Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - (Page 4) NEWS BRIEFS I BEST BUY PLANS ‘IRON MAN,’ ‘JONES’ EXCLUSIVES Best Buy already is preparing exclusive DVD gift sets for two of the year’s biggest films: Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, both from Paramount Home Entertainment. www.homemediamagazine.com ‘Panda’ to Turn DreamWorks Blu CEO Katzenberg says ‘Kung Fu Panda’ will be released on Blu-ray Disc in Q4 By Chris Tribbey SUPPLIER DreamWorks Animation SKG will begin releasing its titles on Blu-ray Disc during the fourth quarter, starting with its summer theatrical hit Kung Fu Panda, CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said during the company’s secondquarter 2008 earnings call. Executives divulged few other Blu-ray details due to the HD DVD agreement DreamWorks Animation struck with Toshiba before the end of the format war. “We’re trying to walk a reasonable line of giving you the information, sort of broadly speaking in our releases … and trying to honor the confidentiality agreement we have with Toshiba,” said company CFO Lew Coleman. “There’s not much else to say.” Katzenberg added, “We will be releasing Kung Fu Panda on Blu-ray in the fourth quarter. We are making our product available and will aggressively promote and market our product on the Blu-ray format.” For the second quarter, DreamWorks Anima- HOME VIDEO, THEATRICAL BOOST VIACOM By Chris Tribbey Official release dates have yet to be announced, but each set will include a special-edition DVD and a statuette based on the film designed by Sideshow Collectibles. The sets can be preordered at www.bestbuy.com/giftsetpresell for $49.99 each. The Iron Man package includes a mini-bust of Iron Man and a $50 gift card to SideshowCollectibles.com. Indiana Jones will include a mini crystal skull replica and a $25 Sideshow online gift card. – John Latchem I GAMEFLY ON XBOX LIVE GameFly, the online video game rental service, has teamed with Microsoft to create an exclusive program for Xbox Live members. The program includes a $5.95 first-month subscription, plus 400 Microsoft Points, which can be used to purchase downloadable content on Xbox Live Marketplace. GameFly on Xbox Live also includes a GameFly Branded Destination Experience, which allows members to learn more about the service, watch the newest commercial and download GameFly themes and Gamer Pics. Members also have the opportunity to enter the “Register and Win” Sweepstakes with a grand prize package that includes tickets to meet Metallica and see the band perform. The program offer and sweepstakes run through Sept. 13. – Lana Chichakly tion didn’t have a “Shrek” movie to boost its profits, and the company reported a sharp drop in net income to $27.5 million, down from $61.8 million during the same period last year. Revenue was $140.8 million, compared to $222.5 million in the same period the year before. Accounting for high marketing costs for Kung Fu Panda, the company isn’t expecting a huge boost in profits for the third quarter, either. However, Katzenberg said DreamWorks Animation expects Kung Fu Panda to be a best-seller on home video in the fourth quarter after grossing $500 million worldwide in theaters. Katzenberg offered a positive outlook for the DVD business, despite total releases being sharply down this year. “The flood of product that really clogged the retail channel started to sort itself out last year,” he said. “The movie marketplace as a whole, both theatrical and home entertainment, will be a strong performer in a difficult [economy]. … I believe it’s going to match or beat 2007.” Blu-ray Surges, But Theatrical Comparisons Hurt Sony’s Q1 By Erik Gruenwedel SUPPLIER Citing 500% year-over-year growth in sales of Blu-ray Discs, Sony Corp. remains bullish on the high-def format, reporting 15% of select newrelease revenue is coming from Blu-ray. “I would say 8% of the total DVD business [is Blu-ray],” Robert Wiesenthal, EVP and CFO of Sony Corp. of America, said in an analyst call. “Last year BD sales were only 2% of the total DVD business, and now we have about 15 million BD-capable players out there worldwide.” He said Sony Pictures Home Entertainment had sold 12 million Blu-ray Discs to date in the United States, and that there were about 1,700 titles released in the format worldwide. However, faced with comparisons from last year’s box office phenomenon Spider-Man 3 and increased theatrical marketing for Hancock, Sony Pictures reported a first-quarter (ended June 30) operating loss of $78 million, compared to income of $4.6 million during the prior-year period. The film unit reported revenue of $1.5 billion, down 31% from last year. Sony does not report separate financials for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Parent Sony Corp. saw income fall more than 47%, to $330 million, on revenue of $18.4 billion. Game revenue, though, increased nearly 17% to $2.1 billion. Operating income topped $51 million, compared to a loss of $273 million last year. PlayStation 3 sales increased 860,000 units, to more than 1.5 million globally. Paramount Pictures parent Viacom reported a jump in revenue for the second quarter of 2008, thanks to three summer blockbusters and a 12% increase in home entertainment sales, compared to the same period in 2007. For the quarter ended June 30, Viacom reported net income of $407 million, down from $434 million during the same period last year. Revenue was up 21% to $3.86 billion. “The companies that possess the best content will emerge on top,” Sumner Redstone, executive chairman and founder of Viacom, said of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Iron Man and Kung Fu Panda (from DreamWorks). “While in a transition, [there] has never been a better time to be in the content business,” added CEO and president Philippe Dauman. DVD re-releases of the first three “Indiana Jones” films boosted home entertainment, as did the new releases Cloverfield and Sweeney Todd. Viacom executives said they had no new details to share regarding a new VOD venture that will distribute films from Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate. “In an increasingly ‘I want it now’ culture, VOD will continue to grow,” Dauman said, predicting annual doubledigit growth in VOD and PPV revenue. SUPPLIER DEG NAMES SANDERS BOARD PRESIDENT By Chris Tribbey T I GAIAM GETS INSPIRED PRODUCT Gaiam has signed an agreement with Inspired Corp. to acquire select children’s entertainment, instructional sports, dance and fitness assets. Acquired assets include episodes of the animated children’s series “Little Cars,” “Ratatoing,” “The Big Garage” and “St. Bears,” as well as the Christmas titles Life With Jesus and Littlest Light on the Christmas Tree. Instructional dance titles for children include “Groovin’ Groovaloos,” “Miss Christy’s” and “Tinkerbell,” while dance titles for adults include “Cal Pozo’s Learn to Dance In Minutes” series. The deal includes under-$10 fitness product, including “The Method,” “QuickFix,” “Elle,” “Shape,” “Buff Fitness” and “Tru2 Form” series. – Billy Gil While the mid-year report card for total new DVD titles is down, one area that continues to churn out the numbers at record levels is the TV DVD, multiple-disc category. After six months, the count is up 10.6% from this time last year (303 sets versus 274) and on a par with the record pace set in 2006 of 304 new titles released during the first six months of the year. The same can’t be said for single-disc TV DVD releases. For the fourth consecutive year, the count is down at the midway point. There have been just 81 this year, less than half the output recorded in 2004, when 177 had found a place at retail. — Ralph Tribbey 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 TRENDS IN NEW TV DVD RELEASES MID-YEAR COMPARISONS: 2004 - 2008 SINGLE AND MULTIPLE-DISC 292 201 153 125 101 81 304 274 303 2008 I Single I Multiple I RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR DVD Titles in Release Through Week Ended July 25, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total Net DVD Titles Announced and/or In Release Through Dec. 31, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88,026+208 88,959+330 I RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR BLU-RAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As of Week Ended July 25 Released 603 Scheduled 109 he board of DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group has elected Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders as its sixth president. Sanders, who has been a board member for four years, will be joined on the board by returning chairman Bob Chapek, president of Sanders Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment; VP Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment; secretary Mike Dunn, president of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; and CFO Bob Weissburg, president of North American sales and marketing for D&M Holdings. The DEG also appointed Larry Wilk, VP of worldwide operations for Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, as its “green ambassador,” and announced the make-up of four working committees — technology, operations, content and communications — for the coming fiscal year, which begins Aug. 1. Home Media Magazine August 3–9, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.bestbuy.com/giftsetpresell http://SideshowCollectibles.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 Contents News In Focus TV DVD Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - News (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - News (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 28)
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