and unimpressive. Their running the risk offending current financiers and in the process, alienating other possible future vendors. This will only implode on them.
Reply
11-15-2006 @ 1:23PM
VeronicaofMars said...
Seems like Blockbuster is the biggest loser here from that list of exclusives. But seriously, can't filmmakers sue Weinstein for making their rental residuals less than they could be?
Reply
11-15-2006 @ 1:46PM
'size said...
personally this might keep me from seeing their films in the theatre as well. knowing they are limiting the avenues i can use to see their product might alienate me enough to keep me from seeing it at all...
Reply
11-15-2006 @ 2:26PM
lizriz said...
I think I'll be seeing a lot less Weinstein films. Bummer.
I also hope that Netflix doesn't follow suit by trying to sign similar exclusive deals with studios, because as a concept, it's superlame for fans. Netflix has a larger film library. If I wanted to make wild guesses, I'd say a larger chunk of The Weinstein Co. target audience uses Netflix. And it's not like I'm going to switch to Blockbuster because of a lame deal like this.
Geez, what a sucky thing to do.
I'm assuming Blockbuster agreed to stock their films unrecut? Are they going to leave all the sexy and/or anti-religious bits in now?
Reply
11-15-2006 @ 2:27PM
Mostskillz said...
I think in the end, this tactic will hurt the Weinstein Co. more than help them. I'm not exactly familiar with all of their movies, but as of now, I'm not going to go out of my way to try and get a hold of them. This will end up money saved or spent on another movie that I can get when I want, where I want.
Reply
11-15-2006 @ 3:18PM
doc erik said...
This really makes no sense. In a time when avenues for viewing film are expanding, why limit yourself in this way. None of the Weinsteins' films have ever suffered for lack of publicity, and Blockbuster has a notoriously bad reputation with anything arthouse (editing out sex scenes for example). I know plenty of people who avoid Blockbuster on those principles, and I can't see them all of a sudden ditching their Netflix accounts to see a few Weinstein films.
Reply
11-15-2006 @ 3:52PM
Fred said...
Yeah, I'll be skipping most of their new releases too, I guess, unless I happen to catch the film in theatrical release. This is pretty ridiculous, and I suspect the Weinsteins will lose more customers than they gain.
Reply
11-15-2006 @ 7:28PM
Christopher Campbell said...
Wow, first the Weinsteins buddy up with Wal-Mart and now Blockbuster. I wonder if they go together, actually, since I have a feeling Wal-Mart might think Netflix is to blame for some of their DVD sale losses.
Anyway, I think the Weinsteins are making a big mistake in not acknowledging the fact that Netflix has been a big help to indie studios as far as getting the titles out to rural areas that will never see Weinstein films in their theaters.
Reply
11-15-2006 @ 7:46PM
Erin said...
Maybe this just a ploy to get us all into the theater. Because seriously, who actually rents at Blockbuster?
Reply
11-15-2006 @ 8:31PM
BobMac said...
That is just dumb. Thank goodness it doesn't include Miramax' old (and better) stuff.
Reply
11-15-2006 @ 9:14PM
Scott Weinberg said...
Insipid move on the Weinsteins' part. It'd take a hell of a lot more than their current offerings to cajole me back into a freakin' Blockbuster.
I see the DVDs I'm sent for review, and the others come from Netflix. Which means I'll be missing a bunch of the brothers' product. ("Genius Products," indeed. Way to ally yourself with a sinking ship.)
Reply
11-16-2006 @ 12:05AM
jake said...
What I don't like is that blockbuster edits some of the content of their dvds and don't make mention of this.
Reply
11-18-2006 @ 4:02AM
Dmnkly said...
Talk about utter contempt for your audience.
Thanks guys. Guess that means I'm done watching your films. It's been fun.
Reply