Home Media Magazine - November 25-December 1, 2007 - (Page 5)

www.homemediamagazine.com MENU FROM THE EDITOR BY THOMAS K. ARNOLD, PUBLISHER www.homemediamagazine.com Holiday Sales a Crapshoot PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Thomas K. Arnold EDITOR IN CHIEF Stephanie Prange EDITORIAL Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Angelique Flores Senior Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erik Gruenwedel Senior Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Tribbey Assistant Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Latchem Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Billy Gil, Kyra Kudick Contributors. . . . . . . . . John Gaudiosi, Anne Sherber, Fred Topel, Ralph Tribbey, Holly J. Wagner T ART Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Melbert Sebayan Graphic Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles Park RESEARCH Market Research Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Burner ADVERTISING 800/338-6700, FAX 714/338-6712 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . John Boezinger 714/338-6704 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julie Savant 714/368-1020 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kurt Wohlman 714/338-6749 Group Administrative Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Guerena Business Analyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joni Wu For reprints, call 800-290-5460, ext. 100 or HomeMediaMagazine@reprintbuyer. com For direct-mail lists, call Ilene Schwartz, Kroll Direct, 216/371-1667 FAX 216/371-1669 ilene@krolldirect.com he fourth quarter is a little more than halfway over, of hits slotted for the three Tuesdays before Christmas, as with the pivotal Black Friday shopping blitz coming many as four on a single day. just before you read this — but a few days after I write The feeling — or, more accurately, the hope — is that conthis. On the cusp of the Thanksgiving holiday, ask any studio sumers are waiting until the last minute to do their Christmas executive how the fourth quarter is doing, DVD sales-wise, shopping, both to cut down on repeat trips to stores and to and you’re likely to get a shrug, accompanied by raised eye- consolidate their DVD purchases to a time when they know brows and perhaps a not-knowing shake of the head. everything that’s worth buying will be out there on display. This is the quarter of the summer blockThis could be good or bad, depending busters, with a trilogy of surefire hits — the OVERALL, SALES HAVE BEEN on consumer behavior in those last critical third “Spider-Man,” “Shrek” and “Pirates STRONG ENOUGH TO KEEP weeks before Christmas. Keep in mind that of the Caribbean” movies — and all sorts EVERYONE IN BUSINESS, the big theatrical hits don’t just generate the of other high-profile theatrical fare as well, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN NO highest sales numbers, they also drive confrom The Simpsons Movie to Harry Potter HOME RUNS, NO THROUGH- sumers into stores. Once there, DVD marketand the Order of the Phoenix and The Bourne THE-ROOF SURPRISES. ers hope they will buy something else. If the Ultimatum. cluster of hits slotted for December creates a The hits that have come out have yielded mixed results. DVD feeding frenzy, then there’s a good chance we’re looking With the exception of Transformers, we haven’t seen any at a record fourth quarter. boastful studio press release touting a new sales record for But if consumers are out of cash by the time they have acthe first day, first week or first month. cumulated all the big must-have hits, including the ones they Overall, sales have been strong enough to keep everyone in didn’t buy earlier, then we could be in for a blue Christmas. business, but there have been no home runs, no through-theAnd I’m not talking about next-generation discs, either! roof sales surprises. Hollywood is now turning its sights on December as make-or-break time, pointing to the abundance Thomas K. Arnold’s e-mail address is tarnold@questex.com MARKETING Marketing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristina Kronenberg 714/338-6743 Marketing Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaitlyn DeWaard Online Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renee Rosado IN THIS ISSUE NOV. 25-DEC. 1, 2007 / VOL. 29 / NO. 47 News …………………………… CALENDAR I HIGH-DEF 2.0 PRODUCTION Production Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Ling Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Justin-Nicholas Toyama 714/338-6765 Assistant Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brady Gallardo 6 8 >> HIGH- DEF OFFICES 714/338-6700, 800/371-6897, FAX 714/338-6710 homemediamagazine@questex.com 201 East Sandpointe Ave., Suite 500 Santa Ana, CA 92707-8716 Hastings Entertainment makes its first Q3 profit; Lionsgate awards $60,000 in scholarships for Bratz: The Movie; Blockbuster investor loads up on stock. News ………………………… News …………………………… European HDTV sales are going strong, although a study says European high-def consumers are still learning; anti-HD DVD Web ads pop up. Chris Tribbey, Senior Reporter 818-788-8616, FAX 818-530-2486 16130 Ventura Blvd. #570 Encino, CA 91436 CREDIT Credit/Collections Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ron Wright Sr. Game sales are up 73% in October; Gamestop posts its best-ever Q3; Viz Media and Trans World team to promote Naruto; Wolfe reveals AFM acquisitions. >> EL ECTRONIC D EL IV ERY CIRCULATION For subscriptions, please go online to www.homemediamagazine.com For current single copy, back issues or CD-ROM, call 866/344-1315 or 615/377-3322 for outside the U.S. Audience Development Manager. . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Joy Obaña TV DVD ………………………… 16 See upcoming TV shows on DVD, including Tell Me You Love Me: The Complete First Season. The Bourne Ultimatum BUSINESS QUESTEX MEDIA GROUP INC. President & CEO: Kerry C. Gumas; Executive Vice President & CFO: Tom Caridi; Executive Vice President: Robert S. Ingraham; Executive Vice President: Tony D’Avino; Executive Vice President, Corporate Development: Claudia Flowers; Vice President & General Manager: Don Rosenberg; Vice President, Digital Media: Seth Nichols; Vice President, Human Resources: Diane Evans © 2007 Questex Media Group Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including by photocopy, recording or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by Questex Media Group, Inc. for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923 phone: 978-750-8400 fax 978-750-4470; call for copying beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. For those not registered with the CCC, send permission request in writing to questexpermissions@reprintbuyer.com or call 800-494-9051 ext. 100. News ………………………… Home Media Magazine presents High-Def 2.0, a one-day event that will serve as a preview of what’s in store for the high-definition disc market in 2008, the year the studios have targeted as breakout time for Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. Coming just weeks before the Consumer Electronics Show, the event will provide a sneak peek of studio announcements expected to be made at CES, along with an overview of plans for the coming year, from marquee titles headed to HD disc to advances in interactivity, technology and packaging. Dec. 4 Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles info: www.homemediaconferences.com HIT Entertainment content, including “Barney” and “Bob the Builder,” hits the Web; ThinkFilm indies land on iTunes; Vudu gets “Bourne.” I 2008 INTERNATIONAL CES Produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), CES is the largest annual trade show servicing the consumer technology industry. The show has brought together the global consumer electronics industry for more than four decades. CEA represents more than 2,100 members from the fields of design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of consumer electronics products. Jan. 7-10 Las Vegas, Nev. info: www.cesweb.org Research ……………………… 26 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Printed in the U.S.A. Reviews ………………………… 18 Paramount Home Entertainment and DreamWorks Animation saw a lot of green this week as Shrek the Third took the top spot on both the national DVD sales and rental charts. What’s on the horizon for the DVD of Pirates of the Top 20 DVD Sellers ……………………… 26 Caribbean: At World’s End? How hot is The Hot- Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts ……… 28 test State? Does The Namesake live up to its critical acclaim? Just Announced ……………… New Line Home Entertainment slates the thrillPipeline ………………………… ing Rendition, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Ten questions with the king of ‘B’-movies, Bruce Witherspoon; Sony Pictures Home EntertainCampbell; Animal Planet and Genius Products mon- ment prances out the dance drama Feel the Noise key around with a pair of primate-themed DVDs. and the Ryan Reynolds starrer The Nines. I WONDERCON 2008 The comic book conference is returning to San Francisco for its 22nd anniversary. Feb. 22-24 Moscone Center South, San Francisco info: www.comic-con.org/wc November 25–December 1, 2007 Home Media Magazine http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediaconferences.com http://www.cesweb.org http://www.comic-con.org/wc

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - November 25-December 1, 2007

Contents News TV DVD Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced

Home Media Magazine - November 25-December 1, 2007

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