Home Media Magazine - December 21, 2008 - (Page 20) NEWS Voluntary Layoffs Offered Continued from page 1 Continued from page 1 www.homemediamagazine.com ‘Dark Knight’ Shatters BD and DVD Records Calif., said The Dark Knight is proving to be the shot in the arm home entertainment needed. “It showcases that good titles will sell, even in a bad market, and hopefully will focus the industry on making more commercially successful titles,” Enderle said. The Batman film sold more than 1.7 million Blu-ray units, which includes U.S. sales and results from the United Kingdom, Japan, Benelux (Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg) and Australia. “The Blu-ray numbers were pretty impressive considering how many standalone Blu-ray players are out there,” said Michael Pachter, analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles. Pachter said the attach rate of The Dark Knight BD titles sold relative to BD players in households should alleviate fears the studios have about the transition from DVD. “The transition from VHS to DVD wasn’t really much of a transition because no one bought VHS tapes,” Pachter said. “I think the studios have been freaking out about it and wrongly so.” Warner said 300,000 consumers activated digital copies included with the Blu-ray and special-edition DVD releases in the first week. The title also is the No. 1 selling movie this year on iTunes. Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders said The Dark Knight involved one of the studio’s biggest promotional campaigns ever, including major prime-time TV and cable spots and online banner ads. He said the title featured prominently with multiple manufacturers and retailers on a variety of hardware and software bundles. The Dark Knight also features prominently on WarnerBlu.com, a new site the studio launched to promote its BD catalog. rewarding frontline workers. “They are leaving the heart of the engine alone and focusing on support staff to preserve sales,” said independent analyst Rob Enderle. “It shows a lot of savvy.” Tom Arnold, professor of finance at the University of Richmond in Virginia, said Best Buy is one of the few large retailers proactively adjusting to the retail climate. “Others seem to be taking a ‘wait and see’ approach,” Arnold said. “At some point in 2009, there will be the need for involuntary layoffs.” Edward Woo, retail analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles, said he was surprised at Best Buy’s retrenching considering its standing among consumers. He said it made sense to leave the customer experience in the stores as positive as possible and avoid the backlash Circuit City experienced last year when it fired and rehired thousands of store personnel at lower hourly rates. “Of course, if business gets worse, then they will have to cut store workers too,” Woo said. “However, it’s easier and cheaper to trim workers’ hours than buyouts to corporate staffers whose work hours are set.” Overall revenue for Q3 topped $11.5 billion, up from $9.9 billion during the same period last year, due largely to a 94% increase in foreign revenue to $3.3 billion, compared to $1.7 billion during the same quarter the prior year. U.S. revenue for the quarter declined 1.3%, to $8.1 billion, from $8.2 billion during the previous year’s third quarter. Same-store U.S. sales fell 6.3%, versus a gain of 6.1% last year. Principal factors included a CE same-store sales decline of 13.7% (primarily due to lower HDTV sales) and 12.4% decline in entertainment software revenue, which includes music CDs, and DVD and Blu-ray Discs. Appliances (21%), home office (11.1%) and consumer-service segments such as the Geek Squad (1.3%) all experienced same-store revenue increases. Best Buy said its domestic CE revenue in November declined 3%, compared to an industry average of 25%, citing consumer-spending analysis from MasterCard. The retailer reported an increase in gross margins to 24.9% from 23.5%, which it attributed in part to the bankruptcy of Circuit City. “While we were disappointed in the absolute results for the quarter, they were strong relative to most of our peers,” said CFO Jim Muehlbauer. “We believe we’ll continue to see healthy market share gains.” Despite the incremental gains, however, company executives portend a cloudy future. “The environment for consumer spending is likely to get worse before it gets better,” Anderson said. The company said it will cut capital spending 50% in 2009, versus $1.2 billion in spending in 2008. L A T E FL A SH ES I ‘MAMMA MIA!’ GRABS $30M ON FIRST-DAY SALES Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s Dec. 16 release of Mamma Mia! The Movie on Blu-ray Disc and DVD sold more than 2.25 million units, generating more than $30 million in first-day revenue, according to the studio. The studio heavily marketed the film as a holiday gift with spots on Lifetime Network, network television and online. The film recently earned two Golden Globe nominations and has generated more than $143 million at the box office since its July 18 theatrical release. Last month, Mamma Mia! The Movie became the fastest-selling DVD ever in the United Kingdom, with 1.6 million units sold Nov. 24. It sold 3.2 million units in the first week. — Erik Gruenwedel JUST ANNOUNCED A Weekly Product Update* High School Musical 3 STREET DATE Choke BOX OFFICE (MILLIONS) Baghead Best Buy Offers BD Specials Continued from page 1 priced from $19.99 from which to choose, including Madagascar, Casino Royale, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Superman Returns, Batman Begins, Twister, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Wall-E, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Sleeping Beauty, Blood Diamond, Training Day, Gangs of New York, 10,000 B.C., The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Marine, The Italian Job, The Incredible Hulk and The Polar Express Presented in 3-D. The Minneapolis-based consumer-electronics retailer, which is the top Blu-ray movie seller with more than 800 titles, also offered online only the Panasonic DMP-BD35K player for $229 following a $70 discount and free shipping. The price reductions underscored a TITLE PREBOOK GENRE PRICE High School Musical 3: Senior Year 2/17/09 1/6/09 $89.3 Musical DVD $29.99, BD $39.99 recent consumer survey from DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group that found twothirds of respondents who owned a Blu-ray player favored purchasing a sub-$150 BD player as a gift. Another 72% wanted to buy BD movies for a family member, and twothirds believed purchasing a $25 Blu-ray movie was a better value than going out to the movies, dinner or a concert. Other retailers lowering the floor price on Blu-ray players include Radio Shack, which offered the Sylvania NB501SL9 for $199.99 (down from $259.99); Fry’s Electronics, which discounted the LG BD-300 Profile 2.0 player with Netflix streaming to $249 from $299; and Costco, which offered the Samsung BD-1500 for $179 following an immediate in-store $100 rebate, as well as the Sony BDP-BX1 player for $227 after a $50 rebate. Disney. 2008. Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Lucas Grabeel, Monique Coleman. The Wildcats return for senior year at East High, filled with the drama of a basketball championship, prom and the spring musical. Also available in a two-DVD extended edition ($34.99). Choke 2/17/09 1/21/09 $2.9 Comedy DVD $27.98 Fox. 2008. Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald, Bijou Phillips, Brad William Henke. Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, the film explores the absurd sex-addicted life of a theme-park worker. Includes deleted scenes, cast and crew commentary and more. Baghead 12/27 Now $0.14 Comedy DVD $28.96 DATE CHANGE. Sony Pictures. 2008. Steve Zissis, Ross Partridge, Greta Gerwig, Elise Muller. An indie from Mark and Jay Duplass that satirizes horror films with the story of four struggling actors who go to a remote cabin to write a horror screenplay, only to have it come true. The American Ruling Class 1/13/09 Now DTV Documentary DVD $26.98 Koch. 2008. An examination of the role of wealth, power and privilege in American life and politics as seen through the eyes of two Yale graduates who choose different paths, one an idealistic artist and the other an investment banker. Van Wilder: Freshman Year 3/17/09 2/3/09 DTV Comedy DVD $29.99, BD $36.99 Paramount. 2008. Jonathan Bennett, Kristin Cavallari, Steve Talley, Kurt Fuller, Linden Ashby. The third installment of the college comedy franchise tells the tale of how Van Wilder became the ultimate party animal. Includes commentary, bloopers and more. * In order of box office, then prebook date HOME MEDIA MAGAZINE (ISSN 1934-9882) is published weekly 52 times per year by Questex Media Group, Inc., 306 West Michigan Street, Suite 200, Duluth, MN 55802. Subscription rates: $49.99 for one year in the United States and Possessions; $79.99 for one year in Canada and Mexico; all other countries $99.99 for one year (by surface mail). Add $75 annually for air-expedited service. Single copies (prepaid only): $6.99 in the United States, $8.99 in Canada and Mexico, $13.99 all other countries. Back issues, if available: $9.99 in the U.S.; $15.99 in Canada and Mexico; $26.99 for all other countries. Include $6.50 per order plus $2 per additional copy for U.S. postage and handling. Periodicals postage paid at Duluth MN 55806 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to HOME MEDIA MAGAZINE, P.O. Box 1270, Skokie, IL 60076-8270. Canadian G.S.T. number: 840033278RT0001, Publications Mail Agreement Number 40017597. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright, 2008 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. 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