Movie Sequels Increase DVD & BluRay Prices of Original Movies

Sequels are big business in the movie industry. In 2011, 27 movies were sequels which equals nearly 20% of all movies released last year. When these sequels release in theaters they increase the prices of the original movies on DVD and BluRay. This can be very helpful for DVD collectors to know so you can save some money building your collection.

For this research we used ten movies with sequels released in the second half of 2011. We analyzed the used movie prices a month before the sequel released, the month of the release, and a month after release. The movies included are:

Title	Sequel Release Date
Paranormal Activity	October 21st 2011
Paranormal Activity 2	October 21st 2011
Happy Feet	November 18th 2011
Sherlock Holmes	December 16th 2011
Mission Impossible	December 21st 2011
Mission Impossible 2	December 21st 2011
Mission Impossible 3	December 21st 2011
Twilight	November 18th 2011
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse	November 18th 2011
The Twilight Saga: New Moon	November 18th 2011

Click for Larger Chart

The chart above shows the DVD prices for the original movies before, during, and after the sequel released. The average price increased 58% during the month of the sequel's release. Then the month after release prices decreased 16%.

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This chart shows the prices for Blu-Ray movies before, during, and after the sequel released in theaters. Blu-Ray prices didn't increase as much as the DVD prices with an average increase of 22%. The subsequent decrease was smaller as well, only dropping 7% a month after the sequel.

How to Use This Price Data as a DVD Collector

Knowing that DVD and Blu-Ray prices increase when a sequel comes out can save you money as a collector. Be sure to buy the original movies before the sequel releases or you will end up paying a 50% premium.

Or if you are looking to sell some movies from your collection, think about selling movies the same time a sequel is released.