MAKING THE NUT: Whenever I look at a film on the Internet Movie Database, I always look at its "Box Office and Business" page, wondering if it's made it's nut--if it's at least broken even, or made a profit. Otherwise the film is generally considered a failure by Hollywood standards, no matter how much of an artistic success it is.

But that may be changing. The Digital Bits links to a recent New York Times article on DVD, which includes this interesting tidbit:

Some recent hit films, like The Fast and the Furious and Training Day, have earned more money from their DVD releases than from their first-run theater engagements. And for the first time, DVD sales have surpassed those of videocassettes, even though DVD players are in only about a third of American households, compared with a saturation of more than 90 percent for videocassette players.

Which makes perfect sense. Where would you rather a watch a film? Snug in your climate-controlled, atmosphere controlled home theater, with only your family, or people you've invited? Or in a crowded movie theater with screaming kids, cellphones ringing, talking audience members, and other minor horrors of modern day civilization in full display?

(There's a whole other post about the decline and fall of Western Civilization here, but I'll save that for another day--or another blogger.)