Retailers Offering New-Release Blu-ray Titles for Under $16

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

By : Erik Gruenwedel | Posted: 12 Nov 2009
egruenwedel@questex.com

Apparently selling new release DVDs for $10 was just the start.

A week after offering pre-ordered new-release DVDs for $10, Walmart.com, BestBuy.com, Target.com and Amazon.com are offering pre-order new-release Blu-ray titles for as low as $16 — 35% below suggested retail.

Wal-Mart is offering Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for $15.86, The Hangover for $16.86, Terminator: Salvation for $15.86, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian for $18.86 and Star Trek for $20.32, according to their Web site.

Wal-Mart’s Blu-ray price cuts were in response to Amazon, which started the downward trend and whose prices now trail the Bentonville, Ark.-based retail goliath from $1 to $2 per title.

Richard Greenfield, analyst with Pali Capital, said the short-term gain on the price cuts should result in increased unit sales for the studios, whose titles are discounted, notably Warner Home Video.

“We fear Wal-Mart’s (and other retailers’) price cuts will ultimately pressure wholesale pricing,” Greenfield wrote in a note.