Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - (Page 4) NEWS BRIEFS I BUSH SIGNS ANTIPIRACY ENFORCEMENT BILL Hollywood studios and other content distributors scored a victory this week after President Bush signed a bill that beefs up enforcement on pirated movies. The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO IP) Act, backed by both the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), increases the monetary fines that can be awarded in civil counterfeiting judgments and provides more oversight for piracy prosecutions, creating a federal coordinator to oversee national intellectual property issues. – Chris Tribbey www.homemediamagazine.com Disney Plans Spring Cleanup By Chris Tribbey PRODUCT For the first time in eight years, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will bring Pinocchio out of the vault, offering up Platinum DVD and Blu-ray Disc editions March 10. The 70th anniversary edition highlights what’s shaping up to be a busy spring. “[The first-quarter slate] includes a robust lineup of titles for everyone in the family from pre-schoolers to teenagers to adults and family,” said Lori MacPherson, North American GM. Pinocchio has been restored and will include two newly discovered scenes and an alternate ending. One of the scenes is of Gepetto inside the whale, while the alternate ending gives a different take on Pinocchio becoming a real boy. The Blu-ray set will include a standard-def DVD of I HOME ENTERTAINMENT HIGH ON HOLIDAY LISTS With the recent turmoil in the financial markets and talk of budgeting and belttightening for hard times ahead, it should come as no surprise that consumers are cautious about holiday spending. According to The NPD Group’s annual survey of consumers’ holiday spending intentions, 26% of consumers said they plan to spend less this year, compared to 18% in 2007. Still, consumers rank home entertainment in the top 10 items they plan to purchase as a gift, with DVD ranked at No. 3 (29%), electronics at No. 5 (23%) and video games at No. 6 (22%). NPD analyst Marshal Cohen predicts many consumers may be considering a new digital TV as a holiday purchase this year due to the analog to digital conversion. “With prices at all-time lows and not wanting to deal with signal conversion boxes, we could see some good news here,” Cohen said. – Kyra Kudick the movie, and BD Live features. The talking puppies comedy Space Buddies debuts Feb. 3, with both DVD and Blu-ray versions. Bonus features include bloopers and a brand new music video. The titles are timed to attract consumers who upgrade to Bluray over the holidays, MacPherson said. Also Feb. 3 comes a 20th anniversary edition of Oliver & Company, with new bonus features, including animated shorts, a new game, a making-of featurette, a history of animals in Disney Films and a look at the 1996 theatrical re-release of the film. Coming Jan. 13 are the theatrically released Emma Thompson starrer Brideshead Revisited, with deleted scenes, a commentary and a featurette, and Swing Vote, starring Kevin Costner. (L-R): Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment’s Gordon Ho and Lori MacPherson, Tony and Marlo Thomas, Tinker Bell with the film’s director Bradley Raymond, and Disney’s Bob Chapek and Andy Siditsky. Stars Celebrate Fairies, Fundraising, Fashion By Chris Tribbey EVERLY HILLS, Calif. — What do Cybill Shepherd, Dick Van Dyke, Natasha Henstridge and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa have in common? They all once believed in fairies. And they all still believe in a great cause. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment brought Hollywood’s elite together at the Beverly Hilton Oct. 11 for the fifth annual Runway for Life, where a fashion show celebrated Disney’s Oct. 28 release of Tinker Bell, and raised funds for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. “A lot of what we do at Disney is great, but to take a property like Tinker Bell, and lend the Disney magic to something as wonderful as St. Jude, it’s really exciting,” said Bob Chapek, president of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Top models and celebrities took to the catwalk during a dinner gala where more than 1,000 attendees helped raise nearly $2 million for research and treatment for children with cancer and other diseases. Tinker Bell director Bradley Raymond said the Blu-ray Disc version of the film provides a beautiful picture, and the bonus features will provide hours of added entertainment. Sony Updates the PS3 and PSP By John Gaudiosi GAMES The PlayStation 3 is getting another firmware upgrade. Upgrade 2.5 includes a video scene search functionality that will provide thumbnails to help viewers find a particular scene in a video more easily. Also, the Information Board will be able to include direct links to the PlayStation Store, making it CIRCUIT CITY UNIFIES WEB, STORE PRICES By Erik Gruenwedel I MACROVISION SELLS TV GUIDE Macrovision Corp. said it reached a deal to sell venerable TV Guide magazine to OpenGate Capital, a Los Angelesbased private equity firm, for an undisclosed price. The transaction is expected to close Dec. 1. – Erik Gruenwedel easier for PS3 owners to download content that they read about on the Information Board. Taking a page from the user-generated content craze, the update adds an in-game screenshot capture tool, laying the groundwork for developers to add capture and sharing options to their games and allowing players to immortalize their favorite gaming moments and share them with friends. The update also delivers exclusive options to support Sony’s official Bluetooth PS3 headset, such as an on-screen indicator that shows volume, battery charge, and mute functions, as well as a High Quality (HQ) mode, which utilizes advanced See SONY, Page 20 NEW THEATRICAL HIT FILMS ON DVD TIME TO MARKET: 2004-2008 TRENDS* 150.0 145.8 139.5 Average Days to Market I WTO CITES CHINA FOR PIRACY LAPSE The World Trade Organization has faulted China for not prosecuting individuals who produce smaller quantities of pirated movie DVDs, music CDs and other consumer products. Under Chinese law, pirates can avoid prosecution by replicating below a minimum threshold of 500 units per infringed item. The United States, which last April filed antipiracy complaints against China with the WTO, said the threshold-enticed pirates to operate smaller production runs in order to circumvent the law. – Erik Gruenwedel We are close to the end of the year, and it is possible to see what 2008 will look like in terms of new hit theatrical films on DVD. Each year the Hollywood studios deliver right around 100 of these market-makers. This year, when you knock out the seasonal films (Christmas-themed films — Fred Claus and This Christmas), we will end up with about 100. Last year it was 93, and the year before that there were 105. The time it takes for this group of films to make the move is, on average, between 125 and 130 days. Some arrive in as few as 88 days, but the big summer blockbusters take their time. — Ralph Tribbey 145.0 140.0 135.0 130.0 125.0 120.0 115.0 2004 101 Films 129.2 96 Films 105 Films 2005 2006 126.0 93 Films 2007 128.8 100 Films 2008 * Average number of days for films with a box office gross of at least $25 million to reach DVD from their initial theatrical debuts. Excludes seasonal (Christmas films) and Imax releases. Totals for 2008 include titles announced but not yet available at retail. I RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR DVD Titles in Release Through Week Ended Oct. 10, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total Net DVD Titles Announced and/or In Release Through March 31, 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91,203+320 91,898+401 I RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR BLU-RAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As of Week Ended Oct. 10 Released 791 Scheduled 146 Circuit City Stores will offer consumers through the holidays the identical price on items purchased instore, online or over the phone. Circuit City has often marketed lessexpensive prices online. When thirdparty research found that 51% of respondents said they trusted retailers that offered identical prices online and in stores, management decided to act. “We believe that promising price consistency across sales channels not only is the right and logical next step in retail evolution, more importantly, it shows our customers they will be treated fairly and with respect,” said James Marcum, vice chairman and acting president and CEO. The No. 2 consumer electronics chain lost more than $239 million in the most recent quarter and has been profitable just one quarter since fiscal 2007. It recently embarked upon a comprehensive review of its entire operations, which included replacing CEO Philip Schoonover with Marcum. On the flipside, rival Best Buy Co. expects to double annual revenue to $80 billion in the next five years, largely through overseas expansion. Robert Willett, CEO of international operations, said Best Buy would open 100 stores in Europe and Mexico and six in China by the end of the year. RETAIL Home Media Magazine October 19–25, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 Contents News Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - News (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - News (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Reviews (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Reviews (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Reviews (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Reviews (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Reviews (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - October 19-25, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4)
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