[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

My prediction is that studios are going to release new movies via home pay-per-view. Movie theaters are going to become obsolete like adult theaters.

[TexasGunLover]

My prediction is that studios are going to release new movies via home pay-per-view. Movie theaters are going to become obsolete like adult theaters.

Disney said they might just last week... and with on demand services, you get to start the movie whenever you want, plus all the advantages of pause and rewind. :)

[lemura]

My prediction is that studios are going to release new movies via home pay-per-view. Movie theaters are going to become obsolete like adult theaters.

You must be reading the industry trades. The entertainment business could care less whether or not people 'go' to see movies. It's all about promotion and awareness for much wider home-entertainment distribution.

This means coordinated marketing via magazines, TV, radio, etc to build up expectations and sell through DVDs. Part of this promotion crescendo is based on, as you state, simulcast/release to theatres and home broadcast.

The core need to be entertained has never dissipated; just the technology in which to communicate the product.