How Many Copies of the DVD Will You Buy? by harshcritic

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

How Many Copies of the DVD Will You Buy?

POSTED BY: HARSHCRITIC
UPDATED: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 10:28
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VIEWED: 6619
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Sunday, December 11, 2005 9:28 AM

Since the release of Serenity is only 1 week and 2 days away and just 5 days before X-mas, how many copies will you buy?

DVDs make great gifts for the holidays and the 1st week that the movie is out it will only be $15. I am really hoping that fans who can afford it will buy them as gifts to help boost DVD sales.

Personally, I will buy 3, 1 for myself and 2 as gifts for people who have not seen it yet. How many copies will you buy? By my estimates, we need to sell at least 4 million copies.

When will we know how many have been sold? Do you think Joss will tell us the beginning of 2006.

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 9:32 AM

SERENYTY

sadly, I'm really cheap. Considering I'm a teenager, and the fact I have no job, I'm getting a copy for Christmas.

I've been dropping subtle hints, such as "get me Serenity for Christmas," and "You know Serenity? The DVD comes out DECEMBER 20th!!!"

Hopefully I will convert a friend soon (she likes Firefly, but has only seen part of the pilot) and her b-day is in February, so... I could get her the DVD then.

~A message from Serenyty~

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 9:51 AM

MEANGOLDFISH

i have 2 copies preordered right now

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 9:54 AM

VIOLETRIX

at least three. i've told everyone that that's all they're getting for christmas.

http://violetrix.blogspot.com

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 10:21 AM

FRIDAYCRIES13

The way it breaks down for me is totally bizzarre.

I know that I'm getting one for my girlfriend's mom. My dad is getting one for me and one for my girlfriend. My girlfriend is getting one for her old room mate (who loves sci-fi but hasn't seen the movie or Firefly...we're sure she'll love it). And then my brother is getting one for himself.

"That's why I never kiss them on the mouth."
-Jayne Cobb

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 10:24 AM

NANDY

Quote:
Originally posted by violetrix:
at least three. i've told everyone that that's all they're getting for christmas.

http://violetrix.blogspot.com

LOL! I did the same thing... all my friends already know what they're getting from me for Christmas

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 10:44 AM

RIVERGIRL

10 pre ordered and I just changed that order since Amazon has them for 16.98\
saved some credits!!!

Also, I can kill you with my brain.

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 12:46 PM

FRIDAYCRIES13

Yeah, I noticed that the SRP is around $30. I'm not afraid to spend money thing on anything Firefly/Serenity related, but isn't that a little high?

"That's why I never kiss them on the mouth."
-Jayne Cobb

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 12:47 PM

FOLLOWMAL

I have 8 on preorder... one for me, one for my daughter, one for my Mom, and 5 for each of my brothers as Christmas presents.

Then right after Christmas, I'm ordering 3 "Firefly" DVD sets and 3 of the BDM. My library is getting a donation, and the two movie rental places close to me are getting the "Firefly" DVD's to hopefully draw in some new converts. Then an extra BDM and show DVD set ordered a little after that to put away, safe and sound, because I think I'm gonna wear my copies out quick!

Then I have birthdays and stuff all throughout the year and I'm gonna buy... you guessed it, "Serenity". Fortunately most of the folks I'll be buying for like scifi and I know they will LOVE our crew. I'm sure of it.

"Is it Christmas?" Mal

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 2:55 PM

BRUISERSMOM

One copy.

"You can keep a dog; but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals."--George Mikes

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 3:06 PM

NTLZYJSTDNTCARE

Just preordered 3. I don't know who'll be receiving them yet though.

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 3:07 PM

MEIMEIMEG

Ten copies - 2 already preordered, probably 3-4 more on the release date, and the rest after Christmas.

Some for gifts, but I'll have plenty of spares, because I don't want to give them to people who are planning on buying the movie already (which is most of my close friends). I'm not really sure what to do with the rest. The library idea sounds like a good one. I'll probably send a couple to friends from my husband's unit that are in Iraq - hopefully make a few more converts there....I'd love any additional ideas for what would be the most effective thing to do with extra copies.

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 3:35 PM

LOUGOJIRA

At least two...one for myself and one for my folks (number likely to increase later on). My mother has tried to talk me out of it, saying she'd be happy just borrowing my copy when I get it, but I had to set her straight and tell her that the more copies sold, the better!

It's gonna be sweet...come on December 20th!

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 3:50 PM

WORKWORKWORK

I've got two on order (one to loan and one to keep).

OTOH, I'm giving the FF DVDs to everybody in my family (plus the VC to my nieces who loved the movie and 'Finding Serenity' to my sister who likes that sort of thing.)

Simon: "I'm very sorry if she tipped off anyone about your cunningly concealed herd of cows."

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 4:12 PM

PEULSAR5

We sniff the air, we don't kiss the dirt.

3. 1 for me, 2 for soon-to-be-converted friends.

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 4:20 PM

DRU

I already ordered 1 for a gift. And unless I get one for xmas, I'm going to wait for the extended DVD to come out to buy it for myself.

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 4:41 PM

JOSSISAGOD

I'm in the same boat as Serenyty, I think my parents ordered a copy for me for Christmas, and being a college student AKA. Freeloader, myself(that's just me!) I can't afford more than one copy.

JOSSIS(Most Deffinantly)AGOD

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 5:21 PM

CAUSAL

About 2 weeks after the domestic open, I began considering buying tickets but not going to the theater, just to get more money into the thing. And then it hit me--I am not personally responsible to bankroll a sequel. I do not have to beat myself up over whether I've "done my part". And I certainly don't have to spend more money than I can afford on this. I realized that I don't have any "responsibility" in this whole thing. I am a fan. That means I'll go see the BDM as many times as I want to, not as many times as I "should". After that I was able to relax and bask in the glory of the BDM without worrying over much about the bottom line.

Same deal with the DVDs. How many copies am I buying? One for me. Period. I'll try and introduce people to the 'verse, get them excited about the series and the movie, but I'm done with thinking that I need to give copies of the movie away to people that didn't ask for it, just to get the DVD numbers up. Perhaps that makes me less of a fan of the 'verse than folk think I should be, but I just don't give a damn anymore.

________________________________________________________________________
I wish I had a magical wish-granting plank.

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 6:31 PM

NCBROWNCOAT

I have one on preorder and plan to pick up one on release day.

I think sending the BDM and Firefly to the soldiers in Iraq is a good idea. It will probably be passed around and around.

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Sunday, December 11, 2005 6:42 PM

JOSSISAGOD

Sending the BDM and Firefly to Afghanistan would do the men and women STILL over there some good as well.

JOSSIS(Most Deffinantly)AGOD

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Monday, December 12, 2005 6:53 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

I have preordered 8 copies. One for myself, one as a loaner, four for gifts, and two to send to the troops overseas.

__________________________________________

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Fans:

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/richmondbrowncoats/

http://www.richmondbrowncoats.org

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Monday, December 12, 2005 11:18 AM

HARSHCRITIC

Quote:
Same deal with the DVDs. How many copies am I buying? One for me. Period. I'll try and introduce people to the 'verse, get them excited about the series and the movie, but I'm done with thinking that I need to give copies of the movie away to people that didn't ask for it, just to get the DVD numbers up. Perhaps that makes me less of a fan of the 'verse than folk think I should be, but I just don't give a damn anymore.

Why so angry? Whenever there is a thread like this, someone always gets upset. If you can't afford it then you can't afford it which is what I clearly stated in the thread. No one is saying go for broke over a movie or that you are any less of a fan. If you can only buy 1, then buy 1. That's cool!

Why be so negative? No one is judging and no one is forcing you to do anything that you don't want to do or can't. Take a deep breath and let it go.

All, I am saying DVDs make great gifts and we are close to x-mas.

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Monday, December 12, 2005 11:32 AM

DC4BS

At least 3:
1: US widescreen already pre-ordered at Amazon weeks ago along with most of the related soundtracks and books, etc... (considering a fullscreen just to see what's different...

1: UK release for exclusive UK content
1: AUS release for exclusive contenet (2nd DVD in the box!)

Gonna be a bunch of stuff to give away as well but I dunno exact numbers on that yet, I'm still making converts

------------------------------------------
FOX Execs...

dc4bs

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Monday, December 12, 2005 11:47 AM

CAUSAL

So much in here...

Quote:
Originally posted by harshcritic:
Why so angry? Whenever there is a thread like this, someone always gets upset.

I'm neither angry nor upset. What I am is tired. I spent a good long time before and after the release of the BDM holding myself personally responsible for the success of the movie. I actually got semi-depressed as the B.O. totals came in. So to release myself from responsibility was marvelous. When I see a thread with a question like yours, the implication is that we should all be buying multiple copies, and that just ain't so (after all, the term "how many copies" presupposes that you will buy more than one).

Quote:
If you can't afford it then you can't afford it...No one is saying go for broke over a movie...If you can only buy 1, then buy 1.

The fact of the matter is that I can afford to buy more than one. Many, many more, in point of fact. Notice your verbiage, though: if you can only buy one, then buy one. That seems to imply that if you can afford to buy more than one, do so. I just don't buy that I (or anyone) needs to do that.

Quote:
Why be so negative? No one is judging and no one is forcing you to do anything that you don't want to do or can't.

The reason I'm so negative is because we as a community have been manipulated pretty hard on this deal. Universal took a chance on our BDM, and bless them for that. But they also used us to conduct a viral marketing campaign. They set up the o-board with all its contests and challenges and quite clearly sent the message that if we wanted the movie to succeed, it was on our shoulders. To a certain extent, that's so--word of mouth is more effective than anything else as far as movie profits go. But they relied almost exclusively on us--I saw very few previews or commercials until just a few weeks before the opening. So when the BDM started struggling right out of the gates, we started doing some crazy stuff. I read a post wherein a gent claimed to have bought out an entire showing. That's just plain crazy. The idea of viral marketing is to spread info by word of mouth, not to create a fanatical army of fans who will take personal responsibility for the financial success of a movie. I'm not so much negative on the well-intentioned-though-misguided attempts to prop up the movie's numbers as I am on the whole idea that that even needs to be done at all, which I see as originating with Universal.

Many around this board predicted that Serenity would be the new Star Wars, or even out do Star Wars entirely (both in terms of cinematic quality as well as popularity and box office). This was plainly ridiculous. Our movie didn't perform the way we wanted it to at the box office. The key now is the DVD sales. What's frustrating me is that instead of conducting a true viral marketing campaign, we are falling back on obsessive DVD buying to boost the numbers. This is just not going to work. You buy a copy of the BDM for someone, they have it, they don't buy their own copy. End of story. Instead we ought to be converting; you convert one, that guy three, those three guys two each, and so on. The thing steamrolls, badaboom, sequel. But we seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that we, the small number of hardcores, will be able to buy enough DVDs to take this over the top. And I just don't think that's so.

Pre-emptive strike: I'm not mad, depressed, upset, angry, accusatory, or any of the other things you may have in mind to accuse me of. I'm just trying to inject a little realism into this obsessive frenzy.

________________________________________________________________________
I wish I had a magical wish-granting plank.

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Monday, December 12, 2005 12:47 PM

HARSHCRITIC

I think your mistaken and are reading too much into the thread and what Joss was saying about DVD sales being crucial. I also used the word "hoping" in my orginal post and "if you can't or don't want" to in my 2nd.

This is the situation. The movie did not do super in theaters so dvd sales will probably determine if their is a sequel of some kind.

The dvd is being released very close to x-mas. A lot of people will be buying gifts for fam, friends, and co-workers. So why not buy them a dvd as gift to both help sales and to convert new fans. Of course, not everybody exchanges gifts or even celebrates x-mas, but if you do it is a good way to go.

Like me for instance, I am buying 2 copies as gifts for 2 guys who love sci-fi movies but have not seen Serenity yet. Hopefully, they will become big fans. That is the jist of it.

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Monday, December 12, 2005 1:00 PM

JONATHAN

I agree with you about converting people being the key to expanding the fanbase. However, don't discount buying the dvd as a Christmas present as being a valid and effective method of converting people. I converted several people to the series two years ago by doing just that with the original tv dvd release.

Plus, since I recently moved to a different state and most of my close friends now live over 1,000 miles away, I can't just invite them over for pizza and beer and a dvd viewing. So I came up with the idea of sending everyone on my Christmas card mailing list a copy of the Serenity dvd. It turned out to be more than I can actually afford to do that, but it's just this one time and I can pay off my credit card balance over the next couple of months. It may seem like a waste of money to you, but the few new people I know who I got to go to the BDM where I live now all loved it and are now FF fans. Most of the people I'm sending the dvd to never saw the movie in a theatre. I'm thinking many of them will become fans after watching the dvd. At least that's my hope.

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Monday, December 12, 2005 3:24 PM

DC4BS

CAUSAL

"How many copies will you buy?" doesn't imply anything... Zero is a perfectly good answer. How the reader CHOOSES to take it is up to them.

As to giving copies to people verses converting them and getting them to buy thier own, I agree with you 95%

There are lots of people who would love to see FF/BDM but never will because of the completly lame marketing to date. People who are too far away from me to just drop by and show them the movie some evening to get them hooked.

I'm sending a box-set and BDM to my Mom and Stepdad. I'm quite sure they will NOT be converting anyone else into fans.

Well, maybe someday when my step-nephiews visit they could get to see it and become fans, but I think they are a might young for it yet...

I'm sending it to them because I want to give them the oportunity to watch something I have enjoyed so much and that I think they will enjoy greatly as well. And being retired, they don't have lots of money to go out and buy DVDs and stuff at the drop of a hat. I can do this for them and am doing so.

I know they liked "The 5th Eliment" because it has lots of humor and was prety well done so I feel it's a prety safe bet that they will like this as well.

It's a different kind of show. I've never been a fan of any show the way I've become one of Firefly. A few charcters here and there within shows I really liked maybe, but never the whole show, never every single character in a show (including guests).

And EVERY single person I've convinced to watch the pilot has had the same reaction. "PLEASE TELL ME THERE'S MORE!"

A show like this doesn't just happen every day. If FOX had simply been willing to give it the same chance most other shows get (and had someone with even 1/2 a clue in the marketing dept.), it might very well have been a huge success. But somewhere high enough up the ladder, some A-hole decided that since it wasn't the same old mindless crap that did OK for them in the past, it couldn't possibly be worth anything.

Well, we collectively aim to prove 'em wrong. So what if they put some of the marketing on the fans shoulders? Think about it. Based on past experiance with "big-marketing" of the Firefly 'verse, do YOU trust them to market it properly all by themselves? I didn't show up to this party till about a month ago. I think I'll be staying a spell though.

Network execs want shows to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Cause they believe there are just so many of em out there.

It puzzles me as to exactly who qualifies as an "L-C-D" cause I sure don't know any. Do you? Which tells me the execs themselves must be them. Cause THEY are the ones constantly pushing the crap and canceling the good stuff...

Signing off before I really get ranting...

------------------------------------------
FOX Execs...

dc4bs

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Tuesday, December 13, 2005 8:39 AM

SICKDUDE

My wife and I are getting ten. I feel sorry for the non-Firefly fans on our Christmas list. Oh, wait, there aren't any!

"Don't say 'ka' until you've tried it." Daniel Jackson

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Tuesday, December 13, 2005 9:53 AM

JINGTSAI

I've got five on pre-order and set up for overnight delivery so I will get them before I start traveling over the holidays (thank goodness for portable DVD players!). Two are for me, one for my brother, one for my niece (who is getting a set of Firefly DVDs, an "I Aim to Misbehave" hoodie and a mug from me also--do you sense a trend here?), and one for a friend.

JingTsai

***Firefly night, Serenity flight, all is shiny, all is bright...***

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Tuesday, December 13, 2005 10:16 AM

CHRISISALL

Quote:
Originally posted by Causal:
But they relied almost exclusively on us--I saw very few previews or commercials until just a few weeks before the opening. But we seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that we, the small number of hardcores, will be able to buy enough DVDs to take this over the top.

I agree, advertising for Serenity was truly lacking. I think the sad truth is that Serenity was too good. If there was less talkin' and more things blowin' up and maybe some skin, it would have been easier to market, and more of a campaign would have been waged.

Any copies I buy past my original two (one to watch, one to watch when I break the first), will be just to turn on a friend or two that wouldn't get it for themselves, who I know would like it, but give me that "I dunno about the westeren thing, though..." crap.

Chrisisall

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Tuesday, December 13, 2005 10:28 AM

GROOSALUGG

Only one for me, for X-mas. I may also get the Aussie version later on, if word comes back that the added stuff on there is worth it...

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