Wal-Mart has opened a new front in the online holiday price war by offering ten new DVD releases for $9.99 on a preorder basis.  The DVDs included in the Wal-Mart online only offer include: Star Trek (MSRP $26.99, streets 11/17), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian ($29.98, 12/01), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($28.98, 12/08), Angels and Demons ($28.96, 11/24), Four Christmases ($28.98, 11/24), G-Force ($29.99, 12/15), My Sister’s Keeper ($28.98, 11/17), Terminator Salvation ($28.99, 12/01), Julie and Julia ($28.96, 12/08), and Santa’s Buddies ($29.98, 11/24).  All the DVDs are standard single-disc editions.  Wal-Mart’s discounts range from 63% to 67% off the retail price.

By treating DVDs as loss leaders, Wal-Mart has expanded the online price war that it began by offering a similar $10 deal on preorders for a number of bestselling hardcover books due out for the current holiday season (see “Online Book Price War”).  Amazon.com has already matched Wal-Mart's $10 price on the ten DVDs.  When Target and Amazon matched Wal-Mart’s $10 price on the hardcover bestsellers, Wal-Mart lowered its priceon the books to $8.99, so this round of DVD price cuts may not have reached its end. 

In response to the online book price war the American Booksellers Association asked the Justice Department to investigate the online booksellers “illegal predatory pricing” (see “Booksellers Go to Dept. of Justice”).