Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan boldly arrived on Home Video this week back in 1982, after a June 4th theatrical release.
And the VHS would only cost you 39.95 in federation credits.
That’s right, several years before it was adopted as THE default home video business model, Paramount aimed some new releases squarely at the priced-to-own buyer’s market (as opposed to rentals) back when most tapes would set you back a whopping 89.95 (that’s almost 300 bucks in today-beans). This was a watershed experiment and, with an initial run of 120,000 copies, Wrath became the Studio’s biggest video cassette seller to date.
The industry took notice. Paramount would continue the trend with later Trek releases as well as Indiana Jones, Beverly Hills Cop, Flashdance and Top Gun. The financial success of this quick turnover, coupled with the affordable price tag, helped convince studios to further fast-track summer blockbusters for the holiday market. By 1990, it more-or-less became the default business model.
Tidbit: The Star Trek TOS ‘Space Seed’ episode was also released on Home Video to coincide with Wrath’s theatrical run. It became the success story that helped pave the way for further television series hitting VHS. -Pop