NEWSLETTER :: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 19 2017

DIVIDE DOES CONQUER…
ED BOOSTS ENTERTAINMENT RETAIL
NEW RELEASE UP, CATALOGUE DOWN
SMURFS SAVE THE SUMMER FOR PARENTS
MIDWEEK CHART UPDATE
POLDARK WOWS AGAIN
GUARDIANS BREAKS US DOWNLOAD RECORDS
LOVEFILM TO SHUT UP SHOP…
…BUT PARADISO IS NOT LOST
RENTAL TRADE WILL PICK UP SLACK…
…LOVEFILM CUSTOMER REACTION
YOUR NAME’S ON THE LIST
A FINEST HOUR OR TWO…
…MUSEUM NIGHT CELEBRATES LAUNCH
A RAW DEAL
THE CROWN JEWELS
ACORN SHOWS ITS METAL FOR DETECTORISTS…
…AND MOVES INTO SCANDI-TERRITORY
 RISK-Y BUSINESS FOR DOGWOOF
VET TO AID EUREKA
QUOTE OF THE WEEK 
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK


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It Was A Good Week For... Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2, the biggest Marvel digital release ever in the US…
 
It Was A Bad Week For… LOVEFiLM, as Amazon announces plans to shutter the service…
 
 
You can say what you like about Ed Sheeran (no, go on, feel free, say exactly what you like), but you can’t argue the impact that the singer has had on entertainment retailing. As the figures released from Kantar Worldpanel’s UK arm this week testify, the singer has given a shot in the arm not just to the music sector but High Street and online physical retailing as a whole. Sales of CDs were down just 0.8 per cent year on year for the second quarter of 2017 thanks to Sheeran sales, compared with a 13 per cent fall for video. Mind you, at least our sector can console itself that it’s not in the business of selling games – sales on that side of the business were down 20 per cent year on year. Overall there was a 12.1 per cent decline. Cheer for the video sector comes from the fact that new release sales were actually up by two per cent, highlighting the fact that many of the problems are coming from the catalogue sector. Commenting on those figures, Kantar Worldpanel analyst Olivia Moore said: “The physical entertainment market has had another tough quarter, parting company with 1.3 million shoppers compared to this time last year. Music has been a real bright spot, thanks in large part to Ed Sheeran’s latest chart-topping offering. Divide has accounted for over 10 per cent of CD sales since its launch in March. A quarter of those buying Sheeran’s offering hadn’t bought a CD in the previous 12 months, so the release tempted 250,000 buyers back to the physical entertainment market. This improving performance for physical music has been in spite of the rising digital tide: 13 per cent of the UK population now pays for a streaming service – up from 9 per cent this time last year – and tie-ups promising digital content are bringing streaming to a wider audience. These offers are proving popular with consumers: since EE introduced a six-month free Apple Music trial, a fifth of its customers have reported feeling like they were getting more bang for their buck. But CDs aren’t out of tricks just yet: they still have a loyal following among older consumers, and fans of all ages still want to own hard copies of high-profile releases like Ed Sheeran’s Divide.”
 
In terms of retailers themselves, HMV rode on the back of the wave of interest in Ed Sheeran, with its market share rising by just under one per cent for the quarter. What was interesting to note was the increased browsing factor being experienced by the retailer. It saw 29 per cent of its sales in the quarter coming from customers who’d entered to browse.That compares with a figure of 20 per cent for the previous year. Analyst Olivia Moore added: “Amazon remained the biggest entertainment retailer, taking its highest market share of 2017 so far despite year-on-year share decline. Meanwhile, fewer gaming releases than last year took their toll on GAME’s share of the market, down 2.5 percentage points on this time last year. Argos fared better, adding 0.8 percentage points to its overall market share and accounting for over a fifth of planned spending on games during the latest quarter: good news for new owner Sainsbury’s. Gaming titles accounted for only two of the top 10 titles across physical entertainment during the past three months – down from five last year – thanks to a quieter release slate during the latest quarter. Shoppers are also buying games less often, playing top titles for longer before making a new purchase – great for customers’ wallets, but a challenge for gaming retailers.” On the video side, Kantar father noted the huge success of Rogue One in 2016, shifting more than 1 million units and added in its report: “With the franchise set to continue for at least another three years, retailers will be looking to encourage shoppers to collect the whole series in DVD or Blu-ray format.”


And so on to this week and what’s been doing well sales wise? Well, one of the closest chart races of the year is in full flow, according to the Official Charts Company, as the week’s biggest release, in the shape of Smurfs: The Lost Village, takes on the far more grown up Ghost In The Shell. The latter had topped the charts after its first week on sale, shifting 66,000 pieces in its first seven days. SPHE’s latest Smurf incarnation has scored big in its first few days on sale in the Official Charts Company’s midweek bulletin, and was sitting just 200 units behind its main rival at the halfway stage. More on the Smurfs below, but other other new entries in the midweeks include Going In Style, Warner’s oldies bank heist flick; the third outing of Poldark at number 10; a brace of DC titles in the shape of  Legends Of Tomorrow Season 2 and Invasion DC Crossover at numbers 12 and 26 respectively, with, in between them, Williams (number 130, The Blacklist Complete Fourth Season (16) and The Sense Of An Ending at number 19. 
 
Back to those pesky Smurfs and it’s the latest in the ongoing rejuvenation of the brand inspired by Sony Pictures. Commenting on its performance and outlining the weight of support given to it, SPHE product manager Amy Sawyer said: “We’re thrilled with the performance of Smurfs: The Lost Village which has exceeded our targets to become a summer hit for families. The retail set up looks incredible, really capturing the bright and magical nature of the Smurfs. We also worked to provide Smurfy solutions for parents looking to entertain their kids over the holidays, including a special Family Fun edition packed with offers and activities, and an interactive Augmented Reality campaign that allows children to bring the Smurfs to life in their garden.”
 
Meanwhile, Poldark is continuing to highlight what bare chests, heaving bosoms ad horse-riding down in Cornwall can do in terms of sales with another strong showing for the third series. Commenting on its success, Tracey Niland, from Spirit Entertainment, which is looking after sales on behalf of ITV, said: “We are delighted with the results that we are currently seeing Week 1 compared to last year when Poldark released in the midst of Q4, and with the Blu-Ray SKUs releasing on Monday August 28,  we will see a boost for Week 3 sales too which we wouldn't have seen last year.  We would like to thank our trading partners for supporting us with a fantastic launch set up and now look forward to continuing with gifting sales as we gallop (on our horse along a wonderfully empty sandy beach, with the wind in our hair) towards Q4.”


More on Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 as its digital release and subsequent DVD and Blu0ray bow holes into view in the UK – the former arrives on Monday, August 21. And if the US performance is anything to go by, then expect some records to fall. For the film’s director James Gunn has announced some record-breaking figures for the US digital release. As he revealed on Twitter this week: “Just heard [Guardians Of The Galaxy] Vol. 2 just had the biggest opening week on digital download of any Marvel Studios movie EVER. Thanks to you all!” Meanwhile – and this is another reason to repost the link – that Inferno promo video contained on the Blu-ray is still racking up views and will help make the Blu-ray an essential purchase. Gunn himself agreed, in an interview to support the release, he said: “It’s my favourite thing I’ve ever done in my life. We rented a bunch of old 70s video equipment to shoot it.” You can see it here.
 
And so farewell LOVEFiLM By Post, the rental DVD business that revolutionised the rental business in the post-DVD, pre-downloading world. News that Amazon is shuttering the service it acquired in 2011 made headlines around the country, as newspapers and websites picked up on what is the end of an era. Many still swear by the service (see below for more), and when Amazon acquired the company it boasted 1.4 million subscribers. By the end, its library totalled some 80,000 different titles, the online giant this week said it would be giving its vast stock to its “charity partners”. In a statement, Amazon said: “"We have very much enjoyed delivering the LOVEFiLM By Post service to our customers. However, over the last few years we've seen a decreasing demand for DVD and Blu-ray rental as customers increasingly move to streaming.Due to this, we will be closing the LOVEFiLM By Post service on 31st October 2017.” It also added: “We are committed to finding alternative roles for all LOVEFiLM employees within Amazon.”
 
Rental by post is dead, long live rental by post. For there, ready to pick up LOVEFiLM’s customers, is Cinema Paradiso, the independently owned service that has been running since 2003. It’s already been picking up lots of traction on social media channels this week, as word about its service spreads among disaffected LOVEFiLM customers. We’ll have more on this next week, but, as md Zoran Dugandzic told The Raygun: “People still like using rental by post, because of bad Internet connections, the wide choice on offer and the element of surprise and excitement when the envelope arrives. Our point of difference to LOVEFiLM was the fact that we are privately owned; we’re a customer-focused operation with the emphasis on world cinema.”
 
We spoke to a few rental dealers to see what it would mean to them. Dave Wain, from Snips Movies, on The Wirral, said that although he would not necessarily be offering a rental by post service, he did expect to pick up some extra customers who wanted to have the choice that physical discs could afford them. He said: “It's been fascinating reading the usual band of Twitter commentators shrugging at the news with a dismissive ‘Pah, I thought they'd gone years ago’. As is the norm for such platforms as Twitter and Facebook, you tend to read what the vocal minority is saying, then presume that that's the case across the board - EVERYONE has Netflix. EVERYONE streams movies. Physical Media is DEAD… However, having received a few DMs and IMs from people this week in a state of genuine terror at what they're going to do, I'll admit even I was surprised at the amount of people dependent on the LOVEFiLM service. Personally, I'm expecting a few absentees to return to the store, although I have no intention to introduce a rental by post service myself. It's simply not cost effective thanks to the rather prohibitive fees of our beloved Royal Mail, but there are tweaks I can do in-store to replicate the advantages of the service LoveFilm offered. One such thing is the gradual erosion of late fees. While the glory days of Blockbuster may have seen the Big Blue boast that 25 per cent of its revenue came from this charge, in 2017 it's both difficult to enforce, and immensely anti-customer. So, rental periods become flexible – particularly for people travelling long distances to the store, and I feel that for those in a closer radius, by building relationships whereby they understand the needs of your business, they'll return the film promptly without having to resort to fascist fees that only serve to push people towards streaming. So, as with Blockbuster biting the bullet, and us borrowing liberally from their better business practices, so too can we learn from LoveFilm and the benefits that drew people to them over the past decade and a bit - albeit without adopting their pillar box principal.”
 
Fascinating insight from Dave Wain and Snips Movies and it was equally interesting to note that he said his store had been enjoying a big summer, thanks to that old mainstay of the rental industry – miserable weather. He told us: “Business has been magnificent over the kids holidays.  All family films are a quid, and the weather has been, erm... British!”


And what do the film-loving LOVEFiLM customers think of its imminent closure? Writer Laurent de Alberti, who blogs at FilmLand Empire, covering “US indie, Asian cinema, horror films, the bad, the weird, the experimental... (From Bela Tarr to Barb Wire!)” has been a member since 2006. He said: “It's been an invaluable tool to fuel my cinephilia. Even when living in a big city like London, your viewing is limited to whatever rep cinemas decide to screen, so the freedom of choice was priceless, being able to binge on the entire work of a director, taking a chance on some more obscure films... all that for a cheap monthly fee. I am no fan of SVOD. All the current services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime lack of choice, especially when it comes to arthouse and foreign films, and a lot of time is wasted trying to decide on what to watch from an often random and mediocre selection, whereas I like how LOVEFiLM would decide for me and send me films from a list! Plus unless we reach a level of completely faultless streaming, freezes and a lost connection drive me nuts.” He said the news was disappointing but not surprising, adding that Amazon never really pushed its service, preferring instead to transfer the customers over to Prime. And de Alberti has already made plans: “I’ve subscribed to Cinema Paradiso, which seems to have as vast an offer of films as LOVEFiLM had. I also subscribe to Mubi on and off depending on what's on offer.”
 
To the IMAX screen at the Empire in London’s Leicester Square, for a special screening of acclaimed anime hit Your Name. The title has been a consistent performer since it was released at  cinemas in 2016 (we covered it here last year) and is again breaking ground – it is heading to IMAX screens, a first for Japanese animation, as part of a special release on August 23 ahead of its home entertainment bow slated for Q4. It looks a treat up on the giant screen and plays perfectly. Given its ever-growing stature and word of mouth it has been building over the past year, it’s a timely re-release and should help it on its way to physical formats. Commenting on the release, Anime Ltd president Andrew Partridge said): “It's rare for an anime to come out once on the big screen, so two theatrical runs over the space of a year is something else!  Thanks to National Amusement's hard work it not only raises awareness of home video on November 6, but also gives fans a chance to see the UK's first ever IMAX anime.”
 
To the Imperial War Museum for the DVD and Blu-ray launch of Lionsgate’s wartime tale Their Finest, attended by assorted press, retailers and some of the museum’s friends and supporters (the kind of audience, that as producer Stephen Woolley reminded us before the film, will lap the film up as a physical release). The former Palace chief turned supremely successful producer was on hand to both introduce the film, starring Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy, among others, and talk about it afterwards, hosting a lively Q&A. Woolley, still a hugely entertaining raconteur and huge film buff, joked that it was a low budget take on Dunkirk, but it does this marvellous tale of wartime propaganda filmmaking an injustice, for, as he explained, it’s also a homage to our homegrown British film industry during the wartime years – he said he has watched pretty much every British film made between 1940 and 1945. And, as he noted: “Now, with downloading and DVDs, things are so much more accessible, but during the Second World War, cinema was so important, it was a crucial part of the morale building.”
 
Meanwhile, the event was just part of the launch activity for the title, due in stores on Monday August 21 after its digital window. Commenting on the campaign and the event, Lionsgate’s Beth Hall said: “With stunning creative befitting of the film our all-encompassing marketing campaign perfectly targets the ABC1 audience. Stephen Woolley hosted a launch event at IWM London, showcasing WWII propaganda short films, a screening of the feature and a Q&A with Oscar-nominated producer himself. Alongside TV, Press, Digital advertising and several stand-out social initiatives, we partnered with Visit Wales for a feature highlighting the beautiful film locations,  we delivered a premium WWII-themed edible media drop; secured interviews with director Lone Scherfig and we’re holding a special screening in conjunction with Rooftop Cinema on Monday.”


An intriguing package arrives from Universal to announce the arrival in stores on Monday of Raw, a title featured here last week and featuring some of the year’s more shocking scenes (it’s about a student with a possible predilection for human flesh). And in keeping with the theme of the film, the release was set out to key press (and us at The Raygun) in a package resembling one you’d get from a butcher or the meat counter of your local supermarket, wrapped in a film and on a polystyrene tray, complete with content details and an, er, severed finger saying “out now”. As a Universal spokesperson said: “We sent journalists a mouth-watering, blood splattered platter of award-winning entertainment.Media contacts were warned to hold back their animalistic desires whilst watching the tantalising tale of a young vegetarian’s evolving palate for human flesh.” We tweeted it, under the #RawDVD hashtag (you can see it here, alongside other publications such as  Yahoo Movies, Kerrang, both of which boast more than 600,000 followers, as well as the likes of Radio Times Film
 
As if there hasn’t been enough Royal news thus far in 2017, get ready for another flurry of activity centring on a fictionalised version of the Royal Family. For the much vaunted Netflix series The Crown is finally arriving on DVD and Blu-ray this autumn, ahead of its return to the sod service later in Q4. Netflix announced last week that the second outing of Peter Morgan’s story charting the reign of Queen Elizabeth II will kick off on Friday December 8, with the whole of the second series appearing at the same time. This will follow Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s high profile release of the first season, due on October 16 in assorted SKUs, including a lavish boxset fit for a king, queen, prince or princess. The Platinum edition comes in special packaging and includes a specially minted coin, a family tree artcard and a reproduction newspaper article from the day of the Coronation. The timing of the pair means that the SPHE physical release should enjoy a strong shelf life right through to Christmas and beyond. Commenting on the release, SPHE product marketing manager Amy Sawyer said: ““The Crown explores the early years the Queen’s reign in a way that’s never been seen before, presented with impeccable production values and stellar performances. A fantastic proposition for gifting and self-purchase, it’s set to be one of the true highlights of Q4 – the must-own series on everyone’s Christmas list.”
 
Up in the wilds, well away from London, filming has been taking place this summer on the third series of Detectorists, Mackenzie Crook’s charming tale of metal detector enthusiasts, with the star on both sides of the camera alongside co-stars co-stars Toby Jones, Rachael Stirling and her mother, as her mother, the estimable Dame Diana Rigg. The title is released on DVD in the UK by Acorn and this outing represents the first time that sister company Acorn Media Enterprises has got involved too, having come on board as co-producers. It’s financial investment follows the success of the series not only on DVD, but in the US where it airs on its svod channel Acorn TV, rightly described by National Public Radio as ‘Netflix for the Anglophile’. Acorn has been in the business of reaching that Anglophile audience in the US for some 30 years, in the UK Acorn is celebrating its 20th birthday. The UK team has been literally out in the field with the production, filming behind the scenes cast and crew interviews for the DVD release.  Acorn’s joint head of marketing Gareth Brown said: “We’ve been given extraordinary access this year as every year, to the cast and crew involved.  Each release comes with its own special behind the scenes feature which this year focuses on the metal detectorists’ club house, as well as a secondary feature on Rachael and Diana.”


Also on the operating table for Acorn is the DVD release this coming Monday of the Scandi-Noir series Valkyrien. Described by the Evening Standard as a “Nordic Noir Breaking Bad”, this award-winning drama set in an underground hospital financed by the underworld launches on Channel 4 before airing completely on Walter Presents. Acorn md  Stuart Shaw said: “We saw this as a great opportunity to bring a powerful and acclaimed Scandi-thriller to a wider audience – and this has already begun to play out with Heat magazine rating the DVD release as ‘gripping’ with Four Stars. Aim Publicity is helping build awareness like this with interviews set up for key players Sven Nordin and Pal Sverre; so when it comes to sales, we see this hospital-set chiller as a cut above the others.”
 
Also due on Monday on DVD and Blu-ray, following out on the heels of its late June theatrical and pvod release is Risk, the latest film from Oscar-winning Citizenfour director Laura Poitras. Beginning with the Arab Spring of 2011 and ending with Trump's rise to power, Poitras immerses herself into the world of WikiLeaks and its controversial leader, Julian Assange. Commenting on the release, Dogwoof's Daniel Green said: "We're delighted to continue our relationship with Laura, having previously handled the physical release of My Country, My Country, The Oath and Citizenfour. Her films really lift the lid on life during the surveillance age and we've seen strong support for Risk from Fopp and hmv. What's more, we're also now busily working away on a brand new DVD and Blu-ray box set of her collected features and shorts, scheduled for Q4.”
 
Independent Eureka continues to widen its scope beyond its acclaimed Masters Of Cinema imprint, this time unveiling a new box set due on September 18 containing the first eight seasons of veterinary series The Supervet after picking up the bulk of the series thus far. Commenting on the release, Eureka’s sales director Ian Sadler said: “We are very excited about the release of The Supervet. We are a nation of pet lovers and as of June this year the pet market in the UK is worth a staggering £7.16 billion with an estimated 13 million pet owners according to Pet Business World). Noel Fitzpatrick has an extraordinarily high profile following his remarkable and ground-breaking work as a veterinary surgeon. He has tackled some terribly difficult cases and his show on Channel 4 attracts up to 2.2m viewers a week. Eureka has acquire all 49 episodes up to March 2017 including the ‘bionic specials’ and it will be the first time the material has been made available on DVD.”


QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We are not in communication with the hacker and we’re not going to comment every time a new piece of information is released. It has been widely reported that there was a cyber incident at HBO. The hacker may continue to drop bits and pieces of stolen information in an attempt to generate media attention. That’s a game we’re not going to participate in.”
An HBO statement on the ongoing piracy leaks…

AT THE MOVIES
Dunkirk is still there, ahead of the pack, amassing, after the weekend ending August 13, a total of just shy of £45 million at UK cinemas. New entries in the box office top 10 included, at number two, Annabelle: Creation, with almost £2 million, and, just below it, Atomic Blonde, with a touch short of £1.7 million. The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature, took £354,276.

In news we’re sure was confirmed a while back but is now definitely, definitely happening, Daniel Craig has this week officially, and on-the-record, stated that he will be 007 once more in the secret agent’s as yet unnamed next outing…

Unlikely Star Wars news of the eek is that Stephen Daldry, yes, that Stephen Daldry, is being lined up as a director for the standalone Obi Wan Kenobi film. Seems as if Disney would prefer a director with a track record that includes The Hours and Billy Elliot rather than some uppity bright young thing with genre experience…

And congratulations to Wonder Woman helmer Patty Jenkins, about to become Hollywood’s best paid female director after securing the gig to work on the sequel to her hugely successful first turn with the DC property.


TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun

TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Here’s Wolf Alice, with the aid of Michael Winterbottom…
https://youtu.be/LIs_hbqBNWU

More Lobster-ish weirdness…
https://youtu.be/CQFdGfwChtw

A true story beyond belief…
https://youtu.be/Vu4UPet8Nyc

This looks excellent…
https://youtu.be/HUNuZiLzihA


 
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