When Don Endy saw the thick packaging accompanying the latest slew of blockbuster releases, he knew they would be big sellers.
“You can see from the box that there was a little more care and expense that went into their packaging,” said Endy, a buyer for General Video of America, one of the country’s biggest distributors which also operates 45 retail stores.
“When you have that, you know it’s a quality product and people are going to pay for quality. Even if it’s a little more expensive, people are going to buy it and the studios know that.”
The fact some retailers pay almost as much for one of these blockbusters as they would for several garden-variety features, doesn’t faze them so long as they’re in on what could be a big seller, says Roy Karch, president of Empire Video Distributors.
“Nobody complained of cost when Pirates came out last year and became a huge seller.”
Not surprisingly, this year’s biggest movies come in lavish boxes, featuring multiple discs filled with content and extras along with booklets and liner notes outlining the production and credits. It's not unlike some of Hollywood’s own big-budget, blockbuster DVD titles.
“It costs a lot more for us, but it’s going to sell a lot,” Endy said, which is music to the ears of studio bosses.
It’s no wonder Wicked Pictures’ recent Manhunters release made a big splash when it hit store shelves. With its book-like packaging, the release featured multiple discs filled with hours of content along with the title itself which was shot on location, complete with high-end effects and an A-list cast made up of most of the studio’s contract stars and other performers.
The title so far has been well received and is well on its way to blockbuster status, the studio says, even if its wholesale cost is more than most distributors are willing to pay for a new feature from most other studios.
“When you see the packaging, you know this is an important movie,” Karch said.
“My customers don’t care if it’s going to cost more. They just know it’s going to sell.”
Among the major releases that have recently been packaged as special editions with elaborate box cover designs are Club Jenna's Jenna’s Provocateur, along with Evil Angel’s Fashionistas Safado: The Challenge, Ninn Worx’s Sacred Sin, Digital Playground’s Island Fever 4, Wicked's FUCK and Vivid Entertainment Group’s Emperor.
“They’re trying to distance themselves from the pack and to stand out while everyone else is fighting for shelf space,” Karch said.
“For me personally, I think it’s a great move. It shows the customer that this is something special and that they should buy it.”
But for some retailers, the new packaging can be a double-edged sword.
“We know they sell, but we can’t find a place on the shelf for it because people keep taking it. So we have to put it behind the counter and it’s hard for customers to see it sometimes,” said Ron Heidner, a spokesman for the Adult Superstore chain.
“But, because of the packaging, these movies don’t really fit our shelves so we have to put it somewhere and it might go in a glass case behind the counter, too.”
Even so, customers are still willing to shell out double what they would pay for other releases just to check out a big-budget feature, Karch says.
“It’s the packaging. People see it’s this big thick package so it has to have more content so they buy it. But it’s also about quality. They know it’s Vivid, for instance, and that it’s going to be good.”
Even as the glut of product continues to stifle the industry’s growth, the studios have come to realize that packaging can help push through an important release, said Theresa Flynt, head of video marketing and vice president of licensing and brand management at LFP Video Group.
“It’s the same thing they’re doing in mainstream like with movies like Titanic…Packaging makes a difference. There’s something about nice packaging that makes it sell,” she said.
And many retailers agree, said D.J., assistant manager at South City Book & Video in Syracuse, N.Y.
“When customers see those movies in special packaging on the shelf, they’re immediately drawn to them,” he said.
“They’re interested in it because it looks different and looks better than a lot of the other things we carry. And they sell. When Pirates, came out, I couldn’t keep it on the shelf. I still can’t. It’s selling like crazy. I think customers saw that it was different and it was special.”
