A movie that is released direct-to-video (also known as made-for-video, straight-to-video, more recently, straight-to-DVD) is one which has been released to the public on home video formats (historically VHS) before or without being released in movie theaters or broadcast on television. The term is also at times used as an insulting term for sequels of movies that are not expected to have financial success.
Reasons for releasing direct-to-video
Direct-to-video releases can occur for several reasons. Often a production studio will develop a TV show or movie which is not generally released for several possible reasons: poor quality, lack of support from a TV network, controversial nature, or a simple lack of general public interest. Studios, limited in the annual number of movies they grant cinematic releases to, may choose to pull the completed movie from the theaters, or never exhibit it in theaters at all. Studios then recover some of their losses through video sales and rentals.
In the case of a TV show, low ratings may cause a studio to cancel the show, possibly after having filmed an entire season and aired some episodes. If the show has a considerable fanbase, the studio may release unaired episodes on video to recover losses. Clerks: The Animated Series and Firefly are examples of canceled shows which were successful cult hits on DVD. Occasionally outstanding DVD sales may revive a canceled show, as in the case of Family Guy.Originally canceled in 2004,the series was revived in 2005 due partly to its excellent DVD sales.
Direct-to-video releases have historically carried a stigma of lower technical or artistic quality than theatrical releases. Some studio movies released direct-to-video are movies which have been completed but were never released. This delay often occurs when a studio doubts a movie's commercial prospects would justify a full cinema release, or because its "release window" has closed. A release window refers to a timely trend or personality, and missing that window of opportunity means a movie, possibly rushed into production, failed to release before the trend faded. In movie industry slang such movies are referred to as having been "vaulted."
There is a positive side to direct-to-video releases. They have become something of a lifeline for independent filmmakers and smaller companies.
Direct-to-video releases can be done for movies which cannot be shown theatrically due to controversial content, or because the cost involved in a theatrical release is beyond the releasing company. Almost all pornographic movies are released direct-to-video.
Animated sequels and movie-length episodes of animated series are also often released in this fashion. The Walt Disney Company began making sequels of most of its animated movies for video release beginning with The Return of Jafar (the sequel to Aladdin) in 1994. Universal Studios also began their long line of The Land Before Time sequels that same year. In 2005, Fox released Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story for DVD and Universal Media Disc.
Direct-to-video movies screened theatrically
Once in a while, a studio that makes a movie that was prepared as a direct-to-video movie and release it theatrically at the last minute due to the success of another movie with a similar subject matter or an ultimate studio decision. Doug's 1st Movie is an example of this, quickly changed from a DTV to a theatrical release due to the surprise success of The Rugrats Movie.
Television spin-offs
Television spin-offs are animated or live action television series or made for TV movies which contain either characters or theme elements from an older series or movie (Clerks: The Animated Series, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures). While the most common examples of a television spin off are animated series there are also live action examples (Robocop: Prime Directive)
Some SpongeBob SquarePants DVD volumes contain episodes not yet aired in the United States. Certain special episodes of Pokémon were released directly on video such as Pikachu’s Winter Vacation. Some Disney Channel shows, such as That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Phil of the Future, and Lilo & Stitch: The Series have also had direct-to-video episodes.