One Of The First Movies Released On DVD Was A '90s Disaster Classic
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The advent of home video completely reshaped the movie business as we know it. Before VHS became prominent in the '80s, once a movie left theaters, the only way to capitalize on it later was occasional airings on TV, and there weren't even as many channels back then. The market was reinvented once again when DVDs were introduced in the mid-'90s, which made watching movies at home all the more convenient. "Be kind, rewind" was a thing of the past.
It may seem trite now, but DVD (aka Digital Video Disc) was revolutionary at the time. From easier access to better picture quality, and even special features, it was a game changer. But what was the first movie available for folks who picked up a DVD player? The most commonly accepted answer to that question is the '90s disaster movie classic "Twister."
Directed by Jon de Bont, the film centers on Jo Harding (Helen Hunt) and her ragtag team of students who are seeking to deploy a groundbreaking tornado data-gathering device conceived by her estranged husband, Bill (Bill Paxton). As the storm of the century approaches, she tells Bill that Dorothy is ready for testing just as they're trying to finalize their divorce. A shaky alliance is formed as they team up to try and make history. Dangerous blockbuster thrills ensue.
"Twister" was a smash hit in 1996 that redefined the summer movie season. In that way, it made it the perfect candidate to help launch this new home video format to the public in North America. It's worth noting that DVDs first took off in Japan before becoming commercially available in the U.S. in 1997, the year after "Twister" first touched down in theaters.
Was Twister actually the first DVD ever released?
Before diving into the significance of the "Twister" DVD release, we should mention that it is often cited as being the first movie to make its way to DVD. That may not be entirely correct, though. It's complicated. Indeed, de Bont's film was released on DVD on March 25, 1997, but it wasn't the only film released that day.
There were, give or take, 30 different Hollywood titles released on DVD on that fateful day in '97, many of which came from the Warner Bros. archives. The titles also included Tim Burton's 1989 superhero hit "Batman," the horror classic "The Exorcist," Sylverster Stallone's boxing classic "Rocky," and the live-action/CGI hybrid "Space Jam," among others. That said, "Twister" was one of the newest, most high-profile releases of the bunch.
Whether or not it was the very first DVD to hit shelves is somewhat irrelevant. When curious consumers flocked to stores like Circuit City or Radio Shack to buy their first DVD player, this beloved '90s classic was one of the first movies that helped demonstrate to the public at large why this was a worthwhile investment. For what it's worth, it worked like gangbusters, with the DVD market exploding in the years that followed, peaking in 2005 with sales totaling more than $16 billion.
Sales have dried up a great deal in recent years, though DVD is not quite as dead as some might have you believe. In any event, in the early going, "Twister" helped cement the format as a success, giving Hollywood a much-needed, very reliable source of revenue for years to come.
Twister had a huge second life on home video
In the streaming era, it can be tough for a movie to recoup its money — or make extra money — after it has left theaters. That's not to say VOD or streaming can't be a big moneymaker, but it's nothing like the heyday of DVD. "Twister" is a prime example of just how lucrative that business once was.
De Bont's film was the top-selling VHS in 1996 before arriving on DVD, meaning that an entirely new revenue stream was opened up. Over the years, Universal has released the film on DVD several more times before eventually bringing it to Blu-ray and, more recently, on 4K Ultra HD in 2024, timed to the release of "Twisters." Universal has been able to capitalize on this movie time and time again on home video in various formats, not to mention all of the cable TV revenue over the years.
In no small part thanks to getting in on the DVD craze early, "Twister" enjoyed a very long second life beyond the big screen. Unfortunately, in the streaming era, even certain hit movies run the risk of being lost to time once their streaming tile disappears from the homepage months after its initial release. Can Lee Isaac Chung's sequel "Twisters" live on as long as its predecessor did? That's a big question. People are more likely to stream it and move on. In 1997, people were watching that cow fly through the air over and over again without having to rewind a tape.