For $40,000 You Can Watch First Run Movies In Your Home

Hollywood and the movie theaters have finally figured out a system they agree on to screen first run movies in your house. It costs $35,000 for the hardware and a $500 per rental.

A company called PRIMA Cinema has created a system that allows people to watch movies opening in theaters in their homes. The $35,000 hardware includes multiple failsafes to ensure the film looks and sounds great. It also includes a separate biometric security system so only the person who is authorized to watch the movie is watching the movie. After that, each rental is $500 but you are required to pre buy 10 movies at the start, so the whole system costs $40,000.

The Verge was invited to check out PRIMA Cinema and has a very detailed, interesting write up on the system. (You can also read more on the official website.)  Besides the price points, some of the other important facts are that the system can't be transported. It features technology that will render the system inoperable if it is moved. There's no bringing the system over to your friends house, in other words.

All of the films are pre-downloaded to your $35,000 hardware so there's no wait time if you decide to watch a movie. Sometimes, those movies even show up before the release date, but their availability to watch is tied to when the studio approves the Prima version of the movie. The interface and everything else is pretty much as you'd expect, save for a biometric thumbprint authorization system which must be passed before you charge $500 for a film.

PRIMA Cinema is so expensive and so exclusive, movie studios and theaters don't see it as a threat to their business. Which is why it exists at all. Apparently though, the rich and famous are scooping up these systems left and right. There's already a waitlist.

We previous wrote about PRIMA Cinema five years ago.

Do you see this as a significant set in home distribution? Or just a temporary solution to the demand?