Variety does a little math and discovers that iTunes Movie sales have fallen, despite the fact that Apple recently added Paramount, Lionsgate and now MGM to their stable.

From September 2006 through December (a 4 month period), Apple sold 1.3 million movies. But in the first three months of 2007, Apple only sold another 700,000, which puts them at a significantly lower rate than the end of last year, according to Variety.

Apple 2.0 blogger Philip Elmer-DeWitt thinks it's because of two reasons: people tend to watch movies just once or twice, and people also like to own solid classics with staying power, not the flavors-of-the-moment that make up the bulk of iTunes' movie offerings to date. It's a good point; if you're going to pay $10 or more, you're probably going to save it for something you'll watch at home too, not just once on your iPod.

Why Are iTunes Movie Sales Slowing? [Apple 2.0]