Home Media Magazine - January 5, 2009 - (Page 8) NEWS www.homemediamagazine.com Netflix Stock Upgraded to ‘Buy’ By Erik Gruenwedel he economy remains deadlocked in recession, but the good times continue for Netflix, which saw it shares upgraded last week to “buy” from “hold” by online analyst TheStreet. com (TSC). Citing the Los Gatos, Calif.-based online DVD rental pioneer’s earnings-per-share growth (up 43.5% in BRIEFS ■ NO ‘DARK KNIGHT’ IN CHINA The year’s biggest box office blockbuster, The Dark Knight, will forgo a theatrical release in the world’s most populous country, China. Warner Bros. said it was canceling the release due to “cultural sensitivities.” Hong Kong incidentally is the location for some of the film’s chief criminal elements. Not mentioned was the effect the non-release would have on piracy. – Erik Gruenwedel T the most recent quarter), growth in net income (up 30.2%), revenue growth (up 18.3%), reasonable debt levels and return on equity, TSC said Netflix remains a steady force in an uncertain economy. “Although the company may harbor some minor weaknesses, we feel [the weaknesses] are unlikely to have a significant impact on results,” said TSC in a statement. Shares of media companies and retailers such as The Walt Disney Co., Time Warner (which owns Warner Home Video), News Corp. (parent of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment), Viacom (parent of Paramount Home Entertainment), Best Buy, Trans World Entertainment, Blockbuster and Netflix all ended the day (Dec. 29) down slightly. ■ ‘DEAD’ LIVES IN 3-D, COLOR Legend Films and PassmoreLab are converting the previously colorized 1968 George Romero classic Night of The Living Dead into a 3-D format. The 3-D film will be released by Legend in Europe theatrically and in the United States in limited theatrical release. It will also be released on DVD and as a downloadable version available on Rifftrax. com. – Michael Lee Fox Seeks to Halt ‘Watchmen’ Release By Erik Gruenwedel ccording to reports, 20th Century Fox Studios plans to stop Warner Bros.’ slated March 9, 2009, release of Watchmen, a $100 million superhero feature film from director Zack Snyder (300) and starring Carla Gugino, Patrick Wilson, Billy Crudup and Jackie A Earle Haley, among others. A lawyer for Fox told The Associated Press the studio would seek a court order postponing the theatrical release. Judge Gary Feess of U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Dec. 24 ruled Warner Bros. violated select theatrical rights held by Fox to copyrighted material of Watchmen, which was originally published as a 12-issue graphic novel in 1986-87 by DC Comics, owned by Time Warner. “Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the Watchmen motion picture,” Feess said in his ruling. In response, Warner Bros. said it “vigorously” disagreed with the judge’s ruling, was exploring appellate options and had no plans to alter the release date. “We continue to believe that Fox’s claims have no merit and that we will ultimately prevail, whether at trial or in the court of appeals,” the studio said Dec. 29 in a statement. A trial on the matter is slated to begin Jan. 20. Fox, according to the original com- plaint, said it had theatrical motion picture distribution rights to Watchmen, despite relinquishing other rights in the early 1990s. Last July at San Diego ComicCon International, Snyder said he planned to make the DTV release Tales of the Black Freighter, set in the Watchmen universe, to coincide with the theatrical release. He is also planning an Ultimate Watchmen DVD. MERCHANDISING PROJECTIONS Keeping an Eye Out for Paramount’s ‘Eagle Eye’ By Kelly Burner Best Buy Para./DreamWorks SRP $29.99, $34.99, $39.99 BD Target $16.99 $26.99 Blu-ray Wal-Mart $19.96 $24.96 two-DVD set w/ customized phone skin; $26.86 Blu-ray* Circuit City $14.99 $22.99 two-DVD set; $26.99 Blu-ray w/ bonus content Amazon.com $16.99 $22.99 two-DVD set; $26.99 Blu-ray Eagle Eye $16.99 $22.99 two-DVD set; $26.99 Blu-ray Sony Pictures SRP $27.96, $39.95 BD Resident Evil: Degeneration $19.99 w/free lithograph $27.99 Blu-ray $19.99 $29.99 Blu-ray $19.96 w/ T-shirt; $24.86 Blu-ray* $17.99 $29.99 Blu-ray $19.99 $19.99 Blu-ray Nip/Tuck: Season 5 — Part 1 Warner SRP $59.98 $37.99 $37.99 $41.86* $37.99 $37.99 Beethoven’s Big Break Universal SRP $29.98 $19.99 $19.99 $19.96 $19.99* $19.99 * Online Only ith studios opting to stagger new releases over the post-Christmas weekend, many titles that might have been slated for Dec. 30 (the usual Tuesday slot) had already been released by then. Eagle Eye, a political thriller that earned more than $100 million in just 60 days in theaters, is the most prominent title. Released Dec. 28, this title should easily jump to the top of the DVD rental and sales charts for the week ending Jan. 4. In addition to Eagle Eye, Paramount Dec. 28 also released the period drama The Duchess and the comedy Ghost Town on home video, but these two might not make as big a splash on the chart. The Dark Knight ($530 million box office) should continue to dominate the Blu-ray sales chart, despite being released a month ago. Several major television series releases did debut Dec. 30. They include: Nip/Tuck: Season Five – Part One, released by Warner; the second “chapter” of the saucy drama “Greek,” released by Disney; and season one of “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” also from Disney. Some of these titles could make a dent in the weekly sales chart. RANK TITLE STUDIO WEEKS ON CHART W Retail Return to Normalcy By John Latchem hile stores may be more crowded than usual as a result of the post-Christmas rush, electronics departments displayed no overt signs that anything was out of the ordinary. And while many studios staggered release dates on post-Christmas titles, pushing some to shelves W on a Saturday or Sunday, the effect with consumers remains to be seen. Some stores, such as the Target in Santa Ana, Calif., didn’t even bother to display the Dec. 27 or Dec. 28 titles, although they were advertised in the weekly circular. The biggest title last week was one of the Sunday Dec. 28 releases — Eagle Eye, even though Target didn’t bother advertising the two-DVD version, or even listing the title on the chain’s Web site. Wal-Mart offered a customized mobile phone or MP3 player skin with the twoDVD version. Circuit City included exclusive bonus content, and Best Buy offered a $10 savings with the purchase of the Eagle Eye Blu-ray and either Tropic Thunder or Cloverfield. Discounts were pretty routine. Wal-Mart offered select Blu-ray titles at $10, while Target offered a TV DVD selection at $17 per title. PROJECTED TOP 3 SELLERS for Week Ending 1/4/09 1 2 3 Eagle Eye The Dark Knight Mamma Mia! Para./DW Warner Universal New 4 3 PROJECTED TOP 3 RENTERS for Week Ending 1/4/09 1 2 3 Eagle Eye The Dark Knight The Mummy: Tomb of … Para./DW Warner Universal New 4 3 Source: Home Media Research 8 Home Media Magazine January 5–11, 2009 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.Amazon.com
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