The top news and charts for week ending May 12, 2008.
Circuit City allows due diligence on Blockbuster acquisition bid Warner returns to rev-sharing, limits used sales Music retailers told to expand to video, online to survive |
A salute to David Lean During BritWeek 2008, colleagues and friends paid tribute to late filmmaker David Lean at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on May 2. Among those at the event were (l. to r.) film executive Gary Dartnall, actresses Anne Coates and Jean Simmons, host David Thomson, British Consul General Bob Peirce and his wife Sharon Harroun Peirce and actor James Fox. Click for more industry photos. |
"27 DRESSES" leads Top DVD Renters Chart "27 DRESSES" leads Top DVD Sellers Chart "THE GOLDEN COMPASS" leads Top Blu-ray Sellers Chart |
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SWEETING: Sales warranty |
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BETWEEN THE LINES: Retailers really rate |
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RED STATE, BLUE STATE: Barnes & Noble deals in Blu-ray |
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DISC DISH: Doomsday DVD, BD |
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DVDIALOG: Chronicling the Adams chronicles |
Warner returns to rev-sharing, limits used sales
MAY 9 | Several studios are expanding their revenue-sharing offerings, including Warner Home Video, which is returning to revenue sharing through Rentrak Corp. with a program that involves unique measures to limit previously-viewed disc sales. New Line Home Entertainment and Lionsgate are making Blu-ray Disc titles available on a revenue-sharing basis through Rentrak.
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Circuit City allows due diligence on Blockbuster acquisition bid
MAY 9 | Circuit City has agreed to allow Blockbuster and its largest shareholder, Carl Icahn, to conduct due diligence on the rental chain’s proposal to acquire the electronics retailer. Meanwhile, shareholder Mark Wattles told TWICE the electronics chain might have a number of suitors and could be sold within two months.
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April showered sales on discounters
MAY 8 | FROM TWICE: Despite the weak economy, or more likely because of it, national discount chains, including Wal-Mart and Target, reported solid sales in April.
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EMA helps defeat Arizona Civil Liability bill
MAY 7 | EMA has helped to defeat the Arizona House Bill 2660, which would have imposed liability on entertainment retailers whose customers commit a violent crime if the entertainment sold “incites” a crime, was “a cause” for the crime or the retailer “knew of a significant risk that the material would substantially … encourage” a crime.
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Higgins drops bid to take Trans World private
MAY 7 | Citing today’s pinched economy, Trans World CEO Robert Higgins is ending his bid to take the retail chain private.
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Harry Potter, Transformers lead EMA nominations
MAY 6 | The magic of Harry Potter and the strength of the Transformers helped the two films lead the nominations for Entertainment Merchants Assn.’s Home Entertainment Awards.
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EMA names Shore comedian of the year
MAY 6 | Comedian Pauly Shore will be recognized as Comedy Entertainer of the Year by the Entertainment Merchants Assn. at the organization’s Home Entertainment Awards on June 24 in Las Vegas.
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Music retailers told to expand to video, online to survive
MAY 6 | SAN FRANCISCO--As CD sales decline, the music industry is working to integrate video and online media, among other forms of entertainment, in order to survive. And the Entertainment Merchants Assn. is collaborating with the National Assn. of Recording Merchandisers to give retailers better tools.
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Warner returns to rev-sharing, limits used sales
MAY 9 | Several studios are expanding their revenue-sharing offerings, including Warner Home Video, which is returning to revenue sharing through Rentrak Corp. with a program that involves unique measures to limit previously-viewed disc sales. New Line Home Entertainment and Lionsgate are making Blu-ray Disc titles available on a revenue-sharing basis through Rentrak.
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Parties take DVD marketing to the home
MAY 9 | Hungry to engage consumers in a way TV commercials don’t, some studios are throwing their upcoming products in-home fan parties. New York-based marketing firm House Party helps studios hype the latest seasons of various TV shows by distributing party favor packs to the series’ biggest fans.
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Criterion going Blu in October
MAY 8 | The Criterion Collection will issue titles from its prestigious library in the Blu-ray Disc format beginning in October.
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Allumination launches DVD premiere 300 spoof
MAY 8 | A clip spoofing the Greek battle film 300 gained popularity on YouTube last year and has spawned a feature-length “mockumentary” that will be released on DVD July 8 by Allumination FilmWorks.
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THQ scores Marvel's Super Hero
MAY 8 | FROM VARIETY: Videogame publisher THQ has secured the rights to Marvel's new Super Hero Squad animated series.
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Piracy-laden site shut down in court
MAY 8 | FROM VARIETY: Hollywood has scored a major victory over a Web site that trafficked in pirated movies and TV shows, winning a $110 million judgment in federal court.
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News Corp. income rises in fiscal Q3
MAY 7 | News Corp.’s fiscal third-quarter earnings rose as higher advertising sales from strong ratings at its TV and cable networks overcame lagging revenue from its DVD and theatrical releases.
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Lightning launches new higher-quality label
MAY 7 | Lightning Entertainment Group has formed Lightning Media, a new division to distribute films on a variety of platforms.
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DWA to end Activision deal in 2010
MAY 7 | FROM VARIETY: DreamWorks Animation's exclusive six-year relationship with Activision will be coming to an end in 2010. Toon studio announced that a game based on its fall 2010 release, currently titled Master Mind, will be published by THQ.
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THQ has fiscal Q4 loss on higher costs
MAY 6 | THQ said today it had a fiscal fourth-quarter loss as it boosted marketing expenses to try to sell weaker-performing older titles and doubled its software amortization costs.
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Disney Q2 earnings rise on DVD sales
MAY 6 | Walt Disney Co.’s fiscal second-quarter earnings jumped 22% as home entertainment titles such as Enchanted (pictured), The Game Plan and No Country For Old Men helped boost profit at its studio entertainment unit. Enchanted and The Game Plan were both among the five biggest DVD sellers during the first quarter, helping Disney buck the trend of flat overall DVD spending in the U.S.
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Overture chief to oversee Anchor Bay
MAY 6 | Overture Films CEO Chris McGurk will oversee home entertainment affiliate Anchor Bay Entertainment after parent Liberty Media switched Anchor Bay to its filming operations from TV.
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Porchlight turns on Blu-ray with children's series
MAY 6 | Porchlight Home Entertainment is moving into Blu-ray Disc with Animalia, an international children's series for which the company just acquired DVD rights.
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New York to boost penalties for content piracy
MAY 5 | FROM B&C: New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo held a press conference to say the state was going to ramp up its crack down on movie piracy, which he said costs the state $2.6 billion and thousands of jobs.
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Rock Band boosts Viacom profits
MAY 5 | FROM VARIETY: Viacom profits zoomed higher last quarter on rollicking sales of music vidgame Rock Band, strong cable nets and slimmer losses at Paramount. Theatrical revenues declined 7% to $247 million. That was offset in part by a 22% bump in home entertainment revenue on one-time items including a $29 million payout from Toshiba for Par’s exclusive backing of the HD DVD.
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Iron Man a box-office marvel
MAY 5 | VARIETY BOX-OFFICE REPORT: Paramount and Marvel Studios’ summer tentpole Iron Man mined enough in its box office debut to join the pantheon of all-time highest openers, grossing an estimated $104.2 million domestically and $96.8 million internationally for a worldwide cume of $201 million in its first five days.
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Criterion going Blu in October
MAY 8 | The Criterion Collection will issue titles from its prestigious library in the Blu-ray Disc format beginning in October.
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Pioneer to launch PIP Blu-ray players in summer
MAY 7 | Pioneer will roll out its first picture-in-picture Blu-ray Disc players this summer, priced well above today’s widespread $399 tag for BD set-tops.
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Panasonic prices new Blu-ray player
MAY 6 | Panasonic Electronics said today that its third-generation Blu-ray player will be priced $200 more than the company’s most recent high-definition machine.
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Porchlight turns on Blu-ray with children's series
MAY 6 | Porchlight Home Entertainment is moving into Blu-ray Disc with Animalia, an international children's series for which the company just acquired DVD rights.
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Bill targets teen gamers
MAY 8 | FROM VARIETY: With Grand Theft Auto IV in the headlines, a bipartisan pair of House members has introduced a bill that would require videogame retailers to check identification in order to prevent minors from buying games intended for adults.
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THQ scores Marvel's Super Hero
MAY 8 | FROM VARIETY: Videogame publisher THQ has secured the rights to Marvel's new Super Hero Squad animated series.
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GTA IV breaks U.K. records
MAY 8 | FROM VARIETY: Take-Two Interactive’s Grand Theft Auto IV, from its Rockstar videogames label, has smashed first-week sales records in the U.K., the world’s third-biggest market for vidgames after the U.S. and Japan.
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EMA helps defeat Arizona Civil Liability bill
MAY 7 | EMA has helped to defeat the Arizona House Bill 2660, which would have imposed liability on entertainment retailers whose customers commit a violent crime if the entertainment sold “incites” a crime, was “a cause” for the crime or the retailer “knew of a significant risk that the material would substantially … encourage” a crime.
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Grand Theft Auto IV breaks record
MAY 7 | Grand Theft Auto IV, which Take-Two Interactive’s Rockstar Games released to the public April 29, set one-day and first-week all-time records for videogames. The title grossed more than $500 million during its first week, representing about 6 million units, with an opening-day take of about $310 million, Take-Two said in a statement today.
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DWA to end Activision deal in 2010
MAY 7 | FROM VARIETY: DreamWorks Animation's exclusive six-year relationship with Activision will be coming to an end in 2010. Toon studio announced that a game based on its fall 2010 release, currently titled Master Mind, will be published by THQ.
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THQ has fiscal Q4 loss on higher costs
MAY 6 | THQ said today it had a fiscal fourth-quarter loss as it boosted marketing expenses to try to sell weaker-performing older titles and doubled its software amortization costs.
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EA launches titles with AOL, Spielberg
MAY 6 | Electronic Arts this week launched two game titles as part of partnerships with both Time Warner unit AOL and filmmaker Steven Spielberg as EA tries to spur growth amid its failed attempt to acquire competing games publisher Take-Two Interactive.
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Activision, Vivendi pull out of ESA
MAY 5 | Activision and Vivendi have dropped out of the Entertainment Software Assn., leaving the trade group without what’s likely to become the world’s largest games publisher.
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Microsoft to offer TV downloads
MAY 6 | FROM VARIETY: Microsoft is finally going after the TV download market with its Zune device and online network.
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