Comic-Con attracts DVD, Blu-ray on smaller scale

PHYSICAL: Studios focus on core sci-fi, horror, animation releases

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 7/10/2009

JULY 10 | PHYSICAL: Home entertainment will be center stage at Comic-Con 2009, held in San Diego July 23-26, but events will be more narrowly targeted to certain genre titles than in previous years.

The move takes studios back to when they first began to exhibit at Comic-Con. Showcased titles appealed to the comic book fans the massive convention attracts every year. But as Comic-Con attendance grew, studios began to expand the types of releases they promoted at the site. Now, with studios looking to save money, they’re scaling back their offerings to those titles that will give them the most bang for their buck, namely sci-fi, horror and animation.

At this point, none of the DVD studios are presenting a big event screening for Comic-Con attendees. Last year, MGM Home Entertainment showed Stargate: Continuum at San Diego’s USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum. In 2007, Warner Home Video presented 300 at San Diego’s Petco Park stadium.

Also, Blu-ray Disc marketing will be tied to specific titles, such as Warner Home Video’s BD Live community screening of Watchmen on July 25 (Comic-Con Room 6BCF), rather than promoted as an overall format. There doesn’t appear to be any large Blu-ray demonstrations planned for the show floor, as Sony Pictures Home Entertainment isn’t planning to host another high-def booth as it has the past couple years.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, which demoed Blu-ray features of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End in 2007, will likewise not have a major high-def presence on the floor.

The Blu-ray format is long past its days of just winning the format war with HD DVD, making it somewhat less urgent to push high-definition as a whole at Comic-Con, note studio sources.

“We don’t think it’s necessary to be splashy,” said Kris Brown, Warner VP of worldwide high-def. “We have a lot to talk about. [Watchmen director] Zack Snyder will be there, and he is an amazing evangelist of the format. There’s a lot of steak there, so you don’t need to have any sizzle. Comic-Con fans are predisposed to become Blu-ray fans, given that they love movies and want to experience them in the best possible way.”

Although studios are adjusting some strategies, they remain fiercely supportive of Comic-Con and are rolling out a slew of activities. The investment should be worth it, as the show has been sold out to the public weeks in advance.

Among other studio activities:

• Shout! Factory will kick-off selling two DVD compilation sets at Comic-Con, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero—A Complete Series Collector’s Set ($155) and The Transformers: 25th Anniversary Matrix of Leadership Edition Collector’s Set ($150). Consumers who buy either title at the show will receive an exclusive lithograph signed by G.I. Joe artist Tom Feister or a lithograph signed by Transformers voice Frank Welker, respectively.

“Our presence is to go one on one with [Comic-Con] people and keep production value to a minimum,” Shout! Factory VP of marketing Melissa Boag said of the DVD label’s floor booth. “We’ve never had bigger releases on our schedule that fit so perfectly with the Comic-Con audience. And we’re really focused on a set number of releases, so we can properly represent them.”

• Paramount Home Entertainment will court the sci-fi crowds for its upcoming DVD/Blu-ray releases of summer theatrical hits Star Trek (street date TBA) and Monsters vs. Aliens (due Sept. 29). At the Paramount show booth, fans can be photographed inside the Enterprise as well as inserted within a 3D photo with Monsters vs. Aliens character B.O.B. Attendees also can enter to win a Star Trek captain’s chair.

• Universal Studios Home Entertainment will hype the July DVD/Blu-ray release of Coraline with a July 24 panel with filmmakers and voice talent about the movie’s advanced 3D look. Plus, a Universal street team will rove the Comic-Con floor demonstrating new Web-based 3D interactivity dubbed ‘augmented reality.’ People can print out Coraline background art, place it in front of a Web cam, and view an eye-popping garden.

• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is highlighting two Comic-Con-only product offers connected to TV series Dollhouse and Futurama. Attendees can buy a first-season Dollhouse DVD/Blu-ray with special Comic-Con packaging and exclusive letter from show creator Joss Whedon. Comic-Con goers also can pre-order one of 2,500 DVDs ($49.99) or 2,500 Blu-rays ($69.99) at http://dollhouse-comiccon.foxstore.com for pick-up at the show; as of Wednesday, 2,094 DVDs and 2,214 Blu-rays were still available.

Plus, people can purchase one of 500 available full-series/movie spin-off sets ($199.98) for Futurama. Attendees also must pre-order ahead of time at www.foxstore.com/futuramacomiccon for pick-up at the show. As of Wednesday, 412 copies remained.

• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will drum up buzz for the new Stan Lee Web comic Time Jumper, with an episode preview during a July 23 panel.

Disney’s theatrical unit is touting a first-ever 3D panel at Comic-Con on Thursday, July 23, spanning such films as Disney’s A Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland and Tron. Advanced 3D footage from the upcoming movies will be shown for the first time at Comic-Con, and directors Robert Zemeckis and Tim Burton and Tron producers Sean Bailey and Steve Lisberger will present in person.

• Sony will host a panel discussion for the July 28 DVD release of Angel of Death (July 24).

• And Image Entertainment will host a panel discussion for Aug. 11 DVD/Blu-ray release of Alien Trespass (July 26).