Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has been the leader in DVD sales in the U.S. for years now. It's estimated that 40% of all U.S. DVD sales originate within the doors of the world's largest retailer. But, could those days be coming to an end?

With Blu-ray DVD players coming with built-in internet video streaming, cable and satellite having video-on-demand choices of all recent movies, and more people buying content from Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes every day, what is the future of the physical DVD?

Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks baby is preparing to leave Viacom (NYSE: VIA). That sounds bad, doesn't it? I mean, Viacom should, in theory, be freaked out about losing the star asset.

Yet, an analyst working at JP Morgan has a different take on things. According to Bloomberg, Imran Khan thinks that DreamWorks may be perceived as an expensive business asset. He pointed out that the expenses associated with DreamWorks helped drive a 22% decline in operating income for Viacom's film division in 2007. He further pointed out that films with more modest budgets will aid in generating better returns and will, in fact, reduce the risk of investing in the movie business.

Khan is absolutely correct on his call. I've been talking about the need to reduce film budgets for a long time now, probably to the point where people are sick of me, so I'm always glad when I read an opinion such as this. Only problem is, will the studios listen? Well, they should. Disney (NYSE: DIS), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), and Sony (NYSE: SNE) would all benefit from increased financial restraint when it comes to the business plans of their respective film units.