iTunes: $1m in movies sold in first week

People (including myself) are arguing that you should have the ability to burn digital movie purchases to DVD, like songs from iTunes to CDs, but is this really necessary? I’ve posted about this and also why Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo, Wal-Mart, Real, all the digital music / video hardware manufacturers, studios, and record labels need to WAKE UP. Interoperability is their ONLY option.

Interesting to note that 1 mil songs and 100K movies generate nearly the same revenue. Also, not sure why Disney would take only the first week’s revenue to guesstimate the revenue for the entire year.

#2. Yes, not very realistic. Also, as more providers are added, its share will drop from the current 100%.
Maybe they are taking the store growth into account? Even like that, it sounds like a poor guess.

Wow. Steve Jobs downloaded Finding Nemo 125,000 times!

So this is how he builds up hype!

How does one know that Iger is basing his estimate on the first week sales, maybe that was his estimate/goal before launch and first week sales just happen to track?

PX, because it seemed like he was thinking 1mil x 52 wks
But as you are saying, if he instead forecasted before the launch and he’s right on the target goal, then he is Nostradamus of Internet

I could be wrong, I think I am the only one left without an Ipod, but I think the movies are more expensive than the songs. It is an interesting idea, I just question why someone would want to but a movie for a 2 inch screen! Personally, I will stick with my flat panel..

“Personally, I will stick with my flat panel..”
But the kids won’t

If he forecasted 50 million before they opened, he wouldn’t be Nostradamus, he would be wrong. For a forecast of that magnitude for one year, first week sales would have definitely had to be higher than 1 mil as everyone knows their earnings AND percentage are almost sure to drop over a year. Therefore it follows that he predicted 50 mil based on the first week’s sale (i.e., he predicted AFTER the first mil was in) which would make him… an idiot.

Today, there are many other sources for downloading movies other than Apple. I don’t think that iTV might not be a successful as iTune.

There are other fruit on web other than Apple.

“I think the movies are more expensive than the songs. ”

Thanks for the info.

Anyone have sales figures for the amazon movie download service? I’d love to know which one users prefer.

“Thanks TUAW for posting this several hours before us (TechCrunch)”.

The Industry Architecture is Changing. Apple is fundamentally looking at altering the way movie distribution happens. I would anticipate that apple would impact the movie distribution business in the same way it impacted music distribution.

But the kids won’t

Kids use their parents NetFlix account and handbrake

It’s a bit saddening to see so many movies and mp3s sold by Apple..
Just because it proves you can really sell ice to eskimos (and make millions out of it).
It seems to me there are several internet “layers”, more and more of which continue to surface as days go by and as long as companies like Apple continue to make user-friendly ways to “fully take advantage” of the internet.

Let’s all reside on the bottom layer, that of the real users who don’t need to be breastfed by a big company, in order to do what they wanna do.

I know this makes no sense, but bear with me

P.S. I should also point out that I am fond of Apple hardware. I just don’t like their iTunes store stuff. Or better, I don’t like the people who do buy movies/music off it.

It’s bewildering to me that people will actually pay, almost full price. For poor quality movies. I suppose, they are the same people, who pay money for poor quality mp3s as well though.

I guess these are the girlfriends/wives/people who don’t care otherwise. As long as they can actually hear and or see something, that is “good enough”.

I had my first “three screen” experience after I bought The Life Aquatic from iTunes.

First I watched part of it on my Mac Mini, then I transferred it to my iPod and used the AV out cable to watch more of it on my TV, then I watched the rest of it on my iPod directly while on a flight. That night I plugged my iPod into another TV and watched part of it again.

It was a great experience. I plan to do it again.

More about the gear I used here: http://podslug.com/blog/?p=59

Erik

I don’t usually buy movies and I do care about the visual quality of the program, but I have bought 2 movies from itunes and anticipate buying more. Here are the reasons.

1. I don’t need to lock into a subscription like netflix.
2. I don’t need to run to the video store.
3. I watch the movies on my laptop and my big screen tv, via a mac mini. (I am always annoyed by people who assume these movies are for display on an iPod).
4. I have two kids who enjoy watching movies over and over again, but don’t know how to keep discs from getting scratched.
5. I anticipate higher quality movies early next year.
6. I anticipate more choices in the future.
7. I like the freedom to shop for a movie when I’m in the mood for watching it, not when I happen to be in a wallmart, target or best buy.

Overcast, there are more product attributes to consider than simply price and playback quality. Did you make your car purchase with such a narrow selection criteria? If so, I’m curious what car you bought.

Joe, I was willing to bear with you as you explained yourself, but then you signed off.

Other, you seem to be considering the impact of additional competition but not a growing audience of people who use the new service. It will be interesting to see how close Disney’s projection is.

I am amazed at how well iTunes Movies did with only Disney and 75 films online, I think the service does have great potential but the pricing needs to drop, thats more of a studio problem than Apple problem, movies should be 9.99 for new films and 7.99 for discount flicks. Come one here your locked into a platform and resolution, and there is less than $1 is costs.. the movie studios are just greedy.. It’s not surprising technologies like bit-torrent are so popular…

Many of you have a very myopic view regarding iger’s forecast. First off, you highly underestimate the marketing genius of Apple. Like them or not, they have some of the most effective marketing within corporate America. For example, they started with 5 TVs shows from one network last October. In less than a year, they have grown to over 220s shows from 40 networks. Users have downloaded over 45 million shows producing nearly $100 million in revenue.

Do I think Iger’s forecast is inflated? Certainly not. I think by this time next year, Apple’s Movie store will have outsold Amazon by 3-4 times and will have produced between $75 -$100 million in revenue and they will have well over 1000 thousand films and growing to choose from.

Only time will tell. If you’ve followed Steve Jobs, you know that he is a consumate businessman.

I would like to stick with my flat panel but the kids want let me.

Okay,
So I am one of those “girlfirends/wives/people who don’t care otherwise. As long as they can actually hear and or see something, that is “good enough”. I admit, I am a movie fanatic and watch movies everyday. I know some of you guys get annoyed by people like me, but I need to make sure.
1. You can watch itunes movies on your laptop, right?
2. They aren’t the best thing since sliced bread but if you weren’t crazy about high tech you wouldn’t know better, right?Basically, they are decent, and watchable?
3. Do they take up the whole screen or are they small and retarded like internet short flicks.
4. Is itunes the best place to download movies from thats not illegal?
5. Anything else movie freak would need to know?
Thank Ya

… and the distribution channels for digital content continue to accelerate.