The top news and charts for week ending November 19, 2007.
Studios seek new TV DVD strategies DVD kiosks to expand rental market share Q4 sales expectations tempered |
An Amazing screening At a Los Angeles Amazing Grace screening, (l. to r.) Fox’s Dorrit Ragosine greeted director Michael Apted, BAFTA/Los Angeles governor Arnold Schwartzman and actor Ioan Gruffudd. See more industry photos. |
"I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY" leads Top DVD Renters Chart "RATATOUILLE" leads Top DVD Sellers Chart "I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY" leads Top HD DVD Sellers Chart "RATATOUILLE" leads Top Blu-ray Sellers Chart |
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SWEETING: High-def tortoise and the hare |
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RED STATE, BLUE STATE: HD DVD is already Atari |
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DISC DISH: The Brave One DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray |
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DVDIALOG: Talkin’ ’bout zombies with Sid Haig |
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THE DOWN LOW: Get ready for Blockbuster Express |
DVD kiosks to expand rental market share
NOV. 16 | DVD kiosks located in supermarkets, fast food restaurants and other high-traffic locations will expand their share of the rental market to 20% to 25% within about three years, predicts the chairman and CEO of No. 3 kiosk operator DVDPlay.
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Q4 sales expectations tempered
NOV. 16 | Halfway through the fourth quarter, some studios and retailers seem to be tempering expectations for DVD sales despite a lineup of 16 titles that made more than $100 million at the box office, including four that made more than $300 million.
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Newbury featured in horror film Hatchet
NOV. 16 | Newbury Comics is promoting indie horror film Hatchet as though it were a major studio movie. Newbury gets its own promotion in Hatchet, with one of the stars wearing T-shirts branded with the chain's logo throughout most of the film.
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Movie Gallery debtor-in-possession financing approved
NOV. 15 | Movie Gallery has received final approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va., for its $150 million debtor-in-possession financing. It will be used to pay vendors and employees and provide operational and financial stability to Movie Gallery during its restructuring.
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Redbox expands to Walgreens in Columbus, Phoenix
NOV. 14 | Walgreens drugs stores will add DVD rental Redbox kiosks in locations in Columbus, Ohio, and Phoenix metropolitan areas, both companies said Tuesday. Redbox kiosks will be in 33 Columbus stores and 160 Phoenix stores.
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Virgin Megastores launches new e-commerce site
NOV. 13 | Virgin Megastores has partnered with Baker & Taylor on a new e-commerce Web site designed to reflect the chain’s in-store merchandising.
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Borders rolls out in-store TV network
NOV. 13 | Online exclusive: Borders is launching an in-store TV network nationwide to give customers entertainment that enhances their book, DVD and CD purchases.
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Fewer rental transactions drag Rentrak's fiscal Q2
NOV. 13 | Fiscal second-quarter revenue in Rentrak's pay-per-transaction segment totaled $20.4 million, a decline of 8% from last year's comparable quarter, reflecting fewer rental transactions.
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Movie Gallery: Can't file third-quarter report
NOV. 13 | In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Movie Gallery said that in view of its Oct. 16 bankruptcy, it could not file its Q3 report “without unreasonable effort or expense.”
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Report: DVD sales no longer covering rising studio costs
NOV. 12 | Online exclusive: DVD sales are no longer bolstering the movie industry, according to a report by Global Media Intelligent, a new division of international media analyst firm Screen Digest.
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Vivendi to distribute startup Blowtorch Entertainment
NOV. 16 | Vivendi Visual Entertainment will distribute on DVD three to six films a year from startup Blowtorch Entertainment. Blowtorch is launching with more than $50 million in funding to create a media company aimed at reaching young adults 18 to 24 through film, TV, DVD, mobile, digital and Internet entertainment.
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Studios seek new TV DVD strategies
NOV. 16 | Less than two weeks after Hollywood screenwriters went on strike, studios are already making contingency plans for next summer and fall’s TV DVD releases as picketing writers shut down production of many current shows. Options being considered include truncated season releases and titles featuring few or no extras.
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Q4 sales expectations tempered
NOV. 16 | Halfway through the fourth quarter, some studios and retailers seem to be tempering expectations for DVD sales despite a lineup of 16 titles that made more than $100 million at the box office, including four that made more than $300 million.
Full Story
Newbury featured in horror film Hatchet
NOV. 16 | Newbury Comics is promoting indie horror film Hatchet as though it were a major studio movie. Newbury gets its own promotion in Hatchet, with one of the stars wearing T-shirts branded with the chain's logo throughout most of the film.
Full Story
Image, BTP merger delayed again
NOV. 15 | Online exclusive: Image Entertainment has postponed its target closing date to merge with BTP Acquisition Co. for a second time, to Nov. 28.
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Genius posts Q3 loss but sees better fourth
NOV. 14 | Online exclusive: Genius Products LLC posted losses for its third quarter, but majority owner The Weinstein Co. is upbeat about GP LLC's performance through the rest of the year. Fourth-quarter DVD releases have a $172.2 million combined box office, including 1408, Sicko, Halloween and The Nanny Diaries.
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Lions Gate reports highest quarterly revenue ever
NOV. 13 | Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. reported its highest revenue ever in the last quarter, but it was more than offset by marketing and advertising expenses for its movies.
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Image slims loss for fiscal Q2
NOV. 13 | Online exclusive: On the eve of the closure of its merger with BTP Acquisition Company, Image Entertainment reported slightly narrowed losses for its second-quarter of fiscal 2008.
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Bee Movie finds box office honey
NOV. 12 | VARIETY BOX OFFICE REPORT: DreamWorks Animation's Bee Movie (pictured) showed surprising sting in its second weekend, buzzing its way to the top of the box office hive with an estimated $26 million from 3,944 runs. But high-profile United Artists title Lions for Lambs looked more lamb than lion, grossing an estimated $6.7 million from 2,215 theaters to land at No. 4.
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Acquisition president Block exits Lions Gate
NOV. 12 | Online exclusive: Longtime Lions Gate Films executive Peter Block has left the studio, a decision somewhat expected by insiders as Block has been working without a contract for several months, according to sources.
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Vudu adds high-def downloads
NOV. 15 | Vudu said today it will add high-definition titles to its movie download service, which connects to households through a set-top box. The high-def titles will be available during the home video and pay per view windows.
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Xbox 360 sales drop 31% in October
NOV. 15 | The Xbox 360’s (pictured) Halo 3 bubble has popped, as October sales for the console fell about 31% from September’s record showing to 366,000 units sold, according to latest NPD Group research. For October, Nintendo's Wii regained its dominant position in next-generation system sales, selling 519,000 units. PlayStation 3 sold 121,000 players.
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Vudu adds high-def downloads
NOV. 15 | Vudu said today it will add high-definition titles to its movie download service, which connects to households through a set-top box. The high-def titles will be available during the home video and pay per view windows.
Full Story
Mojo inks deal for Amazon Unbox
NOV. 14 | FROM MULTICHANNEL NEWS: In Demand Networks’ male-targeted HD channel Mojo signed a deal to sell its original programming through Amazon.com’s Unbox digital video download service.
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SanDisk product moves video downloads to TV
NOV. 13 | SanDisk's solution for getting downloads to the TV is now on sale. With the Sansa TakeTV, users can drag drop video files, such as movie downloads, onto a USB flash drive then connect it straight to a TV through a cradle.
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Zune gets marketing, feature upgrades
NOV. 13 | FROM TWICE: Microsoft is putting more marketing muscle behind Tuesday’s retail launch of an expanded selection of Zune portable media players.
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SanDisk product moves video downloads to TV
NOV. 13 | SanDisk's solution for getting downloads to the TV is now on sale. With the Sansa TakeTV, users can drag drop video files, such as movie downloads, onto a USB flash drive then connect it straight to a TV through a cradle.
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Zune gets marketing, feature upgrades
NOV. 13 | FROM TWICE: Microsoft is putting more marketing muscle behind Tuesday’s retail launch of an expanded selection of Zune portable media players.
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