Home Media Magazine - January 5, 2009 - (Page 7) www.homemediamagazine.com MENU FROM THE EDITOR BY STEPHANIE PRANGE, EDITOR IN CHIEF www.homemediamagazine.com Disc a Great Value in Troubled Times 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 Intern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Lee W 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 Business Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joni Wu Group Administrative Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Guerena 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 hile the low-priced nature of our software business tronics Show wound down, preferring to call the video crystal has been a source of much hand-wringing in past ball murky. It certainly remains so this year, as do many things, years, this year it may have proven a boon. including the future value of my California tract house. With everyone looking for that $10-$20 gift, DVDs, and to a Still, I can’t help but continue to think the Blu-ray Disc is with lesser extent Blu-ray Discs, seemed just the ticket. I saw The us to stay. It may take longer to take off than originally predicted Dark Knight DVD for about $10 at a local Target’s checkout after the end of the format war, which began to become apparcounter. Now who wouldn’t pick that up as a stocking stuffer? ent at last year’s CES show. But I am certain that consumers It’s a great value. will begin to see the value of Blu-ray, which Also, the video industry has a value-priced, I SAW ‘THE DARK KNIGHT’ even at its current price is quite affordable mid-range and more-expensive option for con- DVD FOR ABOUT $10 AT A in terms of software. Any new console game sumers. Those who can’t yet afford the Blu-ray LOCAL TARGET’S CHECKOUT costs much more — upwards of $50. In fact, Disc or loaded double-disc special edition can COUNTER. NOW WHO the game software business is looking at lowpick up the vanilla DVD, which is becoming WOULDN’T PICK THAT UP ering prices in these uncertain times. ever more affordable. AS A STOCKING STUFFER? And though in the past I have questioned I know many may bemoan the fact that we’ve the usefulness of watching older films on Blugot two formats going — DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Still, I look at ray, I have come to appreciate the format’s application on such it as a boon. The car business has its Toyota Camry and Lexus. classics. A few months ago, I watched the impressive Blu-ray We’ve got DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Disc of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and saw what the new When consumers have the money, they will upgrade from high-definition format could do for recent classics, and this past DVD to Blu-ray. Meanwhile, the studios are offering those who week I watched Casablanca and saw what it could do for older do want to upgrade more titles, more quickly than we saw on gems. I’m a Blu-ray believer. DVD, giving them many reasons to upgrade. I didn’t make any predictions last year as the Consumer Elec- Stephanie Prange’s e-mail address is sprange@questex.com MARKETING Marketing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristina Kronenberg 714/338-6743 Marketing Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaitlyn DeWaard IN THIS ISSUE JAN. 5-11, 2009 / VOL. 31 / NO. 1 Netflix stock is upgraded to “buy”; Fox aims to bar Watchmen’s release; Paramount’s Eagle Eye is projected as the next top seller and rental. DIGITAL MEDIA Online Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renee Rosado PRODUCTION Production Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Ling Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Evans 714/338-6769 >> HIGH- DEF / >> E LE C T R O N I C D E LI V E RY 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 ON THE WEB 10 I CES Feb. 3-4 News …………………………… Reviews ………………………… 14 Is it worth taking a trip on the Pineapple Express? Will fans and newcomers alike find something in Patti Smith: Dream of Life? Will Western aficionados want to seek Redemption? I ONLINE REVIEWS In addition to all the new home video reviews found in our print magazine, check out homemediamagazine.com/news/Reviews for reviews of Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.0, out Jan. 6 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and Joss Whedon’s online sensation Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, distributed on DVD through Amazon.com’s CreateSpace. 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. CIRCULATION For subscriptions, please go online to www.homemediamagazine.com For current single copy, back issues or CD-ROM, call 866/344-1315 or 847/763-9594 for outside the U.S. Audience Development Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . Debbie Gullian Research ……………………… 16 Universal’s Mamma Mia! belted its way to the top of the home video sales chart, while the studio’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor dethroned Warner’s The Dark Knight to become the top rental. 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; Executive Vice President: Jon Leibowitz; Vice President, Digital Media: Seth Nichols; Vice President, Human Resources: Diane Evans © 2009 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. WWW.HOMEMEDIAMAGAZINE.COM Top 20 DVD Sellers ……………………… 16 Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts ……… 17 CALENDAR Just Announced ……………… 18 Lionsgate ships Transporter 3; Sony Pictures imparts Elegy. News ………………………… Sony’s PS3 now costs less to produce, according to an iSuppli study; Warner Music reconsiders its Web video plans. Put on by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the International CES serves the consumer electronics industry. Jan. 8-11 Las Vegas Convention Center/Las Vegas Hilton Sands Expo and Convention Center/The Venetian, Las Vegas Info: www.cesweb.org Printed in the U.S.A. I THE FUTURE OF PACKAGED MEDIA ‘09 The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA), the Content Delivery and Storage Association (CDSA) and the Media-tech Association (MTA) team for an event on the packaged media supply chain. Hilton Los Angeles, Universal City, Calif. Pineapple Express Info: www.futurepackagedmedia.com January 5–11, 2009 Home Media Magazine http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com/news/Reviews http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://WWW.HOMEMEDIAMAGAZINE.COM http://www.cesweb.org http://www.futurepackagedmedia.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.