Direct-To-DVD No Longer Just for Losers

I thought I was observing a recent trend at Blockbuster, and this article confirms it: Direct-To-DVD is now a big studio strategy, and not just a "dumping" strategy for loser films that test so poorly that studios would lose money releasing them.  I haven't seen any of the films listed in the article (as far as you know),  but the strategy seems to make sense, in that devotees of a particular franchise of film will generally watch almost anything in that franchise.  There may not be enough of these devotees to fill up theaters, but DVDs provide a cheap way of reaching the niche market without risking too much capital.  As with television and music, movies also seem to be moving in the direction of appealing to various subgroups.  Of course, as Chris Anderson has pointed out, there will still be blockbuster hits, but more and more, companies will seek to cut back costs, and provide a quality product within a niche that will hold definite appeal to a certain group (with more assured, though less staggering, profits).  Though not without complications, this seems, overall, like win/win in the long run.