Blu-rays are growing, but is it enough for physical media?

It's no secret that many movie studios rely on DVD sales to make films profitable. Some smaller companies with a direct-to-video model rely exclusively on them. Despite Hollywood seeing record box office returns this year, Bloomberg reports that DVD sales are noticeably declining. High-definition Blu-rays are becoming more popular, but the total amount spent on physical home media has still dropped over 5% in the last year.

Is the future of home media uncertain? Only a little. Studios will continue to make money, but the medium is shifting. DVD subscription services like Blockbuster and Netflix have seen steep drops, but spending on their corresponding streaming video services has increased by 28%. Even if this is a new trend, it's really more of a format change. People will always want to watch movies from home.

That said, the DVD market is nothing to sniff at. The world still spends over $5 billion a year on physical copies of movies. (And we're probably contributing a fare share to that.)