I had read that they will release a movie on DVD the same time it is released in the theater to see the reaction. Why watch a movie in a lousy theater when most people have large screens, great sound systems and a nice comfortable couch.
That will be interesting as a strategy. The issue I see is that DVD releases tend to allow for another round of hype for a flick and boost downstream revenues.
But if the product is bad anyway, it shouldn't matter....