Call it another victim of the Superman curse. Wal-Mart has closed down its movie download service, which had only begun back in February. The retail giant had been slow to start selling movie downloads, finally offering Superman Returns in November 2006 -- part of a strange deal in which you had to first buy the actual DVD from a Wal-Mart store -- then completely opening up shop early last year in an obvious attempt to directly compete with iTunes, selling TV episodes for 4 cents less than Apple's store (it also sold older movie titles at a cheaper price). It had long been speculated that Wal-Mart was even behind iTunes' struggle to make deals with Hollywood studios; supposedly Wal-Mart was fearful that downloads would hurt its massive share of the DVD market and so pressured Hollywood to stay away from Apple or suffer the consequence: Wal-Mart would stop ordering so many of a studio's DVDs if it signed on to iTunes. Of course, it didn't appear that Wal-Mart was about to begin boycotting Disney movies, so that rumor/assumption/conspiracy was likely untrue, or at least a bad bluff.

Now, with Fox and Disney movies soon available for rental on iTunes and more studios likely to come soon, it is clear that Wal-Mart failed in its competitive bid for a share of the download market. The retailer also had problems competing with Netflix in the rental-by-mail service race a few years back, eventually folding into its competition. However, this time around the problem is less to do with Wal-Mart caving in or acknowledging defeat. The primary reason for the download shop's closing is that Hewlett-Packard was supplying the software for the online store and that company made the decision to terminate the service, citing disappointing performance as the cause. Wal-Mart could still continue with movie downloads through another software deal, though this giant pothole in business would hardly make the relocation an easy task.

Seeing as I just received a marvelous 46-inch Sony flat-screen LCD TV (w/HD) for my 30th birthday (yes, in true movie geek fashion, I chose to celebrate this monumental event with a new TV instead of a party), I feel like I can finally start entertaining the idea of purchasing an HD-DVD player. Like most of you out there, I am more inclined to wait until a) prices go down and/or b) HD-DVD and Blu-ray either merge or fight to the death. With everything so divided right now, I refuse to cough up six beans for a player that might be obsolete in a year or two. Ah, but there is good news on the horizon ...

According to Film Junk, there's a rumor going around in certain "we know way more about this than you" circles that claims Wal-Mart has just made a deal with a Chinese electronics manufacturer for two million HD-DVD players at $50 a pop. That means the ginormous retail outfit would be able to turn around and sell those HD-DVD players for $299 USD or less, making it the most affordable player on the market by at least $100, so says Film Junk. Only problem is, we have no idea which format this player is in. Since the original source was in Chinese, the translation has been a bit sketchy. Seeing as -- and this is a direct quote from Film Junk -- "Wal-Mart is supposedly responsible for 40% of all regular DVD sales," choosing a side (be it HD-DVD or Blu-ray) on a deal like this could potentially destroy the other party. It's important to note that nothing has been made official, but, for those out there who watch the majority of their programming in HD (myself included), seeing any kind of light at the end of that long, dark tunnel is (hopefully) a sign of good things to come.

For those that currently own an HD-DVD player, what kind of advice can you give to us folks who want desperately to join the party, but are afraid of wasting a little too much of their hard-earned cash?

[via Movie Blog]

It took long enough, but Wal-Mart now has its own movie download service online. The retail company has been whining about this alternative to DVD consumption for over a year, and it may even have halted the progress of iTunes and other services. But there was no way that it couldn't follow the format into the future; in November it officially entered the download game with a single title, Superman Returns.

Of course -- as if we didn't see this coming -- Wal-Mart is offering some movies and TV shows at a cheaper rate than the competition. It also has titles from all of the major studios, though it is missing most of the major television networks. So far it only has 3,000 titles, with newer movies sold for a higher price than older movies, just as other services do. The site launched today is also only in a Beta stage, so it could have some glitches (it won't work at all in Firefox) -- though hopefully none as bad as the recommendations scandal.

Wal-Mart could be hurting itself a bit by giving in and selling movie downloads, as this will only contribute to the problem of decreased DVD sales, which the company depends on so dearly. But the decision to finally launch a download service may be in relation to news that Hollywood is permitting download-to-burn technology, which will likely be used in download kiosks that will be located in Wal-Mart stores. With these kiosks, Wal-Mart could still attract customers the same way it currently does with low-price DVDs. Still, Wal-Mart isn't yet allowing its downloads to be burned to a disc. It hopes to allow this later in the year -- probably after it figures out a definite kiosk game plan.

What if you could make your own film presenting your take on the Harry Potter character (someone in Georgia might be interested) or your opinion of what should have happened in X-Men: The Last Stand (comic book geeks everywhere wish they could)? Unfortunately, most fictional films involve intellectual properties and copyrights and other things that (legally) cannot be messed with by just anyone.

The same isn't true for documentaries, which tend to present facts or deal with truth, concepts that people don't regularly own or control. These facts and truths are often debatable, though, and can be argued or debunked via other documentary films. Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 was answered with Alan Peterson's Fahrenhype 9/11. Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me led to both Bowling for Morgan and Me and Mickey D. Robert Greenwald's Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price was responded to with Ron Galloway's Why Wal-Mart Works: And Why that Drives Some People C-r-a-z-y.

The latest rebuttal doc is aimed at Al Gore's claims in An Inconvenient Truth. Steven Hayward has begun work on An Inconvenient Truth ... Or Convenient Fiction?, a documentary that will be formatted in the same way as Davis Guggenheim's award-winning doc on global warming. Hayward, like Gore, will present his own thoughts on the issue through a similar lecture and slide show. But he isn't going to disagree with global warming altogether, just specific points that Gore supposedly got wrong.

Wal-mart has officially entered the movie download game. Until now, the retail company had been sitting on the sidelines -- not without its influence, of course -- but apparently it isn't happy simply controlling the download industry, specifically iTunes' share, by way of bullying tactics. Starting today, customers can purchase a download of Superman Returns for as little as $1.97. There's a catch, however: to get the download, you have to first purchase the DVD of the same film. The DVD comes with a sticker, which features on it a code that you enter onto a special website. You then have the option of paying $1.97 for a copy for your iPod, Microsoft Zune, or other portable device; $2.97 for a copy for your laptop or desktop computer; or $3.97 for a copy that can be played on any type of player, portable or computer. Although it seems silly to have to buy the movie in order to buy another copy of the movie, at Wal-Mart's online price of $14.87 for the DVD ($5 less than Amazon and $1 less than Best Buy online), the company really knows what it is doing.

But, does this make Wal-Mart right? Whatever your opinions on the company, there is no denying that this idea is better than the plan to block studios from going to iTunes or the suggestion that Wal-Mart should get a percentage of iTunes movie sales. It may be a sneaky move, but it isn't an altogether perfect option for customers wanting movie downloads -- particularly those who want just the download -- and at least it is a competitive rather than bullying move.

Wal-Mart will be offering other DVD/download combos in the following months, and states that the idea is in a testing phase. As far as the company's interest in download-to-burn kiosks goes, I'm guessing that option has been abandoned.

Last week, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the announcement that Harvey and Bob Weinstein are producing a gala event to honor Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott, Jr. After all, the Weinsteins are known for their support of the Democratic party and for their distributing liberal-sided docs like Fahrenheit 9/11 and the new Barbara Kopple film Shut Up & Sing. So, what are they doing hobnobbing with the enemy of their friends? The official reason is that the Weinsteins support Scott's new efforts to sustain environmental friendliness, but a number of people are pointing out other reasons the brothers might desire a good relationship with the retail company.

Radar has a report on some of these reasons, which include the Weinsteins' hopes for priority placement in Wal-Mart's stores and their need for Wal-Mart to go easier on movies depicting sex and drugs. Variety more specifically addressed the Weinsteins' recent control of Genius Products, which will be making straight-to-video, family-friendly films that cater well to Wal-Mart's demographic. Wake-Up Wal-Mart has gone so far as to write a letter of disapproval to the Weinsteins.

So, now what happens when Michael Moore, who is already a critic of Wal-Mart, decides his next activist doc is against the stores? Will the Weinsteins still support their golden boy?

In related news, SpielbergFilms.net is pointing out that Wal-Mart is now selling Poltergeist on DVD for less than $5. It's things like this that make it hard for moviefans to keep up a hatred for the stores, but I think we can all hold out for next year's 25th Anniversary edition, right?

I must have missed the memo about this officially being Whiny Mega-Retailers Month. A little over a week ago, we told you how uber-rich Wal-Mart was bitching about the new iTunes movie store, and how only Disney titles are offered there at the moment, perhaps because Wal-Mart (the big bully on the movie distrib playground, apparently) sent a letter to studios this summer warning -- that's right, warning -- studios that it is not going to just idly stand by and watch studios focus on downloads while DVD sales are heading south. Wal-Mart, as the leading seller of DVDs (which are Hollywood's biggest source of revenue), apparently has the muscle to dictate studios' business to them.

Not to be outdone, Greff Steinhafel, President of Wal-Mart's rival company, Target, has sent his own letter to major studios, whining about how movie download prices are below DVD prices, according to a Wall Street Journal story published yesterday. The letter reportedly said that Target would "reconsider its investment" in the DVD business if pricing isn't made more equitable ("equitable" here presumably meaning "lining our coffers with more cash and increasing the value of my own stock options so I can afford that private school tuition and new yacht").

As our sister site Engadget reported yesterday, Target and Wal-Mart both need to relax a bit on the whole movie download issue. The quality of movie downloads isn't even close to the quality of DVDs and won't be for a long time, and the prices aren't exactly bargain-basement -- it's simply just another channel for customers to choose from. Instead of whining about how movie downloads are going to sound the death-knell of DVD sales, major retailers like Wal-Mart and Target need to focus on finding ways to incent customers to buy DVDs instead (better features, better quality, special offers, exclusive content), while simultaneously finding ways to partner with studios and move into the digital download space themselves.

The market is ultimately going to dictate the future of movie downloads; if customers want it and will pay for it, and the product is good enough to support it, it's going to happen, and either DVDs will compete and hold their own market share, or they'll eventually go the way of the eight-tracks, cassette tapes, and VHS. Threatening the studios that if they don't give in, Target and Wal-Mart are going to take their balls and go home, isn't going to benefit studios or the retailers in the long run. When the game changes, guys, you don't pout and stop playing. You learn the new rules -- or better yet, make your own rules and own the game. Nobody likes a whiner.

The new iTunes movie store has been open a few weeks now, and still no other studios besides Disney are offering titles via the service. Why? Because Wal-Mart rules the world, of course. Over the summer, the retail giant gave a warning to Hollywood that it will not stand by and watch the studios concentrate on movie downloads while DVD sales are decreasing. Because Wal-Mart depends on DVDs to draw in customers and Hollywood has depended on the stores for a major share of their revenue (Wal-Mart is the leading seller of DVDs, which is Hollywood's biggest source of income), the studios would rather not offend the relationship. Sure, studios have partnered with other download services, but it wasn't until Apple decided to get in on the market with iTunes movies, that movie downloading had enough promise to scare the retail businesses.

So, what can Wal-Mart do? Well, first it can put a stronghold on the studios. After Disney's plan to partner with iTunes, Wal-Mart threatened to decrease its order of Disney DVDs, specifically the very popular seller, High School Musical. But that simply ignores the fact that downloads are the future, while also hurting their customers. So, in order to support progress and reap the rewards, it needs to get in on the download market. How? By pressuring Apple into giving the chain some of the profits. Wal-Mart is currently in discussions with Apple to start selling iTunes gift cards or coupons in stores, the proceeds of which will be divided between the companies.

My guess is that this kind of deal will keep iTunes from being able to lower their price on movies, though the Wal-Mart coupons will probably have an advantageous discount potential. So, if you want to let Wal-Mart continue bullying the world, make sure to give your lunch money to them by purchasing iTunes through their stores.

Before I start this post, I just want you to notice that I avoided using the "X-Clusive" pun in the title. It was tough, trust me, but I managed to dodge the bullet. You're welcome.

Okay, there has been general murmurings of discontent since Fox announced that, while they have indeed put together a fancy two-disc feature set for the DVD release of X-Men 3: The Last Stand, it will not be shared with American audiences until they've had time to bleed some extra cash from us by releasing a crappy single disc feature first, in a classic "double dipping" move. However, you can console yourself, if you so desire, by purchasing your DVD at Wal-Mart, where you will be given an extra bonus DVD with 50 some minutes of exclusive behind the scenes footage. It isn't the fancy special edition you know they'll be selling to you later, but hey, it is a chance to spend twenty bucks on a movie you can spend thirty more bucks on in a few months. Aren't you the lucky one?

During that whole box office slump hype last year, studios weren't really worrying because they've been making most of their money on DVDs the past few years. Well, now it is time for them to start panicking, as the DVD market is experiencing a slow growth period. Because this also affects stores like Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy, all of which depend on their discounted DVDs to lure in customers, the answer for the studios and the retailers is DVD kiosks. A year ago, such machines, which download movies and burn them onto discs while you wait or shop around the store, were being unveiled by DVD Station, and were being tested by Blockbuster Video, and I had also read somewhere about Wal-Mart's interest. McDonald's has also been experimenting in a partnership with MovieGallery.

Jim Wuthrich, a senior VP at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment who handles digital distribution (I wonder if all the studios have this division now) says the kiosks will likely appear in 2007, and the only delay is figuring out some licensing and technology issues. Presumably, the kiosks will feature older titles while new releases remain available on the shelf. The kiosks sound a tiny bit better than the movie download sites, which are building support from the studios, but the only way they could be a success is if they don't cost a lot. My feeling is that DVD sales are on the decrease because customers have suddenly realized that even at an average price of $20, buying movies just isn't worth it compared to renting.

The thing is, by next year, consumers may already be on the lookout for the next thing. With Blu-Ray and HD DVD now becoming available, the studios are doing a lot of research on consumer behavior, according to David Bishop at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Meanwhile, executives claim the Video-on-Demand download sites and services won't put a dent into packaged media for at least a decade.

I think the next year is going to be pretty interesting, regardless of what Hollywood decides to do, because there are so many transitions going on. ...