Period between DVD and video on demand releases shrinks
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) ñ The window between the average movie’s DVD and video on demand release has shrunk to just five days, down sharply from the 30 to 45 days that were common a few years ago, according to broker dealer BTIG’s media analyst Richard Greenfield.
Most movies are already being released day and date on DVD and VOD amid an accelerating shift over the past six months to DVD rentals rather than purchases, he said.
“The studios’ willingness to collapse the VOD window is a clear sign to us that the industry is admitting that DVD purchasing is disappearing,” he wrote in a note to investors on Thursday.
“Consumers simply do not need to own the overwhelming majority of content released by Hollywood, when that content is so readily available via rental platforms.”
Greenfield noted that some studios are making DVDs available to Redbox or Netflix without a 28-day waiting period that other studios have used.
“What drives us nuts is how certain studios (Disney, Paramount and Sony) allow Redbox and Netflix to offer their content day-and-date with a DVD’s release, but put a window on VOD,” he said.
He said that video on demand is more profitable on a per-unit basis than Netflix or Redbox offer the studios, not to mention traditional rental stores such as Blockbuster.”
After 2007’s first day-and-date VOD release experiments between cable operators and studios led by Time Warner, “the number of VOD day and date with DVD releases more than tripled in 2008, however, most studios focused on their weaker titles that they believed were less likely to be purchased by consumers,” Greenfield wrote.
By the end of 2009 though windows were being reduced or eliminated even for blockbusters, with holdouts Sony, Disney and Paramount also increasingly shortening windows.
“2010 has seen an even more rapid reduction in the DVD-to-VOD window, with our table of 77 releases/to-be-released movies on DVD and VOD yielding an average window length of only five days, with the vast majority of movies now VOD day-and-date with DVD,” Greenfield wrote.
Category: DVD & Blu-ray
Cool!!
The Blair Witch Project goes high def – no, this is not a joke
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has just added a Blu-Ray version of The Blair Witch Project to their line-up, preapring the film for a release in October.
In October 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary… A year later their footage was found.
Now prepare for a motion picture experience unlike anything you’ve ever seen, heard, or feared before. The Blair Witch Project follows a trio of filmmakers on what should have been a simple walk in the woods… but quickly becomes an excursion into heart-stopping terror. As the three become inexplicably lost, morale deteriorates. Hunger sets in. Accusations fly. By night, unseen evil stirs beyond their campfire’s light. By day, chilling ritualistic figures are discovered nearby. As the end of their journey approaches, they realize that what they are filming now is not a legend…but their own descent into unimaginable horror.
The Blu-Ray version will feature a 1080p high def transfer – of the 480i low def video source material the film was shot in – along with additional bonus materials that include an audio commentary, a featurette and extra footage.
It will arrive in stores on October 5 for $19.99.
Awesome news!!!!
The Back to the Future Trilogy Coming To Blu-Ray!!
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced DVD and Blu-ray releases of a Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy for October 26th.
Extras will include commentaries with Producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton, Q&A Commentaries with Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer Bob Gale, 16 Deleted Scenes, a new 6-part retrospective documentary, a Michael J. Fox Q&A, a Nuclear Test Site Ending Storyboard Sequence, 2 music videos (“Huey Lewis and the News Power of Love”, “ZZ Top DoubleBack”), Behind the Scenes features (“Outtakes”, “Original Makeup Tests”, “Production Design”, “Storyboarding”, “Designing the DeLorean”, “Designing Time Travel”, “Hoverboard Test”, “Designing Hill Valley”, “Designing the Campaign”), Photo Galleries, 3 Archival Featurettes (“Making the Trilogy: Chapters One, Two & Three”, “The Making Of Back to the Future Part I, II & III”, “The Secrets of the Back to the Future Trilogy”), and theatrical trailers.
The Blu-ray release will also include a Back to the Future Night special hosted by Leslie Nielson.
Revolutionary technology restores ‘Zhivago’ to glory
In following Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), both of which earned best-picture Oscars as well as Academy Awards for director David Lean, Doctor Zhivago was called soap-operatic and plodding. But the 1965 film weathered those attacks to become a classic.
The 45th anniversary edition, out Tuesday on DVD ($25) and Blu-ray Disc ($36), offers a reason to revisit Zhivago. The restoration improves on the 2002 DVD by preserving the lighting and color palette intended by Lean and cinematographer Freddie Young.
Lean’s trademark spectacle shots, shot in Finland, Spain and Canada, are sharper. Shadows that foretell the revolution are more ominous. And Julie Christie’s Lara is even more luminous.
Colors had faded as the film aged. By correcting that, “you notice subtleties which were not apparent previously, such as when Zhivago (Omar Sharif) encounters Lara at the library in Varykino,” says Ned Price, vice president of Warner Bros.’ mastering. “You will notice that the light subtly changed to warmth. It happens a number of times when he sees her. And when they are saying goodbye in the hospital where she is ironing and you see the sun go behind them and there is this beautiful yellow wash that slowly occurs. Those color transitions were much more apparent.”
Much of the original negative was too fragile when making the earlier DVD, so a duplicate was used. This time, technology allowed the delicate negative to be scanned at a higher resolution.
The sprocket holes for the negative, used for making 70-millimeter blowup prints, were worn, which prevented traditional digital scanning. Restorers used a modified flatbed scanner to get a stable image, Price says.
Digital scanning was done at 8K resolution, 16 times that of HDTV. “This restoration not only resulted in a Blu-ray Disc release but also, finally, a new film negative that will go into our vault and has a life expectancy of over 300 years,” Price says.
New to both the DVD and Blu-ray is Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration with filmmakers including Gary Ross (Seabiscuit), Taylor Hackford (Ray) and Martin Campbell (Casino Royale).
They touch on the historical context of the film, a Russian epic released at the height of the Cold War, and the novel Doctor Zhivago, written by Boris Pasternak.
The hit score by Maurice Jarre earned the film one of its five Oscars; it was nominated for 10, including best picture. The American Film Institute put Zhivago at No. 39 on its Top 100 list in 1998. The film was dropped from the 2007 list but is No. 7 on the AFI’s list of cinematic love stories.
Rita Tushingham, who played the younger Tonya, said that during production, “people absolutely thought (the film) was something special.”
This restoration “enriches the film,” she says. “People who love the film will want to have (the new) version.”
Wow…that is a staggering number!!!
Studio: ‘Avatar’ sells 6.7 million DVDs in 4 days
LOS ANGELES ñ “Avatar” is maintaining its popularity in the move from box office to home video, with sales of 6.7 million DVDs and Blu-ray disks in the first four days.
Twentieth Century Fox announced Sunday that James Cameron’s sci-fi epic has sold 2.7 million Blu-rays and 4 million DVDs since April 22.
The combined sales brought in $130 million.
The studio says “Avatar” has become the fastest-selling Blu-ray of all time.
No announcement has been made regarding a 3-D DVD release, but a Fox spokesman said one can be expected in the future.
“Avatar” sets first-day Blu-ray sales record
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) ñ DVDs and Blu-ray Discs of James Cameron’s “Avatar” flew off store shelves Thursday, the movie’s first day in stores, despite being available in just the 2D format.
An early industry estimate set overall disc sales comfortably north of 4 million units, putting it well on track to become the year’s top-selling release to date.
Blu-ray sales — at 1.5 million copies — well outpaced first-day sales of previous high-definition top dog “The Dark Knight.”
Retailers sold out of 60% of their Blu-ray inventory on average, said a spokesman for distributor 20th Century Fox. He declined to specify unit shipments. Mass merchants moved out roughly 50% of their “Avatar” DVDs, the spokesman added.
Due to the epic’s ecological theme, Fox broke with the industry’s Tuesday release date norm and scheduled the release to coincide with Earth Day.
Cameron and others connected to the film have been participating in a host of green-themed events as part of the movie’s home-entertainment campaign.
A 3D version of the picture is expected to hit Blu-ray Disc early next year. Fox and the filmmakers wanted to wait until a greater number of homes were equipped with 3D Blu-ray players. Though 3D-enabled players only recently became available, virtually all new Blu-ray players will boast that capability by year’s end. The first DVDs lack even special features of the sort typically included on disc releases. A special edition release is expected to hit stores in November and will include extensive bonus features.
Despite the lean-and-mean nature of the release, Fox figures “Avatar” eventually will surpass “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” as the year’s best-selling disc. “New Moon” moved 4 million units in its first two days — after launching on a Friday, at midnight — and has sold 6.5 million copies on DVD and Blu-ray to date.
Many Best Buy locations and other retailers stayed open until midnight Wednesday to allow witching-hour early birds to flock to stores and snatch the first “Avatar” discs.
Cheech and Chong haven’t gone to pot
In a puff of smoke, they were gone for 25 years. But on Tuesday (4/20 to fans of pot culture), Cheech and Chong, those aging icons of stoner comedy, will be everywhere ó in theaters, video on demand, DVD, even on iTunes, PlayStations and Xboxes.
Did that just blow your mind?
“They’re always looking for new methods of how to look for an audience,” says Cheech Marin, 65, of the Weinstein Co.’s multiplatform release of the duo’s new concert film, “Cheech and Chong’s Hey Watch This.” Though the film will play theatrically just the one day, it’s the home entertainment segment that is the key attraction. “In a dwindling market for DVDs, we’re doing very well, the initial reports say. Big orders,” Marin says.
Sounding equally businesslike is Tommy Chong, 71: “And we couldn’t be with a better company, Weinstein. They have a history.”
“And they pay in advance,” Marin adds.
So, there it is. The deans of doobies have done their bit, making nice about the movie taken from their 150-plus-date “Light Up America” tour of 2009. For the rest of the conversation ó in a Weinstein Co. conference room surrounded by still-viable pizzas, doughnuts, chips and all manner of other munchies ó it’s perfectly clear that when you’ve been around as long as they have (their first album was released in 1971) and been as successful as they have been (their spokesperson says the recent reunion tour grossed “in the mid-seven figures”), you can say whatever you want. Especially if, as Chong declares, they’re going to quit the road after their 2010 tour.
“We’ll retire to our country estate,” Marin says with a smile.
“We’ll keep working but I’m at the age now where, ëOh, this is my last oneÖ,’ ” says the remarkably fit-looking Chong.
“This is our 17th annual retirement tour,” Marin jokes.
Chong turns serious, which he does more frequently than his round-faced partner: “I really want to get off the road. I want to be able to spend a whole weekend in my house without having to pack.”
Marin sneezes. But rather than excusing himself, he explains, “That’s my bull detector.”
The longtime partners can’t be blamed for wanting to immerse themselves in their fans’ adoration for the last year and a half on tour. The two parted ways in the ’80s because, as Marin puts it, they “ran out of stuff” after years of touring, recording and making movies, and besides, each generation has its comedians. As evidenced in the film, however, devoted fans of a wide age range seem to lose their minds at the sight of them reunited.
“There’s a rock ‘n’ roll element to what we do,” Marin says. “We’re not cerebral ó although we can be ó we’re loud and boisterous and visceral and physical. Sometimes comics will open for us and say, ëHow do you get ’em to scream like that?’ ëYou play those three chords loud!’ We should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
And they’re more than happy to give the people what they want, performing largely improvised variants of the sketches generations have grown up with in smoky basements ó Blind Melon Chitlin and Alice Bowie, anyone?
“It was the birth of a stoner class,” Marin says of their cultural impact. “It was a whole pot generation and we embody that sense of humor. It’s an international language.”
Chong describes their humor as “juvenile” but adds, “If you can speak Cheech and Chong, skateboarders will accept you, guys in prison, rappers will accept you, white guys ó the Gothic kind, anti-social ó a lot of cops are big fans because we’re in their world.”
Marin says, “They used to send us to prisons all the time ó San Quentin, Folsom, Soledad, Chino, San Luis Obispo ó they used to send us in when they had an uprising, a racial war going on, to calm the natives. Those are tough places. But everyone can come together over Cheech and Chong.”
Chong became a member of that kind of captive audience after a 2003 bust for his connection with the manufacture of drug paraphernalia; he served nine months at Taft Correctional Institution.
“What I came across is why pot definitely should be legal,” says the defiantly non-corrected Chong. “There are so many growers in there; there are growers doing 30 years because they had a shotgun in their room ó on a farm, where you need guns. The laws are so one-sided.”
Therefore, the comics are men on a mission on their current “Get It Legal” tour. Despite the Obama administration’s repeated rejection of legalization, the highly hopeful Chong is not discouraged.
“I understand Obama, I love the man. He’s so brilliant, it makes my eyes water. Like he did with healthcare, he’s playing the Republicans like a sheepherder with a cattle prod,” he says, laughing. “On one hand he’s saying, ëMarijuana will never be legal.’ But on the other hand, he’s telling his attorney general, ëStop arresting people [who use it] for medical purposes.’ That’s all it takes.”
“If we can’t get it legalized with a brother in the White House,” says Marin, as they both laugh, “Ö come on, please.”
“And look how close we are,” says Chong, eyes glinting.
“My prediction is within three years,” Marin says.
“Arnold might. That might be his last act in office,” says Chong, saying he has spoken with California’s outgoing chief executive on the topic. Gov. Schwarzenegger has, after all, reportedly acknowledged using marijuana in his pre-political days and said last May that its legalization and taxation deserved debate. “At the time he smoked pot, he was the healthiest man in America. That was the only thing he’d put in his body ó he wasn’t doing chicken skin; he’d take that off. He wouldn’t touch a drop of liquor, he wouldn’t touch any sugar, but he’d smoke a joint.”
“So there! And he got to be governor!” Marin chimes in, adding that by that standard, Cheech and Chong should be “super-governors!”
“I want to be drug czar,” Chong says. “I tell you one thing, I’ve got the research in.”
So don’t buy it next week then!!!
Avatar Producer Talks Ultimate Edition Blu-ray
During a recent sneak preview of the Blu-ray of Avatar, producer Jon Landau revealed some more details of the ultimate edition that will come out in November. This four-disc edition will include a brand-new two-hour documentary on making Avatar, as well as unused additional scenes from the movie, which Weta Digital is now working on.
The additional scenes involve the Na’vi school run by Dr. Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), and Jake’s training as a Na’vi.
Many of the bonus features in the ultimate edition will appear in the intervening months through the Avatar Program at avatarmovie.com using a unique code found inside the Avatar Blu-ray/DVD.
Make a date!!
Alice goes to Wonderland in June
Following hot on the heels of its box-office success, Buena Vista Home Entertainment has already announced their plans to release Tim Burtonís Alice In Wonderland on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc this summer.
Tumble down the rabbit hole with Alice for a fantastical new adventure from Walt Disney Pictures and Tim Burton. Inviting and magical, ìAlice In Wonderlandî is an imaginative new twist on some of the most beloved stories of all time. Alice (Mia Wasikowska), now 19 years old, returns to the whimsical world she first entered as a child and embarks on a journey to discover her true destiny.
Wonderland is a world beyond your imagination and unlike anything youíve seen before. The extraordinary characters youíve loved come to life richer and more colorful than ever. Thereís the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen) and more. A triumphant cinematic experience ñ ìAlice In Wonderlandî is an incredible feast for your eyes, ears and heart that will captivate audiences of all sizes.
The DVD version will arrive in an anamorphic widescreen version with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, and will also include a few Featurettes. In îFinding Aliceî you will get to see Tim Burtonís vision for the characters, differences from the book and Disneyís version of Alice and how she evolves as both a character and actor as she takes an adventure through Wonderland.
In îThe Mad Hatterî , viewers are provided with a deeper look into the world of the Mad Hatter. Check out Johnny Deppís early sketches, make-up, costumes and how they digitally enhanced his eyes.
îEffecting Wonderlandî is a behind-the-scenes piece on the different technologies used to create some of the most beloved characters in the film ñ Stayne, Tweedledee, Tweedledum, Bandersnatch and the Red Queen.
The Blu-Ray version will dish out a glorious 1080p high definition transfer and supplement it with a DTS 5.1 HD Master Audio audio track. The release will include the featurettes from the DVD but add significantly to them by offering a number of additional Featurettes, such as îThe Futterwacken Danceî allowing you to check out the making of the timeless dance called the Futterwacken.
In îThe Red Queenî you will explore the creation of the Red Queen from start to finish, including early Tim Burton sketches showcasing costume designs, make-up and digital effects.
îTime-Lapse: Sculpting the Red Queenî is a short time-lapse piece showing Helena Bonham Carter as she gets her make-up done. A three-hour process can be watched in just a few short minutes.
îThe White Queenî is an interview-featurette with Anne Hathaway, who plays Wonderlandís good queen, about her characterís journey throughout the process of the film.
In îScoring Wonderlandî, composer Danny Elfman and Tim Burton discuss the music for the movie, while îStunts of Wonderlandî highlights some of the biggest stunts in the film.
ìMaking the Proper Sizeî offers you an inside look at the visual effects process of growing and shrinking Alice. See how filmmakers used different techniques to stay true to the storyline.
In îCakes of Wonderlandî, take a trip to ìCake Divasî where the creators of the EAT ME cakes provide viewers with details about how they made the smallest crumb to the largest cake in scale.
îTea Party Propsî then gives you a look at tea cups, saucers, cakes and more. Prop master Doug Harlocker gives an overview of all the props used to bring the famous tea party scene together visually.
ìAlice In Wonderlandî will be in stores on June 1 and can be yours for $29.99 on DVD, $39.99 on single-disc Blu-Ray, or $44.99 as a 3-disc Blu-Ray version that also includes the DVD and a Digital Copy.
I will probably pick this up!!
U2 readies Rose Bowl DVD
U2 will release a new concert film, “U2360 At The Rose Bowl,” June 3, coinciding with the band’s first US show this year. The movie, filmed at the Southern California venue last year, will be available on DVD and Blu-ray discs, according to a press release.
The concert was U2’s biggest show of 2009 and the band’s biggest ever US show, with 97,000 fans in attendance. The concert also racked up more than 10 million views during one week on YouTube.
“U2360 At The Rose Bowl” will be available in standard and two-disc deluxe DVD formats. The deluxe formats, and the Blu-ray version, will feature a new documentary, “Squaring the Circle: Creating U2360,” which features interviews with band members, manager Paul McGuinness and the team behind the touring production.
U2’s 360 tour continues this year, opening in Salt Lake City on June 3. The European leg of the tour kicks off in Turin, Italy, on Aug. 6.