In what I assume is a move to advertise their (recently acquired) Movielink service (and get some press), Blockbuster has paid over a million bucks to exclusively distribute Jackass 2.5 for one week. The NY Times writes:
Paramount Pictures is lurching onto the Web with its âJackassâ? franchise, with what it says will be the first studio-backed feature film to have its premiere online. The hour-plus film has original material and previously unseen outtakes from the second âJackassâ? movie in 2006. The new movie, made for less than $2 million, will stream for free but will have 15- or 30-second commercials before and after it plays.
It’s not entirely clear to me if this will be offered via a website (blockbuster.jackassworld.com) or if it’ll require a download of the Movielink application. However, once the period of exclusivity expires, the “film” will be made available through other online sources (iTunes, Unbox – $10-$15) and physical DVD ($30). (via Hacking Netflix)
UPDATE: The film won’t require a Movielink install. Rather, playback will be web-based and may feature the most prominent utilization of Silverlight. (Requiring a 1.5MB browser plugin on Windows or Mac OS X.)