The top news and charts for week ending December 24, 2007.
Blockbuster boosts Total Access prices PlayStation 3 adds picture-in-picture capability Bourne, Harry Potter HD DVDs outpacing Blu-ray titles |
The Simpsons celebration To celebrate The Simpsons Movie DVD releases, Marge, Maggie and Bart enjoyed some cake with (l. to r.) director David Silverman, voice actors Pamela Hayden and Yeardley Smith and Fox’s Steve Feldstein. Click for more industry photos. |
"THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM" leads Top DVD Renters Chart "HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX" leads Top DVD Sellers Chart "THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM" leads Top HD DVD Sellers Chart "HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX" leads Top Blu-ray Sellers Chart |
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SWEETING: A crack in China’s film wall? |
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RED STATE, BLUE STATE: Warner must terminate a mistake |
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DVDIALOG: All the nudes that are fit to print |
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THE DOWN LOW: Blockbuster’s online preview of great debators |
Understanding and Solutions: Blu-ray could win format war
DEC. 21 | Due to increasing pricing parity between Blu-ray and HD DVD hardware, research firm Understanding and Solutions believes there could be format war clarity in BD’s favor in 2008.
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Bourne, Harry Potter HD DVDs outpacing Blu-ray titles
DEC. 21 | Fourth-quarter HD DVD releases The Bourne Ultimatum and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix are outpacing similarly high-profile Blu-ray titles, according to Universal Studios Home Entertainment and other industry research sources.
Click for full story
Blockbuster boosts Total Access prices
DEC. 20 | Blockbuster, in a bid to increase the profitability of Total Access, is changing the prices of DVD rental subscription programs, with rates for its Total Access Premium offering unlimited mail order and in-store exchanges going up a hefty $5 to $10.
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Higgins moves forward with plans to take Trans World private
DEC. 18 | Despite some shareholders protesting the deal terms, Trans World CEO Robert Higgins and Riley Investment Management have jointly formed an acquisition entity for the purpose of purchasing all outstanding shares of Trans World.
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DEG Europe: Holiday DVD purchases to rise over 2006
DEC. 18 | Despite signs of maturation in the DVD market, an industry advocacy group reported today that its own customer surveys reveal more DVD purchases will take place over the holidays this year than in 2006.
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Best Buy Q3 earnings up 79%
DEC. 18 | FROM TWICE: Strong sales, a more rational promotional environment and labor productivity gains helped Best Buy boost its operating income 79% to $351 million for its fiscal third quarter, ended Dec. 1. Net income rose 52% to $228 million and net revenue increased 17% to $9.9 billion.
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Blockbuster shipping out 20,000 DVDs to USO
DEC. 17 | To help spread some cheer to men and woman in uniform, Blockbuster employees are volunteering to help ship out 20,000 DVDs to United Service Organization centers around the world in time for the holidays.
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Online video will be 8% of industry by 2011, report says
DEC. 17 | While the online video market has been slower to grow than Hollywood and its technical partners anticipated, online video retail is nonetheless expected to grow more than fivefold in the next four years, from $252 million to $2.9 billion in consumer spending by 2011, according to research firm Understanding & Solutions.
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Ultimatum sells 5.4 million DVDs in first week
DEC. 17 | Jason Bourne gets better with age. The Bourne Ultimatum, Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s third installment in the Bourne franchise, outperformed its predecessors, selling more than 5.4 million units since its Dec. 11 street date. The espionage thriller captured $95 million in consumer spending in its first six days in stores.
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Disc biz seeks new spin in 2008
DEC. 15 | FROM VARIETY: Home video arms plan to do everything they can to jumpstart their various formats next year. Given the size of the biz — just under $24 billion domestic annually — and studios’ reliance on this coin to offset theatrical costs, they have to.
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Bourne, Harry Potter HD DVDs outpacing Blu-ray titles
DEC. 21 | Fourth-quarter HD DVD releases The Bourne Ultimatum and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix are outpacing similarly high-profile Blu-ray titles, according to Universal Studios Home Entertainment and other industry research sources.
Click for full story
Monterey makes its way to New York City
DEC. 21 | Monterey Media has booked an ad for its family film Eye of the Dolphin that will run through the end of the year on the GeoffreyTron billboard outside of the giant Toys R Us store in New York’s Times Square. The billboard uses a unique L.E.D. video display that can be seen from all corners of Times Square, site of what is traditionally the largest New Year’s Eve gathering in the U.S.
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Arts Alliance takes on Sundance distribution
DEC. 20 | FROM VARIETY: Arts Alliance America is now the exclusive distributor of Sundance Channel's home vidwo fare, including 100 titles from the library. In many cases, Sundance titles will appear on DVD and on the channel day-and-date, or as close as possible.
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Blockbuster veteran joins Genius as president
DEC. 19 | Blockbuster veteran Matthew Smith has been tapped president of Genius Products LLC, the indie supplier majority owned by The Weinstein Co.
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Warner promotes Quinn to oversee global Interactive sales
DEC. 19 | John P. Quinn has been promoted to executive VP of worldwide operations at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. In his new role, Quinn will oversee global sales and distribution for Warner Bros. Interactive.
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Image continues Canada distribution with Entertainment One
DEC. 19 | Image Entertainment has renewed and expanded its Canadian distribution agreement with Entertainment One and its subsidiaries, Seville Pictures and Paradox Entertainment.
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Manhattan gets 'Simpson-ized'
DEC. 18 | FROM VARIETY: More than just a name for a one-day marketing event, the "Simpson-izing of Manhattan" is apt shorthand for Gotham's newly enlarged role in the movie landscape. Today's event is to promote the DVD release of The Simpson's Movie.
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TLA offers "Golden Tickets" in Web site promo
DEC. 17 | TLA Releasing has taken a page from Willy Wonka by placing "Golden Tickets" inside its 2008 catalogs to attract consumers to buy DVDs from the supplier's Web site.
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Ultimatum sells 5.4 million DVDs in first week
DEC. 17 | Jason Bourne gets better with age. The Bourne Ultimatum, Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s third installment in the Bourne franchise, outperformed its predecessors, selling more than 5.4 million units since its Dec. 11 street date. The espionage thriller captured $95 million in consumer spending in its first six days in stores.
Click for full story
Understanding and Solutions: Blu-ray could win format war
DEC. 21 | Due to increasing pricing parity between Blu-ray and HD DVD hardware, research firm Understanding and Solutions believes there could be format war clarity in BD’s favor in 2008.
Click for full story
Bourne, Harry Potter HD DVDs outpacing Blu-ray titles
DEC. 21 | Fourth-quarter HD DVD releases The Bourne Ultimatum and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix are outpacing similarly high-profile Blu-ray titles, according to Universal Studios Home Entertainment and other industry research sources.
Click for full story
PlayStation 3 adds picture-in-picture capability
DEC. 18 | Sony’s PlayStation 3 is touting itself as one of the best Blu-ray Disc players on the market, after the console rolled out a picture-in-picture firmware upgrade on Tuesday. As the most popular Blu-ray player, representing nearly 74% of the format’s U.S. installation base with 2 million sold, the enhanced PS3 also is a boon to studios launching their first titles with this advanced interactivity, according to PS3 representatives.
Click for full story
Screen Digest forecasts end to high-def format battle
DEC. 18 | FROM VARIETY: Next year promises to be the year when 3-D pics go through the roof, the format battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray will be decided and Sony's PlayStation 3 will hit back against the successful Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360, according to a report by U.K.-based media research firm Screen Digest.
Click for full story
PlayStation 3 adds picture-in-picture capability
DEC. 18 | Sony’s PlayStation 3 is touting itself as one of the best Blu-ray Disc players on the market, after the console rolled out a picture-in-picture firmware upgrade on Tuesday. As the most popular Blu-ray player, representing nearly 74% of the format’s U.S. installation base with 2 million sold, the enhanced PS3 also is a boon to studios launching their first titles with this advanced interactivity, according to PS3 representatives.
Click for full story
E3 moves back to L.A. Convention Center
DEC. 18 | The Entertainment Software Assn. is moving its E3 tradeshow back to the Los Angeles Convention Center but keeping the scaled-down format it adopted last year.
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Online video startup Vuze pockets $20 million
DEC. 20 | FROM MULTICHANNEL NEWS: Vuze, a startup that runs a peer-to-peer Internet video distribution service, said it has raised $20 million in third-round funding and named TiVo co-founder Mike Ramsay to its board of directors.
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Viacom, Microsoft team for online deal
DEC. 20 | FROM VARIETY: Viacom and Microsoft announced a five-year strategic alliance Wednesday that redirects Viacom's Web efforts away from Google, its opponent in a bitter $1 billion copyright infringement suit.
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Online video will be 8% of industry by 2011, report says
DEC. 17 | While the online video market has been slower to grow than Hollywood and its technical partners anticipated, online video retail is nonetheless expected to grow more than fivefold in the next four years, from $252 million to $2.9 billion in consumer spending by 2011, according to research firm Understanding & Solutions.
Full Story
PlayStation 3 adds picture-in-picture capability
DEC. 18 | Sony’s PlayStation 3 is touting itself as one of the best Blu-ray Disc players on the market, after the console rolled out a picture-in-picture firmware upgrade on Tuesday. As the most popular Blu-ray player, representing nearly 74% of the format’s U.S. installation base with 2 million sold, the enhanced PS3 also is a boon to studios launching their first titles with this advanced interactivity, according to PS3 representatives.
Click for full story
DVD-CCA files brief in Kaleidescape appeal
DEC. 18 | FROM CONTENTAGENDA: The DVD Copy Control Assn. filed its initial appellate brief Monday with the California Court of Appeal in the Kaleidescape case. The brief asks the court to overrule the trial judge in the case, who found that Kaleidescape had not breached the CSS license agreement in designing its home-media servers.
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