The top news and charts for week ending February 25, 2008.
Retailers to phase out HD DVD Toshiba will drop HD DVD Cheaper movies feed kiosk boom |
A chat with Ridley Scott Film critic Pete Hammond (l.) talks with director Ridley Scott at the screening of American Gangster, held at the Landmark theater in Los Angeles on Feb. 19. Click for more industry photos. |
"WE OWN THE NIGHT" leads Top DVD Renters Chart "TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED?" leads Top DVD Sellers Chart "THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM" leads Top HD DVD Sellers Chart "WE OWN THE NIGHT" leads Top Blu-ray Sellers Chart |
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SWEETING: Blu blues |
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BETWEEN THE LINES: Blu-ray should be cooking by Q4 |
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RED STATE, BLUE STATE: Genius makes up its mind already? |
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DISC DISH: There Will Be Blood DVD |
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DVDIALOG: Amy Heckerling’s DVD premiere, part II |
Retailers to phase out HD DVD
FEB. 22 | Retail reaction to Toshiba’s formal abandonment of the HD DVD format was swift, as those stores that had not already done so last week moved to de-emphasize and in many cases, liquidate, HD DVD products.
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Amazon gets Blu-ray title exclusive
FEB. 22 | Warner Home Video and National Geographic will launch the Blu-ray Disc version of Six Degrees Could Change the World only at Amazon.com on Earth Day, April 22, marking the studio’s first BD retail exclusive.
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Reed Elsevier to sell Video Business parent
FEB. 22 | LONDON—Reed Elsevier has announced that it plans to sell Reed Business Information, the magazine publishing division that includes Video Business, Variety and Daily Variety, Broadcasting and Cable, Multichannel News, Publishers Weekly and New Scientist.
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Cheaper movies feed kiosk boom
FEB. 21 | UPDATE: The three largest kiosk operators are on tract to have a combined 15,350 machines in the U.S. by the end of the year, up 57% from the end of 2007.
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Netflix, Blockbuster users choose No Country
FEB. 21 | Like its anti-hero, Anton Chigurh, blowing through the Texas countryside, No Country for Old Men will lay waste to its competitors at the 80th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, according to subscribers of Netflix and Blockbuster.
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Best Buy lowers earnings forecast
FEB. 20 | Best Buy lowered its earnings and same-store sales expectations for fiscal 2008 on lower post-holiday revenue from some of its home entertainment products.
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Amazon, DVD Empire back Blu-ray
FEB. 20 | Online retailers Amazon.com and DVDEmpire.com are the latest dominoes to fall in Blu-ray’s direction. Both are formally endorsing Blu-ray as their high-definition format choice, one day after Toshiba conceded defeat in the format war by announcing it would soon stop production of HD DVD players.
Click for Full Story
Amazon gets Blu-ray title exclusive
FEB. 22 | Warner Home Video and National Geographic will launch the Blu-ray Disc version of Six Degrees Could Change the World only at Amazon.com on Earth Day, April 22, marking the studio’s first BD retail exclusive.
Click for Full Story
Paramount becomes last to do Blu
FEB. 21 | FROM TWICE: As expected, former HD DVD exclusive studio Paramount officially announced it will now produce high-definition movies on Blu-ray Disc, a day after Toshiba pulled the plug on the HD DVD format.
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Disney to deliver pre-theater entertainment
FEB. 20 | Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will be delivering in-theater content for National CineMedia’s FirstLook marketing program.
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BBC downloads deal with iTunes
FEB. 20 | FROM VARIETY: The BBC and Apple have agreed to a pioneering deal that enables users to download high-profile fare like Life on Mars via iTunes for £1.89 ($3.70) an episode.
Click for Full Story
Retailers to phase out HD DVD
FEB. 22 | Retail reaction to Toshiba’s formal abandonment of the HD DVD format was swift, as those stores that had not already done so last week moved to de-emphasize and in many cases, liquidate, HD DVD products.
Click for Full Story
Amazon gets Blu-ray title exclusive
FEB. 22 | Warner Home Video and National Geographic will launch the Blu-ray Disc version of Six Degrees Could Change the World only at Amazon.com on Earth Day, April 22, marking the studio’s first BD retail exclusive.
Click for Full Story
Paramount becomes last to do Blu
FEB. 21 | FROM TWICE: As expected, former HD DVD exclusive studio Paramount officially announced it will now produce high-definition movies on Blu-ray Disc, a day after Toshiba pulled the plug on the HD DVD format.
Click for Full Story
Amazon, DVD Empire back Blu-ray
FEB. 20 | Online retailers Amazon.com and DVDEmpire.com are the latest dominoes to fall in Blu-ray’s direction. Both are formally endorsing Blu-ray as their high-definition format choice, one day after Toshiba conceded defeat in the format war by announcing it would soon stop production of HD DVD players.
Click for Full Story
Toshiba will drop HD DVD
FEB. 19 | Toshiba, officially conceding the format war to rival Sony and its Blu-ray Disc, will discontinue production of its next-generation DVD player and discs and expects to be out of the HD DVD business by next month. Universal Studios, the only studio that has supported HD DVD exclusively since its launch, quickly jumped on the Blu-ray bandwagon.
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GameStop earnings beat forecast
FEB. 20 | GameStop’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings beat its forecast on better-than-expected January sales in both the U.S. and overseas.
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BBC downloads deal with iTunes
FEB. 20 | FROM VARIETY: The BBC and Apple have agreed to a pioneering deal that enables users to download high-profile fare like Life on Mars via iTunes for £1.89 ($3.70) an episode.
Click for Full Story
Philips targets women with new hardware design
FEB. 22 | Philips is promoting product design more than ever in 2008, distinguishing itself as a brand particularly keen on female tastes.
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Pioneer builds Hollywood loft for high-end products
FEB. 22 | Pioneer is stylishly designing a Hollywood loft with its products in an effort to draw entertainment industry professionals to the high-end brand.
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