Have you noticed a marked increase in advertising for DVD releases? There's a reason for that. Spending and earnings are way up on marketing for DVD releases. Consider this tidbit:

Buena Vista spent more than $34 million to market the video release of "Finding Nemo." The payoff: an estimated $536.7 million in gross receipts.

Magazines and TV both network and cable are the big big winners.

Brings to mind a previous post I have about DVD marketing:

So What Business are Theatres in?

Seeing the studios relying heavily on the inclusion of extra footage or deleted scenes as enticements to purchase the movie makes me wonder how long it will be until the theatrical release of a film is more blatantly shaped as a "commercial" promoting the DVD. Will there be a crawl or a pop up at the bottom of the screen saying "Find out more about the making of this scene on the DVD." or will there be cliff-hangers at the end of the movie that will be resolved by added footage in the DVD? Moves like these seem inevitable given the huge revenues generated by DVD sales. Increasingly, movies are generating more revenue in DVD sales than theatrical releases. So, movie theatres, what business are you really in? Are you in the business of renting seats and air-conditioning in 90-120 minute increments or are you in the movie entertainment business? Why do you not sell DVDs? Why don't you partner with Netflix to offer "also like" DVDs to moviegoers in theatre lobbies? Why not collect $20 from moviegoers who just saw the latest blockbuster and send them home with 5 DVDs (and postage paid return envelopes) featuring similar movies, other movies by the same director or featured actors, or the original of remakes. Netflix would increase their customer base and moviegoers would have an expanded entertainment experience. Netflix be nimble, Netflix be slick Blockbuster and Walmart.com are coming on quick.

How long until the DVD of the movie you just saw is available for purchase on your way out of the theatre? That would cut down the wait to find out the resolution to that cliff hanger the movie ended with.[link]

In fact Blockbuster has just launched their online DVD rental site.

[read]via the great Movie Marketing Blog