DVDs are big movers for retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, and Wal-Mart expressed displeasure shortly after Apple and Amazon announced movie download deals.

Now Target has hinted in a letter to several studios that it might devote shelf space to something other than DVDs if Hollywood gives online outlets bigger wholesale discounts than retail.

While Target has not publicly provided a copy of the letter it sent to studios last month, the retailer did issue a prepared statement calling for “equity between the alternative means of delivering movies to consumers,” also saying it expected a “level playing field upon which to compete with the online services.”

While download prices are beating brick and mortar DVD prices, it should be noted that most current movie downloads consist solely of the movie itself and do not include DVD extras like interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.

What’s more, overall DVD sales are still king. In fact, download movie sales make up less than 10 percent of movie sales.

But it’s not going to stay like that forever. Sure, movie fans may not be all that crazy about watching films on computer monitors, but television on-demand services are growing. Movie downloads may not actually threaten retail today, but tomorrow might be a different story, a tale that just might end up as a made-for-TV movie.