Bob... the DVD was launched on March 18, 2008, so it's still relatively "new"...!
The biggest way we, the filmmakers, get paid is if someone buys the DVD from a retailer. Whether it is bought by a consumer at full price or discounted doesn't really make a difference to us, because our revenue is based off the wholesale price rather than the retail price. That wholesale price, however, will go down over time, so it helps if consumers buy it in the first few months of shipment.
As independent filmmakers of a small film, we don't have any leverage with the rental stores. Neither does our relatively small distributor, Indican Pictures...unfortunately, we weren't able to sign with a big influential distributor like Warner Home Video. As a result, the only way we make money from places like NetFlix or Blockbuster is based on how many DVDs those companies actually purchase...we the filmmakers do not make any money off of individual rentals. Obviously, if the title is in huge demand, Netflix/Blockbuster would have to buy a large number of DVDs to be able to keep up with their "get it in a day" promise to their customers. Our film, unfortunately, did not make it into Blockbuster physical retail stores...they only took the title for their online rental business (Netflix took us as well). I'm pretty sure that bigger companies, like Warner Home Video, are able to negotiate revenues/royalties on a per-rental basis.
