following the release of annihilation (2018) on Netflix in America, The Economist published a review titled “Is Netflix the New Straight-to-Video?” (NB). In it, the author takes note of a handful of other films that were dumped onto the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service over the past several years, including The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) and Mute (2018), after their distributors decided it would be more financially responsible to shunt the films onto someone else's shoulders. However, the central question raised by the review's title is not addressed outside of these initial comparisons. This is curious because the question is a salient one, increasingly relevant in a post-COVID-19 world, where theatrical exhibition is on precarious economic footing. While The Economist sidesteps its proposed question, I slightly adjust it to argue that digital streaming services that rely on subscription revenue as their business model have become the new home of direct-to-consumer...
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Research Article|
April 01 2023
Direct-to-Video (On Demand): New Industrial and Cultural Valuations of Nontheatrical Film Releases
Mike Van Esler
Mike Van Esler
mike van esler is an assistant professor of radio, TV, and film at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh. His research interests include media library history, streaming service user experiences, and evolving entertainment industry business models. His work has been published in Television and New Media, The Journal of Popular Culture, and FLOW.
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Journal of Film and Video (2023) 75 (1): 3–15.
Citation
Mike Van Esler; Direct-to-Video (On Demand): New Industrial and Cultural Valuations of Nontheatrical Film Releases. Journal of Film and Video 1 April 2023; 75 (1): 3–15. doi: https://doi.org/10.5406/19346018.75.1.01
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