In a move that could signal the future of the home theater industry, Sony Pictures will offer consumers the animated hit “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” first on streaming Blu-Ray players and Internet TV, reports the New York Times.
Priced at $24.99, the move is hoped to spark a renewed interest and model for home theater release of films. DVDs sales have been steadily declining and Blu Ray players don’t yet have the market share that studios would like to see.
“We don’t need a war with Wal-Mart or any other organization, and I don’t think they’re hostile to this,” said Howard Stringer, the chief executive of Sony. “It will make televisions more valuable, and that’s a good thing.”
The experiment is part of a search in Hollywood for ways to capitalize on the Internet’s potential for film distribution.
“The time when a majority of consumers have Internet-enabled TVs is a long way off,” said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at Pali Capital. “But it’s moving the ball in the right direction.”
“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” Sony’s biggest animated hit, was released in September and has generated almost $174 million in worldwide box office receipts, according to Box Office Mojo, which tracks movie ticket sales.
It will be available to owners of Sony Bravia sets and Blu-ray players with Internet capability from Dec. 8 to Jan. 4, the day before the movie is released on DVD.
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