 In case you missed the awesomely average G.I. Joe when it hit theaters in early August, Paramount has some good news for you, my friend. You'll only have to wait a couple of weeks before the Joes hit DVD and Blu-Ray on November 3rd. Before you hurt yourself trying to do the math, that's only 88 days between theatrical and home video releases. Well, we all know that movies are coming out quicker than ever these days, so what's the big deal? It seems that NATO (National Association of Theater Owners) thinks that 88 days is way too short - the current industry standard is 123 days - and are apparently going "ballistic" over what this might mean. Their logic is that if the average consumer believes that any new release film will be available for those premium $1 rentals in under 3 months, less and less people will pony up the dough for those $9 tickets and, more importantly, overpriced theater food. Paramount has struck back, saying that they simply want people to be able to enjoy G.I. Joe and The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (also coming after 88 days) in time for the holidays. But does two whole months before Christmas really count as "the holidays"? What do you guys think? Would you skip a movie in theaters if you knew it'd be on DVD so soon thereafter? I personally think there's nothing like the moviegoing experience, and would see a film I really want to see at a theatre no matter when the DVD was set for release.
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I see where the theaters are coming from, but how would they stop them? Are they going to NOT play G.I. Joe in their theaters? No. I heard a couple years ago that Mark Cuban's company was working on a way to have the film in theaters and online at the same time. You could also buy a digital copy at the theater under that plan. I wonder what they'd say then.