Blockbuster Doing Better Than Was Thought in Brazil

Hi Mike,

In a recent Voicemail show a listener sent a comment about how Blockbuster had supposedly gone bankrupt in Brazil due to competition from pirate DVDs. I don’t know where he heard that, but it’s not true, the chain is actually growing. My sister is a regular customer, and you can find the Brazilian Blockbuster website at www.blockbuster.com.br

Still, piracy is a major problem for the DVD market in Brazil. Pirate DVDs down here are easy to come by - they’re sold openly on the sidewalks, including right in front of my local movie theater - and often with the film that’s just opened! And they cost about 5 US dollars, as opposed to around $25 for the original DVD, or around $10 for a movie ticket - which is itself comparatively more expensive even than the price in the US, if you consider the average per capita income.

All the best,

Eric H.
in Rio de Janeiro

Interesting. Thanks for the update on the market down there. I love hearing different points of view. This may come up as a topic soon.

MRM