BLU-RAY SALES THREAD: Put all sales figures and comments here! - Page 373  

Blu-ray Sales: In the Driver's Seat

New releases dominated the Blu-ray sales chart with as many as four in the top five. (Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a bit of an odd case, but more on that in a second.)

Drive led the way with 420,000 units / $8.39 million giving it an opening week Blu-ray share of 57%. This is a great opening compared to the film's theatrical run.

In Time also did better on Blu-ray than it did on DVD earning second place with 306,000 units / $6.12 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 54%. This is the type of film that should thrive on Blu-ray, so it is no real surprise it cracked 50%.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon returned to the chart in third place with 190,000 units / $3.82 million for the week giving it a total of 3.19 million units / $68.03 million. It was able to get back into the top five thanks to the release of the 3D Box Set, but we don't have a breakdown between the new release and the previous Blu-ray release.

Real Steel fell from first to fourth with 187,000 units / $5.24 million for the week giving it totals of 989,000 units / $27.69 million after two.

The Thing rounded out the top five with 168,000 units / $4.03 million, which was 55% of total units sold. Its theatrical run and its home market debut is weak, but that Blu-ray share is strong.

Treasure Buddies just missed the top five with 105,000 units / $2.66 million. Its opening Blu-ray share was 22%, which is low for the format as a whole, but strong for a live action kids' movie.

Dream House managed ninth place, which is what it earn on the DVD sales chart as well. It sold 55,000 unit while generating $1.25 million in opening week sales giving it a Blu-ray share of just 38%. I was expecting more.

To Kill a Mockingbird made its Blu-ray debut in tenth place with 43,000 units / $782,000. This is excellent for a catalog title and the studio should be very happy.

Star Trek: The Next Generation also made its Blu-ray debut this week with The Next Level, which was right behind at 43,000 units / $648,000. This is excellent for a TV on DVD release, especially one that is this old and is merely a taste of future releases.

The Big Year was further back in 14th place with 38,000 units / $894,000. Its hard to spin this number in a positive fashion, but its Blu-ray share of 31% is better than average for the genre.

Finally, we get to The Double in 19th place with 26,000 units / $394,000. It also earned a Blu-ray share of 31%, but action films should perform better than that.

The overall Blu-ray was strong compared to last week and last year. It grew 16% in terms of units and 3% in terms of revenue from last week, which is actually a little weaker than DVD sales grew from last week.

However, its growth was more explosive when compared to last year up 79% in terms of units and 78% in terms of dollars.

As usual, DVD sales were lower than last year, albeit by a more modest margin than we've seen in the recent past. The overall Blu-ray share was mostly steady compared to last week sitting at 44% in terms of units and 49% in terms of revenue. If it can maintain that level while we wait for the winter blockbusters to come out, I will be very happy.


Next week we have good news / bad news. The good news is The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 comes out. The bad news is, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 comes out. While the film should sell a lot of DVDs, I don't think its Blu-ray share will be great. Plus, it doesn't come out till Saturday, so only the first two days will count towards this week.

On a more positive note, last year's new releases were terrible, both on DVD and on Blu-ray. In fact, the number one selling Blu-ray was Paranormal Activity 2 at just over 100,000 units. Breaking Dawn, Part 1 should top that. Hell, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas could top that.


- C.S.Strowbridge


Date posted: 2012-02-14

Movies
Drive
In Time
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Real Steel
The Thing
Treasure Buddies
Dream House
To Kill A Mockingbird
The Big Year
The Double

DVD Sales: Searching for Treasure on the Home Market

While there were a lot of new releases on this week's DVD sales chart, it was clearly a case of quantity over quality as even the best selling release was merely mediocre.

Treasure Buddies was top dog with sales of 381,000 units / $6.47 million during its opening week. This is roughly in line with the previous installment, but below average for the franchise.

Drive was relatively close behind with 313,000 units / $4.87 million. Hopefully it performed better on Blu-ray, as this was not a great start on DVD.

Real Steel fell to third place with 265,000 units / $5.30 million for the week giving it totals of 962,000 units / $17.43 million after two. It wasn't that long ago that even a second-tier release would sell more than 1 million units in the opening week, but the market has really atrophied in recent years.

In Time opened in fourth place with 263,000 units / $3.94 million, which is weak, even compared to its theatrical run. The Thing barely managed a spot in the top five during its opening week with 136,000 units / $2.37 million. It was a non-factor for it theatrical run and now it's struggling on the home market.

There were three more new releases to chart, but they were barely worth mentioning. Dream House placed ninth, but with just 90,000 units / $1.62 million while The Big Year was right behind with 82,000 units / $1.23 million. The final new release to chart was The Double, which only managed 12th place with 58,000 units / $609,000 units. This is not terrible, for a limited release that barely avoided the Mendoza Line during its opening weekend; however, the studio was obviously hoping for a lot more when it gave the film the greenlight.


- C.S.Strowbridge


Date posted: 2012-02-14

Movies
Treasure Buddies
Drive
Real Steel
In Time
The Thing
Dream House
The Big Year
The Double

Projections: Don't Expect 'Twilight' to Slow (Week Ending 2/19/2012)

20 Feb, 2012
By: John Latchem



After overwhelming sales success on its Saturday debut, Summit’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 should repeat atop the sales charts in its first full week in stores, and is likely to climb to the top of the rental chart.

A lack of strong new releases should allow Disney’s Lady and the Tramp re-release to stay high on the charts as well.

The biggest newcomer from Feb. 14 was Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s The Rum Diary, which stars Johnny Depp but grossed just $13.1 million in U.S. theaters.

'Once Upon a Time' at Target

14 Feb, 2012
By: John Latchem



Target offered an interesting exclusive for the Feb. 14 new-release week: a $9 DVD of the first five episodes of ABC’s new TV series “Once Upon a Time.” The disc includes a $5 discount coupon for the purchase of the complete first season when it is released later this year.

Target also had an exclusive wildflower seed bookmark with its copies of The Lorax: Deluxe Edition, the new disc of the 1972 animated special based on the Dr. Seuss book, released as a tie-in to the new movie version.

Otherwise, most of the attention still was focused on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn —Part 1. Notably, Best Buy raised the price of its copies a few days after the Saturday release date, bringing the DVD version from $18.99 to $22.99 and the Blu-ray from $22.99 to $24.99. Best Buy’s weekly ad circular also stopped advertising the chain’s exclusive steelbook packaging.

Target didn’t adjust the prices, but stopped promoting its exclusive DVD gift set.

Walmart offered a special “Bella’s Wedding Dress Edition” DVD gift set with a fabric poster.

‘Breaking Dawn’ Tops 5 Million Disc Sales


22 Feb, 2012
By: Erik Gruenwedel



'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1'

DVD sales of the fourth Twilight film are 13% ahead of the previous release

Summit Entertainment Feb. 22 said disc sales of The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn — Part 1 have topped 5 million units since the title’s Feb. 11 midnight release.

Summit, which is owned by Lionsgate, said DVD sales of Breaking Dawn are about 13% ahead of sales of the third film in the franchise, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse at the same point in its release.

Digital sales of Breaking Dawn also are strong, exceeding 74,000 electronic sellthrough transactions (53% ahead of Eclipse at the same time) and more than 175,000 VOD (rental) transactions (162% ahead of Eclipse at the same time).


“The sales to date of Breaking Dawn are a testament to ‘The Twilight Saga’ fans’ commitment to and passion for the stories created by Stephenie Meyer,” said Steve Nickerson, president of Summit Home Entertainment, in a statement. “We are pleased that we could bring this film to the fans at this time of year, especially given the storyline, with the romance of the wedding and honeymoon.”

Breaking Dawn — Part 1 has grossed more than $700 million worldwide at the box office to date since its theatrical release on Nov. 18, 2011. The next installment, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2, bows theatrically Nov. 16.

Eclipse eventually sold about 7.1 million discs — 400,000 discs fewer than The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which sold more than 7.5 million discs, according to The-Numbers.com. Both titles paled in comparison to the original release, The Twilight Saga, which sold more than 10.7 million discs.


During Lionsgate’s recent fiscal call, Lionsgate Motion Picture co-chairman Rob Friedman said the studio would not be opposed to producing a follow-up to Breaking Dawn — Part 2, provided the “Twilight” franchise’s author, Meyer, was willing to pen another book.

'Twilight' on Top Again With Strong 'Breaking Dawn' Sales

22 Feb, 2012
By: Thomas K. Arnold


The Twilgiht Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1


Summit Entertainment’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 remained the nation’s top-selling disc for the second consecutive week, while a flurry of retail promotions — some tied to the Valentine’s Day holiday — sent a handful of recent releases skyrocketing back up the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart for the week ended Feb. 19.

The biggest impact was Target’s $9 DVD sale. Indeed, the First Alert top 20 looks as though it could have been lifted from Target’s circular ad announcing the sale. (Nielsen doesn’t track Walmart, so Target has more clout on the VideoScan charts than other retailers.)

Walt Disney’s The Help, in its 11th week of release, shot back up to No. 2 from No. 11 on the sales chart for the week. Twentieth Century Fox’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, out for 10 weeks, soared to No. 5 from No. 30; Disney’s Cars 2 went back up to No. 6 from No. 31 the previous week. The animated sequel has been in stores for more than four months.

Other beneficiaries of Target’s big sale were Sony Pictures’ The Smurfs movie (No. 7 from No. 40), DreamWorks/Paramount’s Kung Fu Panda 2 (No. 9 from No. 37) and Universal Studios’ Cowboys & Aliens (No. 10 from No. 33).

Still holding its own among the discounted tentpoles was Disney’s Blu-ray Disc edition of Lady and the Tramp, which slipped just one notch, from No. 2 to No. 3, in its second week of release.

On Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart, it was Breaking Dawn at No. 1 and Lady and the Tramp at No. 2. The two releases switched places their second week in stores from week one, when the “Twilight” installment had only two days during Nielsen’s week-long tracking period.

Breaking Dawn also topped Home Media Magazine’s video rental chart in its first full week of release. Sony Pictures' The Rum Diary, a theatrical underperformer based on gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s famous early novel, debuted at No. 2, bumping the previous week’s top seller, Drive, also from Sony, to No. 3.

The Rum Diary debuted at No. 3 on the Blu-ray Disc sales chart and No. 8 on First Alert.



Related Links :

Top 20 Sellers for the Week Ended 02/19/12


Top 20 Rentals for the Week Ended 02/19/12

Top 20 Selling Blu-ray Discs for the Week Ended 02/19/12

Top 20 Blu-ray Market Share for the Week Ended 02/19/12

Originally Posted by jpb123

Wonder when we'll get some smashing headlines about how disc is crushing downloads.

Part 1 have topped 5 million units since the title's Feb. 11 midnight release.

Digital sales of Breaking Dawn also are strong (or maybe not really), exceeding 74,000 electronic sellthrough transactions (53% ahead of Eclipse at the same time) and more than 175,000 VOD (rental) transactions (162% ahead of Eclipse at the same time).

Disney’s MacPherson, BDA’s Parsons Talk Blu-ray

23 Feb, 2012
By: Chris Tribbey



On Feb. 23, Lori MacPherson, EVP of global product management for The Walt Disney Studios, and Andy Parsons, SVP of corporate communications for Pioneer Electronics and chair of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) promotion committee, participated in the first of several virtual roundtables with journalists held by the BDA.

Here’s a selection of the Q&A portion of the roundtable:

Q: Lori, while some studios are going heavy on catalog titles but just releasing old DVD masters on Blu-ray, Disney seems to be more selective and putting greater care into each, which is awesome. Does that approach reflect a Disney policy on catalog reissues on Blu-ray?

MacPherson: Absolutely. We’re committed to providing our consumers with the best possible Blu-ray experience. We have a deep and rich catalog and our selections take into consideration numerous factors — among them, popularity with families, film lovers and collectors as well as the quality of the film elements.


Q: What’s Disney’s Second Screen?

MacPherson: Disney’s Second Screen, developed here at the studio, allows viewers to explore the story behind the film perfectly synced on a second device like an iPad or laptop, without interrupting their enjoyment of the movie. Thus far we've offered it on Bambi, Tron Legacy, The Lion King and Real Steel.

Q: James Cameron declared that he is interested in increasing the frame rate of his movies to even 60 [frames per second] to smooth out fast content viewing. What is the Blu-ray format doing to support 1080p60, and even on 3D 1080p60?

Parsons: As you know, virtually every film is currently shot at 24fps, so as intriguing as it is to consider the benefits of the higher temporal resolution that could be achieved at 48fps or 60fps, the industry needs to establish standards that can accommodate these higher frame rates before the BDA could consider bringing them into a worldwide publishing format like Blu-ray Disc. James Cameron is a visionary director, so it will be very interesting to see how his idea can be brought into the mainstream film world in the meantime.

Q: Many of the studios appear to be joining in on the UltraViolet digital locker. From the trailers on recent titles, it appears that Disney is working on a similar program? When is that expected to launch?

MacPherson: We expect to launch Disney Studio All Access later this year.

Q: Does Disney have more plans to release Disney classics (i.e. Aladdin, Little Mermaid, etc.) in 3D like they did with Beauty and the Beast?

MacPherson: Absolutely. Look for Finding Nemo later this year and Monsters Inc. and The Little Mermaid in 2013.

Q: Thanks for all the 3D releases on Blu-ray! Are we going to continue to see a strong commitment to 3D on Blu-ray from Disney?

MacPherson: We are committed to 3D as a platform as it brings new and exciting opportunities for programming. The consumer appetite for quality 3D content continues to grow. The top four films of 2011 at the worldwide box office were all released in 3D — an industry first. Additionally, one 20-year-old film in particular was revitalized by the technology and roared into theaters at No. 1 for two weeks. Of course, that film is The Lion King. Though 3D in the home is still a nascent business, as an industry, we’ve seen the release of more than 150 titles and Disney continues its leadership in capturing a 45% share of Blu-ray 3D content sales.

Q: What’s the consumer feedback on in-home BD 3D?

MacPherson: The feedback has been extremely positive. Consumers are really enjoying the state-of-the-art immersive in-home BD 3D experience and we look forward to bringing many more exciting 3D Disney titles their way.

Q: What efforts are being made to increase the use of 7.1 channels in new Blu-ray movies.

A: Parsons: We love 7.1 audio, and would also like to see it being used more. This comes down to a decision by those who produce the titles, and we're hopeful that we'll see more of them take advantage of the full capabilities of the BD format. We also believe that full, uncompressed 5.1 and 7.1 channel audio is another of Blu-ray's strengths that set it apart from online streaming sources — there’s nothing more immersive than watching a pristine picture with amazing sound.

Q: Many of our readers wanted to know about Disney’s plans (if any) they have on releasing older Disney television like “Wonderful World of Color?”

MacPherson: We continue to look at various technologies that will allow us to release this type of niche programming to consumers that want it. So stay tuned.

Q: Streaming seems to be growing at a very high rate. How does Blu-ray’s growth compare and doesn’t this signal a transition from packaged media to digital download or streaming?

Parsons: This is a very common question, and I can certainly understand the reason for asking it. However, we don't think that one needs to exist without the other, and actually believe the two methods of watching content are very compatible. Blu-ray has significant advantages in settings where viewers want to see a title they really care about in all its HD glory, particularly when they are watching it in a group setting.

Streaming makes sense for more casual viewing of the content that's available on the services that provide it — often, it’s older titles such as episodic TV shows that people are watching on computers, tablets or smaller TVs, but bandwidth variations in typical homes can make the experience frustrating when inexplicable hiccups occur.

Blu-ray is the best way to watch the latest titles without any concern about reliable playback, and it's always available when you want it (unlike some programs that mysteriously disappear from streaming services). So we think that discs and streaming will coexist for many years to come because they serve different needs.

Q: What will Disney Studio All Access consist of?

MacPherson: DSAA will be a Disney-branded experience that allows users to access, manage and experience their Disney movie collection and get rewarded for doing so. It will provide the utility of a storage locker in the “cloud,” access through multiple platforms and devices and unique content and incentives.

Q: Can you give us an update on what all the other studios are doing UltraViolet? How many titles do you expect over what period of time?

Parsons: We can't speak on behalf of individual studios, but it appears that interest in UV is growing. From a Blu-ray Disc point of view, we think it’s all good, since UV is a natural extension of the ownership model that BD discs represent; that is, you buy a disc, and then you can use the same content in other environments such as tablets, smartphones and the like. I have used UV on a couple of titles, and I think it’s a very good value proposition because it's simply widened the scope of how I can use the content. Along these lines, digital copy provides a similar utility, and [we] see these “digital” extensions of the Blu-ray Disc as an illustration of why the format is the most flexible, best value available in home entertainment today.

Q: I’m curious as to what your statistics tell you about people willing to buy physical media versus streaming it online. How is Blu-ray doing against streaming?


Parsons: We don’t see it as Blu-ray versus streaming. Proof of this is the ubiquity of connected BD players that support streaming services — we just don’t see them as competitors per my earlier answer. In fact, we see a connected player as the best thing going in home entertainment hardware because it supports just about everything: CD, DVD and Blu-ray playback (including Blu-ray 3D in most players being sold today), as well as streaming services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora and so on.

You can find players that support all of these for under $100 — it’s the best bargain I can think of right now. Combine that with the digital extensions from the software side, and Blu-ray really does become the centerpiece for a modern home theater system that delivers the best possible experience in the home, and the flexibility to enjoy owned content on the go.

Q: What percentage of Disney business is BD?

MacPherson: Depending upon the titles, anywhere from 20% to 60% and this [has] grown consistently every year.

Originally Posted by magnetite

Not sure if this is a sales question, it might be. Anyways, when do you guys expect Blu-ray to take over DVD in terms of sales? Judging by your charts, a lot of people are still buying DVDs. Second, when do you expect that DVD will become obsolete and for stores to stop selling them and for them to be replaced with Blu-ray only? I fear one of the things that kind of stops Blu-ray growth is some Blu-rays are much more expensive than their DVD versions, so some people just go for the DVD. Not all of them are like that though.

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

True, HD TV sets have been with us for ≈ 13 years and the penetration has just reached 60-70% of the American homes. It would be very interesting to know what the HD penetration would be like if cheaper SD TV sets were still offered for the last several years. All things considered, IMO Blu-ray has done quite well!!!

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

A better picture and sound is not enough reason for many people to replace their DVD libraries. There are many more DVD players in the hands of consumers than Blu-ray players therefore all else being equal, there will most likely be many more DVD sales than Blu-ray.

After almost 30 years CDs are still readily available, SACD & DVD-Audio disc can be hard to find. The only reason that I purchase digital music is because it is available al la cartè.

CD, DVD, Blu-ray, games, etc. is no longer the center focus of entertainment they once were, today there are many, many entertainment options. With that in mind I think package media is doing quite well and will continue to do quite well.

Folks should keep this in mind, if there is nothing new that consumers want to buy then sales will decline.

Originally Posted by magnetite

Not sure if this is a sales question, it might be. Anyways, when do you guys expect Blu-ray to take over DVD in terms of sales? Judging by your charts, a lot of people are still buying DVDs. Second, when do you expect that DVD will become obsolete and for stores to stop selling them and for them to be replaced with Blu-ray only? I fear one of the things that kind of stops Blu-ray growth is some Blu-rays are much more expensive than their DVD versions, so some people just go for the DVD. Not all of them are like that though.

Originally Posted by magnetite

Are you saying we might still have standard definition in 20-30 years because some people aren't interested in picture quality?

Blu-ray Sales: Lady and the Vamp

New releases took the top three spots on this week's Blu-ray sales chart, although the number one Blu-ray wasn't a new film. Lady and the Tramp came out in theaters more than 50 years ago, but it made its Blu-ray debut selling 949,000 units and generating $23.72 million.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 opened in second place with 788,000 units / $18.12 million, giving it an opening week Blu-ray share of 25%. This is well below average for the format, but given the target demographic, it's pretty strong.

A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas was well back in third place with 144,000 units / $3.07 million. By comparison, Blu-ray accounted for 38% of total units sold. Given its genre and target demographic, this is a good start, but not a great one.

Drive fell from first to fourth with 74,000 units / $1.47 million for the week giving it 449,000 units / $8.96 million after two.

Real Steel held on better than most films and that helped it stay in the top five with 72,000 units / $2.12 million for the week, while it reached a major milestone with 1.04 million units / $29.25 million.

Downton Abbey: Season Two debuted in ninth place with 47,000 units / $1.17 million. TV on DVD rarely does very well on Blu-ray, so a opening week Blu-ray share of 15% is hardly a bad result.

Finally, LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace managed 20th place with 23,000 units / $351,000.

It was a good news / bad news week on the overall Blu-ray market. The good news is that there was growth from last week and last year.

Blu-ray sales rose 47% in terms of units and 65% in terms of dollars. Its growth from last year was much more dramatic, up 195% in terms of units and 225% in terms of revenue.

In fact, Lady and the Tramp sold more units and generated more revenue that the entire market did last year. The only downside is that DVD sales grew even faster compared to last week. This left the overall Blu-ray share down to 39% in terms of units and 47% in terms of revenue. However, while this was a lower than last week, last year these figures were only 18% and 23%.

Next week might be led by The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 during its first full week of release. Unless Lady and the Tramp holds on better than expected, this will almost certainly be the case, as none of the new releases seem particularly strong. Last year, Unstoppable led the new releases selling 731,000 DVDs and 301,000 Blu-rays. I think 2012 should be able to beat that.


- C.S.Strowbridge


Date posted: 2012-02-22

Movies
Lady and the Tramp
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
Drive
Real Steel

DVD Sales: DVD is in the Twilight on its Run

Despite being released on Saturday, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 led all new releases scoring an easy first place finish on the DVD sales chart. In just two days, the DVD sold 2.36 million units and generated $42.74 million. This is on par with the previous film's opening week.

Downtown Abbey: Season Two opened well back in second place with 265,000 units / $4.93 million. This is very good for a TV on DVD release, especially for an import. A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas was very close behind with 232,000 units / $3.48 million. By comparison, Escape from Guantanamo Bay sold 409,000 units / $9.12 million during its first week of release. Treasure Buddies fell from first to fourth with 195,000 units / $3.32 million for the week and 702,000 units / $11.92 million after two. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse popped back into the top five with 113,000 units / $1.04 million for the week. After more than a year of release, the film has sold 9.29 million units and generated $163.51 million in sales.

While there were no other new release to chart this week; two other Twilight films returned to the chart. New Moon placed ninth with 78,000 units / $738,000 for the week and after nearly two years on the home market has sold 8.84 million units and generated $184.92 million.

Finally, the original Twilight film placed 12th with 72,000 units / $597,000 for the week lifting its totals to 11.24 million units and $201.19 million. Not many films have sold that many DVDs.


- C.S.Strowbridge


Date posted: 2012-02-22

Movies
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
Treasure Buddies
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Twilight

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

I would think Blu-ray is a success by most any measure and will be with us quite sometime.

Originally Posted by magnetite

That goes for anything that was shot on film, but finished on video. If the film still exists, an HD release is possible. Even if the SFX are done on video, they can be remade and spliced into the film.

I don't know how hard it is to remaster film, but if CBS/Paramount can do it, anyone can. Think of the potential sales if they did remaster all those old TV shows and films.

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Most of that stuff was composed for 4X3 and may not work well in 16x9...

Originally Posted by Dex Robinson

Why would 4x3 material be transferred at 16x9?

Originally Posted by magnetite

They just need to get more stuff out on Blu-ray. There's a whole bunch of stuff that is HD possible. For example, even things like Star Trek TNG are capable of HD. They said years ago that because they were shot on film, but mastered on video that it wouldn't see a Blu-ray release. Now I guess they changed their minds and are going through with it.

That goes for anything that was shot on film, but finished on video. If the film still exists, an HD release is possible. Even if the SFX are done on video, they can be remade and spliced into the film.

I don't know how hard it is to remaster film, but if CBS/Paramount can do it, anyone can. Think of the potential sales if they did remaster all those old TV shows and films.

Projections: 'Puss in Boots' Ready for Action


27 Feb, 2012
By: John Latchem



Paramount and DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots, a spin-off of the popular “Shrek” franchise, should have enough first- and second-day sales to top the sales charts its first week in stores. The title is a Friday release and, thus, won’t have as many sales days to make an impact on the charts as some other new releases.

The extra lag time will probably give The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 enough momentum to top the rental chart for the second straight week.

Among other new releases, Universal’s Tower Heist was the highest box office grosser, at $78 million domestically.

‘Puss in Boots’ Finds Deals
21 Feb, 2012
By: John Latchem



It’s becoming routine: Major niche blockbusters such as fantasy films or animated hits are debuting on Friday street dates instead of the traditional Tuesday. The latest is Paramount’s Puss in Boots on Feb. 24.

Target offered an instant $5 discount with the purchase of any version of Puss in Boots with another DreamWorks animated title, such as a “Shrek” movie or How to Train Your Dragon, priced from $11.99 to $24.99.

Best Buy also offered a $5 discount for Puss in Boots, but only on the 3D combo pack, and only with a coupon from BestBuy.com/PussinBoots, which expires Feb. 25. The weekly ad circular promised temporary tattoos would be available at the in-store display.

Best Buy devoted almost a whole page of its weekly ad circular to promoting preorders of upcoming Blu-rays. Primary among them is HBO’s March 6 release of Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season, offered at Best Buy with exclusive packaging. Best Buy also has a version of Warner’s Feb. 28 Justice League: Doom animated movie packed with a Flash action figure.