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Direct-to-video: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Direct-to-video
The first direct-to-video release to enter production was E. Nick: A Legend in His Own Mind, a 1984 project produced by CineTel Films and directed by Robert Hegyes. This film did not appear in movie theaters, nor did it air on television, but instead went straight to the video shelf, creating a new marketplace that existed entirely apart from traditional cinema. Before streaming platforms dominated the global distribution landscape, this method allowed films to bypass the expensive and risky theatrical release process, generating revenue through video sales and rentals alone. The video shelf became its own ecosystem, where films could find audiences without the need for massive marketing campaigns or wide theatrical distribution. This shift marked the beginning of a distribution strategy that would eventually evolve into the modern streaming economy, proving that a film could succeed without ever being seen in a movie theater.
Stigma and Survival
Direct-to-video releases have historically carried a stigma of lower technical or artistic quality compared to theatrical releases, often dismissed as inferior products. Studios frequently chose this path for films with low budgets, negative reviews, controversial content, or limited appeal to niche markets. Some films were completed but never released in theaters because studios doubted their commercial prospects or because the release window had closed, a process film industry insiders referred to as having been vaulted. These films employed both former stars and young actors who might later become famous, much like B-movies shown in drive-in theaters during the mid-20th century. Despite the stigma, direct-to-video releases became profitable for independent filmmakers and smaller companies, with some high-profile genre films generating well in excess of fifty million dollars in revenue worldwide. The marketing for these films relied mostly on colorful box covers rather than traditional advertising, and they were often excluded from publications like Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide.
Animation and Family Films
The first feature-length animated film to be released direct-to-video in the United States was Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation in 1992, but the practice of creating and releasing regular fiction specifically for video did not truly take off until 1994. That year saw the release of Disney's The Return of Jafar and Universal's The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, neither of which was intended to hit theaters at any point during production. Animated sequels based on theatrical canon films, such as MGM's The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue from 1998, sparked criticism due to the deliberate neglect of the original source material. Some films, like Universal's Balto II: Wolf Quest, faced distribution challenges that caused delays or incorrect release orders. However, films based on long-time franchises remained continuous and successful, with Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island becoming one of the best-selling direct-to-video films of all time. By 1994, an average of six new direct-to-video films appeared each week, with erotic thrillers and R-rated action films being the two most successful genres before family films gained importance later in the decade.
What was the first direct-to-video release to enter production?
The first direct-to-video release to enter production was E. Nick: A Legend in His Own Mind, a 1984 project produced by CineTel Films and directed by Robert Hegyes. This film did not appear in movie theaters, nor did it air on television, but instead went straight to the video shelf. It created a new marketplace that existed entirely apart from traditional cinema.
When did direct-to-video releases truly take off in the United States?
The practice of creating and releasing regular fiction specifically for video did not truly take off until 1994. That year saw the release of Disney's The Return of Jafar and Universal's The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, neither of which was intended to hit theaters at any point during production. By 1994, an average of six new direct-to-video films appeared each week.
Which film was the first to premiere exclusively for sale on the iTunes Store?
In November 2007, Ed Burns' Purple Violets became the first film to premiere exclusively for sale on the iTunes Store. It was exclusive to the platform for a month. This event marked the emergence of direct-to-digital releases alongside or in lieu of home video.
What is the difference between OVA and V-Cinema in Japan?
In Japan, OVA stands for original video animation, while V-Cinema refers to non-animated works. Toei released the first film in its V-Cinema line, Crime Hunter, in March 1989. The OVA market developed in the mid-1980s, appealing to filmmakers because it allowed them to include more controversial content compared to broadcast television.
How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect direct-to-digital film releases?
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in worldwide closures of cinemas, prompting direct-to-digital releases for several major films. One example is the Chinese film Lost in Russia, which was acquired by ByteDance for 630 million yuan and streamed on its platforms for free. This shift demonstrated how direct-to-video distribution could adapt to different markets during global crises.
During the Golden Age of Porn in the 1970s, many pornographic films were released in theaters, with some becoming the highest-grossing films of their release years and in the pornography industry altogether. Toward the 1980s, pornography began to shift to video release because video allowed producers to work on extremely low budgets and dispense with some film production elements, such as scripts. The increased privacy and convenience of the format change were preferred by the target market, leading to a significant transformation in how adult content was distributed. During the late 1990s and onward, pornographers began releasing content on the Internet, further changing the landscape of adult entertainment. This shift demonstrated how direct-to-video distribution could adapt to different genres and markets, providing a platform for content that might not have found success through traditional theatrical releases.
Theatrical Exceptions and Digital Dawn
Occasionally, a studio that made a movie prepared as a direct-to-video film would release it theatrically at the last minute due to the success of another film with similar subject matter or an ultimate studio decision. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is an example of this; despite the movie's critically acclaimed success, its box-office performance was very poor, which has been attributed to the last-minute nature of its theatrical release. The film had much better commercial success in its subsequent home video releases. Other times, a direct-to-video movie may get a limited theatrical screening to build excitement for the actual video release, such as was done for 2010's Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Planet Hulk, 2016's Batman: The Killing Joke, and 2013's Sharknado. In some cases, other direct-to-video films can also be theatrically released in other countries. With the increasing prominence of digital distribution platforms in the 2000s and 2010s, direct-to-digital releases began to emerge alongside or in lieu of home video. In November 2007, Ed Burns' Purple Violets became the first film to premiere exclusively for sale on the iTunes Store, being exclusive to the platform for a month.
Netflix and the Streaming Revolution
As part of a push by the service towards original content, the subscription video on demand service Netflix began to acquire feature films for distribution on its service in the 2010s, including the 2013 documentary The Square and its first feature film in 2015, Beasts of No Nation. Netflix pursued a simultaneous release strategy for its films, partnering with a distributor for a limited theatrical release to maintain eligibility for awards requiring theatrical release, such as the Academy Awards, while simultaneously making them available to subscribers. Since 2018, Netflix has partially backpedaled from this strategy, giving its films a one-month theatrical run before their premiere on the Netflix service. Unique circumstances have also resulted in direct-to-digital releases, such as the 2014 film The Interview, which was released simultaneously on digital and at selected cinemas after major chains dropped the film due to terrorist threats by a hacking group believed to have ties to North Korea. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in worldwide closures of cinemas, prompting direct-to-digital releases for several major films, including the Chinese film Lost in Russia, which was acquired by ByteDance for 630 million yuan and streamed on its platforms for free.
Japan's Video Revolution
In Japan, OV (original video) are movies made for direct-to-video release, with OVA (original video animation) distinguished from OVM (original video movies) or V-Cinema, which usually refer to non-animated works. The OVA market developed in the mid-1980s, appealing to filmmakers because it allowed them to include more controversial sexual, violent, or political content compared to broadcast television, due to lax censorship and the lack of need to rely on sponsored advertisements for financial support. The market continued to expand during the Japanese asset price bubble and began to decline with the collapse of the bubble in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Toei released the first film in its V-Cinema line, Crime Hunter, in March 1989, and other studios began to release a slew of direct-to-video movies, often under lines with similar names such as V-Picture, V-Feature, and V-Movie. Relaxed censorship in V-Cinema gave way to the premier and rise of expressive auteur directors such as Takashi Miike, Hideo Nakata, Shinji Aoyama, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa. By 1995, the V-Cinema industry was in decline, but the explosion in quantity and variety of such movies established and cemented genres like J-horror and yakuza films.
China's Online Big Movies
In the mid-to-late 2010s, low-budget B-movies that are made exclusively for digital streaming became a trend in China, known as Online Big Movies or OBM. The word Big in the name was meant to be sardonic, as most of these films are often made on a very low budget and feature mostly unknown cast members and sometimes nonprofessional actors. However, the budget for these films has been slowly climbing up, ranging from less than one million yuan to upwards of ten or twenty million yuan. Although these Online Big Movies rarely feature well-known actors, in recent years, many have hired veteran actors from Hong Kong action cinema and Taiwanese cinema to join their cast. These movies are differentiated from films that are made for theatrical release but were later acquired by digital streaming services, as these Online Big Movies are produced by internet companies with the sole intent of digital release. In addition to the digital distribution of these films in China, many have been released on digital platforms outside of China, such as on YouTube, with popular channels like Q1Q2 Movie Channel Official and YOUKU MOVIE distributing these Online Big Movies.