Home Media Magazine - June 15, 2008 - (Page 10) NEWS www.homemediamagazine.com DVDs Integral to Licensing Show By Anne Sherber EW YORK — License owners are eagerly extending brands to DVD, said executives at the Licensing International Expo 2008 held June 10-12. For example, Little Tikes, a manufacturer of outdoor toys, will morph into an entertainment property in October with the release of Little Tikes Land. The DVD will include four episodes, each of which will focus on a different toy. And, a licensee will release toys based on the animated characters in the DVD program. MGA, which recently acquired Little Tikes, has experience turning toys into entertainment. The company is responsible for the Bratz line of fashion dolls and the associated animated movies. Ed Rodriguez, MGA’s VP of creative development and entertainment, said DVDs featuring line extensions “Baby Bratz” and “Pampered Petz” are completed, although BRIEFS I EMA TO HONOR BEN STEIN’S FREE SPEECH The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) will recognize Ben Stein with its “Freedom of Expression Award” during EMA’s Home Entertainment Awards ceremony June 24. The ceremony is part of EMA’s Home Media Expo 2008, June 24-26 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Stein, a writer, actor, filmmaker, economist and lawyer, recently starred as the host of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, a documentary on intelligent design, due on DVD Oct. 21 from Vivendi Entertainment. – Billy Gil N no distributor has been announced. MGA also will release its first holiday-themed DVD, Bratz Babyz Save Christmas, this December, although a distribution deal is not finalized. Andy Mooney, chairman of Disney Consumer Products, said that the target audience for “Disney Fairy” titles watches each DVD 37 times. Consumers with that kind of commitment to a property want to connect with it in a variety of ways. Mooney said “retailers have to roll the dice” with licenses. For example, Mooney said, retailers who invested in “Speed Racer” merchandise have been disappointed and that may make them wary of the next hotly hyped theatrical property. He believes that retailers can take advantage of DVD releases to repromote titles that have already proven to be a sure thing at the box office. He points to Cars as an example, noting that merchandise associated with the film and video is selling briskly almost two years later on the strength of the DVD release. Leigh Anne Brodsky, president of Nickelodeon Viacom Consumer Products, said her company approaches each license as a unique property. The first season of “iCarly,” a popular tween television property, will hit DVD in September. “Ni-Hao, Kai Lan,” a sort of Asian “Dora the Explorer,” will launch on disc in August. Among the quirkiest DVD-related products at the show was “CliffNotes DVD.” Last July, through a partnership with 20th Century Fox and MGM Home Entertainment, Wiley & Sons, the publisher of the popular study guides, released nine guides packaged with film versions. Wiley executive John Hislop said the titles proved very popular and, this July, Wiley will release four additional titles: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Crucible, The Grapes of Wrath and A Farewell to Arms. cre is a mockumentary-style comedy about washed-up horror director Penderecki. Fans can upload trailers at www.youtube.com/ group/brutalmassacre. The grand prize is $1,000, and the winning video may be added as a special feature to another upcoming Anchor Bay DVD; a runner-up will receive a 10-pack of horror DVDs from Anchor Bay. The contest ends July 15. – Billy Gil I INFINITY SIGNS DEAL WITH SMITHSONIAN Infinity Entertainment Group and Smithsonian Networks have inked a distribution deal, with Infinity releasing DVDs of shows from the Smithsonian Channel starting Sept. 23. The first releases are Stories From the Vaults: Season One and America’s Greatest Monuments: Washington D.C., each at $24.98. Future Smithsonian titles include Remembering Vietnam: The Wall at 25, Day of the Kamikaze and Nature Tech. – Chris Tribbey I ANCHOR BAY SETS UP ‘MASSACRE’ CONTEST Anchor Bay Entertainment has set up a contest in which fans can create trailers of movies by fictional filmmaker Harry Penderecki, in conjunction with Anchor Bay’s July 22 DVD release of the horror farce Brutal Massacre: A Comedy. Brutal Massa- MERCHANDISING PROJECTIONS Summer Sizzle To Hit Charts By Kelly Burner Best Buy Jumper Fox; SRP $29.98, $34.98, $39.98 BD Target $16.99 $22.99 two-DVD set $29.99 Blu-ray Wal-Mart $15.97 w/comic book; $24.96 twoDVD set; $29.96 Blu-ray Circuit City $14.99 $21.99 two-DVD set $27.99 Blu-ray Amazon.com $15.99 $22.99 two-DVD set $27.95 Blu-ray $15.99 $22.99 two-DVD set $29.99 Blu-ray The Bucket List Warner SRP $28.98, $35.99 BD $15.99 $29.99 Blu-ray $16.99 $29.99 Blu-ray $15.97 $19.96 w/Analyze That $29.96 Blu-ray $14.99 $27.99 Blu-ray* $15.99 $23.95 Blu-ray The Other Boleyn Girl Sony Pictures SRP $28.96, $38.96 BD $17.99 $29.99 Blu-ray $16.99 $22.99 w/exclusive bonus disc; $29.99 Blu-ray $16.97 $19.96 w/Little Women $26.96 Blu-ray $17.99 $24.99 Blu-ray* $16.99 $24.95 Blu-ray John Adams HBO Video SRP $59.99 $34.99 $34.99 $39.96 $34.99 $34.99 * Online Only elcome to the summer. After weeks of tepid new releases, the studios are letting loose. Two huge box-office performers were released June 10: Fox’s Jumper, which earned $80 million in theaters, and Warner’s The Bucket List, which pulled in $93.5 million. The Bucket List seems to have the advantage, as it earned more in theaters. Combine that with the star power of the film, and you’re looking at a nationwide top rental and top seller. Even though it sports a rather long 168-day theatrical-to-video window, quality is timeless. Other June 10 releases to look for include perioddrama The Other Boleyn Girl, which earned $27 million in theaters; the HBO miniseries John Adams; and the latest installment in Warner’s Raw Feed horror franchise, Otis. With an exhaustive advertising campaign, John Adams should serve HBO very well, placing within the five top-selling DVDs of the week. The Other Boleyn Girl, with its modest box-office pedigree, will round out the top 10 selling and renting DVDs, while DTV horror flick Otis should round out the top 20. RANK TITLE STUDIO WEEKS ON CHART W Having a ‘Grand’ Time By John Latchem nchor Bay Entertainment’s The Grand checked in as a new release last week with some fun retailer exclusives usually not seen with a low-profile release. Copies of the improv poker comedy at Target Stores come in special packaging with a copy of a Poker for Dummies DVD, all for $19.99. A 10 Best Buy offers the DVD with a set of pack-in playing cards at $15.99. Retailers also are gearing up for Father’s Day with a number of promotions. For several weeks, Wal-Mart has devoted a sectional to movies appropriate for dads, complete with special blue packaging. Best Buy last week unveiled an aisle display of catalog titles with the motto “Share our heroes with your hero.” On the Blu-ray front, Wal-Mart’s new Blu section this week did offer new releases prominently, a change from the previous week. On the other hand, Circuit City remains inconsistent about advertising new Blu-ray releases for all but the highest-profile new releases. That The Bucket List and The Other Boleyn Girl have Blu-ray alternatives was not mentioned in Circuit City’s weekly circular ad. PROJECTED TOP 3 SELLERS for Week Ending 6/15 1 2 3 The Bucket List Jumper Warner Fox New New 4 National Treasure: Book … Disney PROJECTED TOP 3 RENTERS for Week Ending 6/15 1 2 3 The Bucket List Jumper Semi-Pro Warner Fox New Line New New 2 Source: Home Media Research Home Media Magazine June 15–21, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.youtube.com/group/brutalmassacre http://www.youtube.com/group/brutalmassacre http://Amazon.com
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