Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper film 'Serena' hits Apple's iTunes Store 3 weeks before theaters [u
Serena, a Susanne Bier movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, is now available for rent on the iTunes Store and Google Play -- three weeks before the film is due to arrive in US theaters.
On iTunes, the movie costs $10 to rent in HD or SD. Google Play is charging $11 for HD, and $10 for SD.
All three pricetags are unusually high for a rental, but it's rare for a movie to show simultaneously in theaters and on streaming services, much less stream weeks in advance. Most major film studios are worried about hampering box office numbers and upsetting relationships with theater owners.
Serena may be an exception because of its poor reviews so far. The film has an average rating of just 27 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and major publications such as Entertainment Weekly and the Hollywood Reporter have panned it. People may be more willing to see the film if it's at a cheaper price and in their own home.
A more typical iTunes rental price is $6 for a recent, high-profile title such as Big Hero 6. At Google Play, that same movie is $6 in HD or $5 in SD.
Update: The movie is also available on Amazon Instant Video for $10.
On iTunes, the movie costs $10 to rent in HD or SD. Google Play is charging $11 for HD, and $10 for SD.
All three pricetags are unusually high for a rental, but it's rare for a movie to show simultaneously in theaters and on streaming services, much less stream weeks in advance. Most major film studios are worried about hampering box office numbers and upsetting relationships with theater owners.
Serena may be an exception because of its poor reviews so far. The film has an average rating of just 27 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and major publications such as Entertainment Weekly and the Hollywood Reporter have panned it. People may be more willing to see the film if it's at a cheaper price and in their own home.
A more typical iTunes rental price is $6 for a recent, high-profile title such as Big Hero 6. At Google Play, that same movie is $6 in HD or $5 in SD.
Update: The movie is also available on Amazon Instant Video for $10.
Comments
Check out the imdb.com reviews of the movie. Wow.
The movie business is not an easy one and success is still mostly a matter of good timing and audience awareness. For a while, in the 70's, the big movies that were getting made were gritty, adult dramas with morally conflicted leading characters. Today, the biggest films are spectacle and action designed to play to international audiences and to appeal to the youth market. With a large aging population, I have a strong suspicion the tide will turn.
The movie business is not an easy one and success is still mostly a matter of good timing and audience awareness. For a while, in the 70's, the big movies that were getting made were gritty, adult dramas with morally conflicted leading characters. Today, the biggest films are spectacle and action designed to play to international audiences and to appeal to the youth market. With a large aging population, I have a strong suspicion the tide will turn.
There are some movies being made today that are gritty etc. The real difference is that the tech wasn't really there to go big, purely entertaining spectacles that would make big money.
And I"m not really sure that this move has anything to do with the reviews. It's possible that this was the arrangement from the start. Some directors and studio execs have the balls to try these moves rather than crap on them. Audiences are changing and many of JLaw's fans are younger and more in tune with tech. Making this perhaps a worthy experiment to see if folks still go to the theaters in numbers similar to what was expected for the film or if there is a high rental and low theater attendance
oh and for the record, 50 Shades of Grey has a 25% on RT. and has also been panned by several major magazines etc
There are some movies being made today that are gritty etc. The real difference is that the tech wasn't really there to go big, purely entertaining spectacles that would make big money.
And I"m not really sure that this move has anything to do with the reviews. It's possible that this was the arrangement from the start. Some directors and studio execs have the balls to try these moves rather than crap on them. Audiences are changing and many of JLaw's fans are younger and more in tune with tech. Making this perhaps a worthy experiment to see if folks still go to the theaters in numbers similar to what was expected for the film or if there is a high rental and low theater attendance
I'm pretty confident it has a lot to do with the lukewarm reviews. They're smart to get their movie into the hands of fans as quickly as possible to goose their opening day numbers.
Charging nearly twice the normal online price for a movie widely-known to suck, doesn't seem to be a good marketing my move.
Fans of both actors will still want to see the movie.
Fans of both actors will still want to see the movie.
Who's a fan of those two? The younger crowd?
Most will probably just steal the movie.
The movie business is not an easy one and success is still mostly a matter of good timing and audience awareness. For a while, in the 70's, the big movies that were getting made were gritty, adult dramas with morally conflicted leading characters. Today, the biggest films are spectacle and action designed to play to international audiences and to appeal to the youth market. With a large aging population, I have a strong suspicion the tide will turn.
In the late 1960s to early 70s, the movie industry as a whole was also mostly dying; attendance was plumetting.
Cinemas in general were big glorious dumps, shadows of their former glory!
Sad really. I was in my a child at that time. Saw many Disney movies in those fading glories.
Sound in most cinemas was pathetic.
Box office levels were in a free fall and while there were good gritty movies,
most movies geared to a slightly broader public were utter schlock.
My favorite of the period : The Conversation.
The reason those gritty movies were even made was utter desperation really.
They had tried the big event movies to save their audience during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Only a few worked (Ben Hur, Sound of Music, Mary Poppin), others were catastrophes (Cleopatra).
Off course, then Jaws arrived... Then Star Wars... That changed everything.
There's a lot more good movies these days than in the 1970s.
Though, with people having big screens at home
many things (those that are not very big budget) that would have become movies before
turn up in television (including actors).
The current "golden age" of TV is linked to this transfer of creative energy.
Most interesting movies aren't coming out big Hollywood studios.
The type of movies that I wish hadn't mostly disappeared are , comedies.
There are very few good comedies on film these days, though there are certainly quite a few dramedies.
They were both great in Silver Linings Playbook.
They were both great in Silver Linings Playbook.
I liked that movie. It really surprised me.
They were both great in Silver Linings Playbook.
I haven't seen that movie yet.
I haven't seen that movie yet.
I dreaded seeing it because of the acclaim it received, but once I actually saw it I was pleasantly surprised at its unblinking forthrightness.
Like [@]SpamSandwich[/@] said, it's surprisingly good.
I'll check it out for sure.
Who's a fan of those two? The younger crowd?
Most will probably just steal the movie.
I think "The movie going crowd" – Lawrence and Cooper were in the #1 and #2 biggest domestic grossing films last year. Lawrence was also in the #9 ranked movie in 2014 and in the #1 & #17 biggest domestic grossing films of 2013. Cooper was also in the #3 ranked film of 2014.
While 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and the Hunger Games movies might appeal to a younger crowd, films like 'American Sniper', 'American Hustle', 'Winters Bone' and 'Silver Linings Playbook' have a broader appeal.
I don't mind paying movie ticket prices to rent a movie on iTunes if it comes out at the same time as the theatre. Once it leaves the theatre the price should drop down to a more typical video rental kind of price.
Charging nearly twice the normal online price for a movie widely-known to suck, doesn't seem to be a good marketing my move.
I can see why they'd do it. The people that really want to see it will pay for it. Also, get a few people together to chip in for watching. Or even two.
Interesting marketing move and great to have options.
We have a literal stack of movie tickets sitting at home that I got from work for little awards. We just don't go to theater. When I did, it was Sunday morning when there is only a handful of people going. My 18 year old doesn't even go. The 16 year old either. Everything is done on their phones...
As another poster pojnted out, check the reviews and comment section on IMDB for this one. Wow is right. There's hate, and then there's pure unbridled vitriol. Honestly I thought the studio would just shelve it, instead of risking damage to the shine of these two rising stars.