Dallas Buyers Club Pirates Debate

So people who read this BLOG know I love my entertainment shit, I saw (all paid for or through vouchers) three films at the cinema over the long weekend alone, I find the movies one of the only relaxing places in 2015 and see BIG things happening at the movies from now until forever.

Films and event cinema like Fast & Furious 7, Fifty Shades of Grey and Avengers/Marvel films make the cinema a unique and wonderful way to experience the miracle that is the movies. Home shitty downloads of cam films and poor quality with shit sound equals a very underwhelming experience. So for me, the movies cannot be replaced for poor quality downloads.

That said, without Global release dates, film studios in 2015 should expect, budget and not be at all surprised by piracy. Dallas Buyers Club is interesting, I can honestly say I had a paid for ticket to the movies to see this wonderful film, however I am not sure chasing people to try and recoup any lost funds the way they did in the US is the right way forward.

So let's look at marketing and distribution and the life cycle of a film. You get a cinema release where you comp in dozens, if not worldwide hundreds of reviewers, bloggers, celebs to see and discuss/review the film. You get your opening weekend box office and subsequent weeks at the cinema revenue. You leave the film be and then start the cycle again.

Press the DVD, comp out hundreds/thousands of copies for reviewers/promo/competitions and then your big release date. You start out at a premium price and now (on JB HI-FI online) you can get the DVD for $12.98 or Blu Ray for $19.98. Now this is based on Dallas Buyers Club and if I am using JB Hi Fi they commonly run 20% off Blu Rays and DVDS, so actually the film commonly retails for $10.38.

So now at the DVD and then discounted DVD sales time line, is it all a little late for a film you could buy for as little as $10.38?

In the US people have been known to have been fined $9,000, however is this stopping people? A great test will be this coming Sunday/Monday (Aussie time) when Game of Thrones Season Five launches or the online file Game of Thrones S05E01 is put out.

Now Game of Thrones/HBO always seems to have a strange/funny stance and great pride in being the MOST downloaded show around. And does all this FREE PR assist the show when they are launching? Let's be honest HBO have done some cool shit over the years and to be honest this isn't their best work.

So is Dallas Buyers Club and the distributor getting a heap of free marketing at present? Will anything happen in Australia like the US? Where will be piracy be in three years time? And how much does this actually cost the film giants who can still pay out millions to their leads whilst millions of Americans are finding it hard to buy food/provide shelter for their families.

Here are some costs involved in supporting the arts:

Ticket to the movies via Optus Rewards - $10 (excludes Saturdays after 5pm) (fair price)
New Premium Album on iTunes - $16.99 (debatable)
Platinum Ticket to Fleetwood Mac - $305.75 (fucking rip off)
Ticket to Ronny Chieng as part of Sydney Comedy Festival - $35.58 (great value to see this handsome man swear and tell funny tales)

So there is some good value and some pricing that leaves a lot to be desired, so maybe people in the arts world, take a look around, what are you selling and what is it actually worth? If you are looking to recoup losses, how much are you losing?

Dallas Buyers Club at this late stage of your products life, you are entitled to $10.38 from any Australian who downloaded this film. If you are trying/aiming for $9,000 you're dreaming and no offence the film wasn't that good.