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CINEWORLD, PICTUREHOUSE CLOSE DOORS…
MUST SEE MOVIES HEADS TO THE 80S
NOSTALGIA DDRIVES CATALOGUE INITIATIVE
ALTITUDE REVEALS SOME OF GIFTING SLATE
THE RAYGUN GIFTING SPECIAL
COME INTO THE CINEMA, MAUD
PENINSULA PLANS
BASE LOOKS AT INNOVATION NOMINEES…
…AWARD SPLIT INTO TWO
WEATHERING FORECAST AS TITLE CHARTS
WEREWOLF TAKES A BIT…
…AS HIGH FLIERS REVEALS Q4 TITLES
AKIRA’S LOOKING GOOD, HITS NUMBER ONE
BIG BOXSET FOR SMALL AXE
SENDING YOU TO SLEEP
DOGWOOF JUMPING THROUGH HOOPS
OPENING DORS
OH, WHAT A CIRCUS
A DARING RELEASE
SUMMER ARRIVES
CHAPLIN’S THUNDER STOLEN
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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It’s.a week of mixed and differing fortunes for the entire filmed entertainment business – cinemas suffering as a raft of closures and scaling back was announced, while over on home entertainment there are signs that the Q4 gifting season is starting to take shape, alongside a further announcement of the return and refining of a major industry promotion. The bad news you’ll know about already, as it broke on the might of Saturday October 3 with the news that Cineworld was going to close its UK cinemas this week. The news was confirmed on Monday by the chain and both its main multiplex chain and its Picturehouse operation closed their doors on Thursday for the last time until – well, things get better. Or distributors start releasing blockbusters again. Odeon has also scaled back its operations at some sites, moving to a Thursday to Sunday operation, keeping the doors closed for the other three days at the start of the week. The domino effect saw distributors delayed late 2020 releases into next year, going to god and more. Other chains were more bullish: Mark Barlow, UK General Manager for Showcase Cinemas said: “We were delighted to start reopening our cinemas back in July, and are committed to keeping them open. We are truly passionate about offering guests the best environment to watch a film – in the cinema. We have introduced a number of new safety measures as part of our Be Showcase Safe programme, from socially distanced seating and staggered film times to sanitising stations throughout and every seat being sprayed after every show with a non-chemical anti-viral spray – all to help keep our guests and employees as safe as possible. Having served local communities for over 30 years in the UK, we know how much the cinema experience means to families, friends and film lovers. Whether it’s a thriller that puts you on the edge of your seat, or a comedy that has you in fits of laughter, seeing a film on the big screen is an immersive experience like no other. Film has the unique power to transport and offers an escape from the outside world – something we all could do with at the moment. So, as the days get shorter you can enjoy a range of classic films, recent favourites, new releases and our ever popular Event Cinema screenings at Showcase, with tickets from just £5.”
Meanwhile, BASE and ERA have this week announced a new strand of the Must See Movies promotion, which kicks off on Saturday October 10, with the activity tying in to National Album Day, also occurring on the same day – both will have the same them of the 1980s.The two promotions will work hand in hand, the music event will have its own listening parties and PR activity which the home entertainment activity will ride on the back of, with its own PR initiatives and more. The Must See Movies initiative is being supported by High Fliers Films Plc, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, StudioCanal, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. UK, with titles such as Big, Blade Runner, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Cocktail, Conan The Destroyer, Dirty Dancing, Dune, ET, Ghost, Ghostbusters, The Goonies, Labyrinth, The Lost Boys, Purple Rain, Robocop, Stand By Me, Top Gun and Who Framed Roger Rabbit all included. Retailers including Amazon, ASDA, HMV, Morrisons, and Tesco are all involved. The promotion will run throughout October, with different retailers taking different titles. As well as being featured in the National Album Day PR activity, the Must See Movies 80s range will also get its own PR, with releases sent out to consumer press, with press office support and activity on findanyfilm.com. The Official Charts Company is weighing in with its own poll, while HMV’s website will feature 80s movie trivia quizzes. The latter poll and quiz activity will feature on social media. Distributors will use their own social channels to flag their own titles as well as the wider promotion.
Comment on the initiative came from BASE chief executive Liz Bales, who said: “Collectors and film fans remain the driving force across physical market sales, this new collaboration is intended to drive engagement with a wider audience within grocery and high-street outlets. A powerful nostalgia-driven 1980s hook, complete with a curated collection of titles from the era, provide an appealing promotion designed to entice mainstream shoppers. This, alongside further physical activity to be confirmed within Q4, continues BASE’s cross-category work to support physical retail well into 2020 and beyond. We hope to see a healthy uplift of sales in these titles throughout the month, from the well-loved classics through to the lesser known gems of the decade.” ERA Chief Executive, Kim Bayley further commented “National Album Day is about bringing people together over their love of the album. With two successful editions already under our belt, 2020 is the perfect opportunity to extend the campaign to physical video retailers with a selection of product that perfectly complements the era of 80s music and entertainment. Campaigns like National Album Day are a great industry example of what can be achieved when record labels, artists, media and retailers come together to support a common goal and so we are delighted to welcome studios to the celebrations this year.”
We've hinted at more to come from Altitude in recent weeks, with the thriving independent teasing us about titles due for a gifting slate that will rival its successes in recent years – the company has been behind the theatrical platform and successful gifting releases of titles such as Amy and Diego, the documentaries tracing the lives of troubled stars Winehouse and Maradona. Its slate of gifting titles for 2020 has begun to take shape now with the announcement this week of Lennox: The Untold Story, a doc tracing the career of legendary heavyweight boxer Lennox Lewis, narrated by none other than the pugilist’s old chum Dr Dre. The film will be released at cinemas and on digital on November 13, with a physical home entertainment bow a few days later, on November 16. The distributor has also announced Crock Of Gold, subtitled A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan, one of the finest music documentaries of recent years, will be released at cinemas on November 20. And expect this one to appear on shelves before Q4 is out too, it’s an ideal gifting title. Commenting on the releases, Altitude’s Adam Eldrett said: “It’s fantastic to be adding some more icons to our stable here at Altitude making for some excellent Xmas gift ideas this Q4. We are planning for both Crock of Gold and Lennox: The Untold Story to be supported with theatrical releases and strong PR and marketing campaigns. We are working very closely with the talent and filmmakers of each projects to deliver something quite special this Christmas.”
Talking of Q4 gifting, stay tuned as in the coming weeks The Raygun will be offering up a look at how the industry wil be offering gifting solutions during a pandemic and in Q4, what titles are being made available and the ways it is marketing titles to consumers. With specific titles and marketing plans covered and analysis showing how the business is looking forward, we’ll have plenty of coverage. And as if that wasn’t enough, we’re also working with film magazine and website Film Stories, where we’ll be presenting a gifting guide for Q4 to its army of film-loving readers. To be involved in The Raygun and Film Stories coverage, and for further editorial and advertising opportunities with The Raygun, please contact Tim Murray at the usual address…
It’s good to see Studiocanal both supporting cinemas with theatrical releases, at the same time as keeping its commitment to home entertainment releases, supporting all sectors of the entertainment business. Its strategy with Train To Busan Presents Peninsula (see below) proves that and it’s admirable too to see the company continuing to support cinemas this week despite the shuttering of the Cineworld and Picturehouse outlets. It’s stuck to its guns with the theatrical bow this week for Saint Maud, the homegrown horror that is still opening this week at cinemas and deserves to succeed for that alone. That the film comes with a glut of four and five-star reviews from not just the horror cognoscenti but more mainstream critics and beyond, as well as an impeccable word of mouth, should bode well not just for the theatrical release, but the subsequent home entertainment bow too. Commenting on the film, Studiocanal’s Kristin Ryan said: ”Saint Maud is undoubtedly one of the best reviewed debut films in recent years and heralds a fantastic new British filmmaking talent in Rose Glass, who received a Special Commendation in the Official Competition section at last years’ London Film Festival, not to mention Morfydd Clark’s star making turn. The film is the perfect psychological horror to ring in the darker autumn nights and creeping Halloween vibes and should be enjoyed in all its glory on the big screen.”
Train To Busan Presents Peninsula is the sequel to the hugely successful Korean zombie flick that wowed audiences around the world and the company has this week announced a November 6 theatrical release followed by a home entertainment bow at the end of the month, the former providing the perfect launchpad for the latter, which will come in multiple SKUs. Commenting on the news, Studiocanal’s Carys Gaskin said: “We’re excited to announce the release of the exhilarating Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula in cinemas from November 6, with spooky previews taking place over the Halloween weekend and then coming to home ent a few short weeks later on November 30. Our Home Entertainment release will consist of standard Digital, DVD and Blu-ray SKUs as well as a Trilogy Boxset on Blu-ray and an HMV Exclusive First Edition including a poster and character art cards. We’re also releasing a collector’s SteelBook for both this and for the beloved Train to Busan, which will be exclusive to Zavvi and includes the animated prequel Seoul Station, and both feature fantastic brand new and exclusive artwork by Sam Gilbey.”
More from the perennially busy BASE organisation, which has been sharing more about the nominees shortlisted for this year’s Outstanding Innovation gong at the BASE Awards 2020, the winner of which will be unveiled on October 22. The award has been split into two parts this year, the first for distribution, the second for retail. In the former category the nominees include BBC Studios for its Seven Worlds One Planet sustainable packaging, a first for the industry which saw all the packaging made from sustainable sources. Also nominated is Sony Pictures for its Q4 digital gifting campaign, aimed at giving consumers a physical gifting option for digital films at retail. Universal is nominated for its interns green challenge, which asked interns at the company to come up with ideas to improve sustainability within home entertainment. The quartet of nominees is rounded of by Warner for its collaborative Harry Potter advent calendar in stores at Boots, which combined consumer products goodies with home entertainment offerings.
As for the Outstanding Innovation at retail – both are sponsored by our old chums at Obviously Creative – include UCA, the joint Universal and Sony Pictures operation, with the hybrid tower created as a permanent inshore siting with a reduced carbon footprint. Tesco is nominated for its multibuys, which, the retailer said, delivered great results. And the trio of nominees is rounded off by online retailer Zoom, for its work at MCM Comic Con’s flagship event (heck, they even gave us a freebie when we passed the stand). Commenting on both awards, Liz Bales, ceo at BASE, said: “The Outstanding Innovation Award is always a special opportunity to celebrate the best and most pioneering activations seen across the category, and this year with such an abundance of impressive submissions, we felt it prudent to create two separate categories for Retail and Distribution. From clever new ways to boost sales, grow consumer awareness, improve sustainability or invent new methods of gifting, all of the shortlisted entries are a testament to the creativity our colleagues show in our industry year in and year out, and we can’t wait to raise a glass to the winners when they are revealed.”
Chart news from BASE and the Official Charts Company in the shape of this week’s Official Film Chart, and the big news in there is that Anime Ltd’s Weathering With You is the highest new entry in this week’s top 10, in at number three, no mean feat for the independent and marking the latest in a big week for Japanese animation – see below for more on Akira. Number six is another new entry for Lionsgate in the shape of The Secret Dare To Dream. Scoob is still holding on to the number one slot. On Weathering With You, a biggie for the ever-growing Anime Ltd, the company’s Andrew Partridge said: “We are thrilled with the result for Weathering With You as it proves the appeal of anime even during turbulent times in the market and it's mainstream potential - so much so it's the first anime to be featured in Stylist magazine. This beautiful film had real impact at our very successful theatrical release but our angle for home ent was that in this strange era the message of the film has even greater resonance and the press really seemed to pick up on that."
Also scoring well in sales terms is the latest from High Fliers, A Werewolf In England, a double success for the company, as it’s not only released through the distributor, but also represents another foray into production from the long-standing homegrown independent. Commenting on its success, the company’s Mark Anderson said: “We were very pleased to see the week one sales of A Werewolf In England, it has been one of our most successful titles since lockdown, we had great support from retail and digital platforms and with Halloween ahead of us, we expect to see it sell through well.It is a film that is very important to us with it being our own High Fliers production.”
Meanwhile, High Fliers talked us through its forthcoming slate for the rest of the year and also teased us further about titles due in the first part of 2021 too. As the company’s Mark Anderson continued: “With Q4 up and running, we have a number of strong titles scheduled and a slate covering a wide range of genres. For October, our focus as usual is horror and we have almost every spooky base covered for the Halloween season with Vampires Of New Orleans, Witches Of Amityville, The Haunting Of Sophie, Awakening The Nun and Child Eater, a Freddy Krueger/Nightmare On Elm Street type of film that has won lots of festival awards. In November the genres are more varied with war, fantasy, thrillers, action, plus a couple of new Christmas films – A Beauty & The Beast Christmas and Megan’s Christmas Miracle (starring Dean Cain). We also have high hopes for a couple of new monster/creature feature releases, dinosaurs are up first of all with Jurassic Thunder on the November 9 and then we have sharks on Boxing Day to complete our Q4 line-up with Shark Attack! Our thanks again go to the support we have received from retail and the digital platforms. Looking to Q1 and next year, we have been busy planning ahead with a lot of great new films already secured plus we are growing our own production output with some exciting new projects that we are working on, more details on these to follow in the coming months.”
To the Cineworld in Leicester Square, in London’s West End for one of the last days at the venue before the chain temporarily shuttered its doors, to see Manga’s theatrical release for the new 4K restoration of the groundbreaking Japanese anime Akira, the film that effectively launched the label into the UK, as it launched the whole imprint after its phenomenal home entertainment success. Our correspondent – a first time Akira viewer and, at the age of 17 years old, one of the target markets for the theatrical release – said it looked and sounded an absolute treat. He noted: “The film itself is great and it looks stunning.” The theatrical push has proved to be a huge success too – it landed at number one in the UK box office charts on the first day of release, trumping newer films and current releases alike. Its success bodes well for any future home entertainment release The company’s PR and social media manager Darcy Giles said: “We’ve been completely blown away by the positive reception fans have had to the remaster on the big screen! In such uncertain times, we’re so excited to be able to bring this classic to cinemas & cinema-goers, and are extremely pleased with the film’s performance so far.”
The London Film Festival kicked off this week and the curtain-raiser for the event is one of the year’s finest films, Steve McQueen’s Mangrove. The film is part of a set of five features directed by the homegrown talent as part of an anthology series entirely Small Axe, looking at race in London and the UK in the past 50 years or so. Mangrove homes in on a notorious early 1970s court case after racist police targeted a community cafe in Notting Hill. It captures the times – and woeful attitudes – perfectly and is as powerful a film as you’ll see all year. It also bodes well for the entire Small Axe series. All five will premiere on the BBC and its iPlayer service, with Mangrove debuting in mid-November. What’s more, BBC Studios has confirmed that the Small Axe anthology will be released across a two disc set due for release on December 14 on DVD. Given the scope of the series and the reaction to Mangrove, as well as the buzz surrounding other titles (we can’t wait to see Lovers’ Rock, an early 80s ode to the British-based reggae genre), it’s going to be a must-own as well as must-see series. Commenting on the release, BBC Studios’ head of content and publishing Rebecca Richmond said: “We are delighted to be releasing the highly anticipated anthology Small Axe on DVD and DTO. These five outstanding films are testimony to Steve McQueen’s visionary genius and customers will have chance to own this masterpiece on DVD in time for Christmas.
Releases for Monday October 12, and first up is, fresh from its theatrical run – which included a 100-screen cinema outing and a Q&A event hosted by Edith Bowman – Max Richter's Sleep heads to DVD and Blu-ray this Monday through documentary specialist Dogwoof. The film follows Richter, known for his film scores as well as classical performances, as he tours his eight-hour nocturnal opus Sleep across the world. Here's Dogwoof's Daniel Green on the film's home ent bow: "Max Richter's Sleep was such a huge cultural phenomenon that we could immediately see the value in a behind-the-scenes documentary on both the album and tour. Both Max and BAFTA-winning filmmaker Yulia Mahr have been hugely supportive of the theatrical release and we look forward to bringing the film to home audiences so quickly this October."
Sticking with Dogwoof, but moving further ahead to its upcoming slate, the company is working in partnership with Violet Pictures for a UK Blu-ray premiere for acclaimed 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams, on November 2. A pre-cursor to recent basketball hits such as Netflix's The Last Dance, and infamously snubbed by the Academy upon initial release, Dogwoof's Blu-ray package includes a host of special features including an exclusive intro by Steve James and an essay booklet from film writer and curator Karen Alexander. Here's the company's Daniel Green: "Being able to finally give Hoop Dreams the Blu-ray release in the UK it so thoroughly deserves has been hugely satisfying. We're really happy with the special features we were able to pull together and the 2014 restoration looks superb on Blu-ray - it really is a must-buy for all sports and documentary fans."
There’s a brace of classic titles due from Studiocanal in stores on Monday October 12, with, first, Yield To The Night, a classic British thriller starring none other than Diana Dors. Here’s the company’s Carys Gaskin on the title. She said: “Often mentioned as one of blonde bombshell Diana Dors’ finest roles, a stunning new restoration of J Lee. Thompson’s Yield to the Night comes to the Vintage Classics Collection from Monday, reviewed this week by Peter Bradshaw as a five-star film and an “unforgettable Brit noir classic.”
The other Studiocanal Monday title is timed for both Halloween and a forthcoming anniversary. The company’s Nicola Browning outlined the release of Circus Of Horrors, saying: “Releasing on Monday, before Halloween and for the film’s 60th anniversary, get ready for the lurid glory of the brand new restoration of Circus Of Horrors. Featuring excellent new interviews with fans, Stuart Maconie and Kim Newman, this is also the first time that this film has been released on Blu-ray. Described as a shamelessly enjoyable hokey horror, it’s a wonderful addition to the exceptional Vintage Classics Collection.
There’s a brace of titles due from Lionsgate too, with another Halloween-themed take in the shape of The Dare. Junior product manager Katy Machin said: “On Monday, we will release the twisted tale of torture and revenge, The Dare. Starring veteran horror actor Richard Brake, The Dare explodes onto screens just in time for Halloween. Holding nothing back with its shocking storyline, The Dare is a bold and brutal horror thriller packed with sickening twists and gory shocks – not for the faint hearted! We are supporting this release with a thorough PR campaign, consisting of reviews, clip placement and competitions. We are also completing several interviews with horror director, Giles Alderson and actor Richard Brake, across several outlets including Love of Horror and Mark and Me Podcast. We are also running a social campaign across Twitter to target horror and Halloween fans.”
There’s more from Lionsgate tootoo, although Summerland is a far gentler affair. Here’s Katy Machin again on the Gemma Arterton starrer. She said: “Monday sees the release of our feel-good British tale, Summerland. Featuring a phenomenal British cast including Gemma Arterton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Penelope Wilton and Tom Courtenay and written and directed by the Olivier award winning Jessica Swale, Summerland is not to be missed. With stunning coastal English countryside beautifully depicted throughout – this is the perfect escape we all need. The film inspires our audience with daringly honest and contemporary themes – an intensely emotional journey of womanhood and self-discovery, love and friendship. We have a strong set-up for the film consisting of an online media campaign and an extensive PR campaign, targeting fans of British drama, WWII and fans of similar feel-good films.”
Our final Monday release preview comes in the shape of the latest from the prolific Blumhouse production outfit, with You Should Have Left being released by Universal. It stars Kevin Bacon, with the big name appearing on Friday’s Guardian, complete with a front page flash, to promote the release. The digital campaign is targeting horror and Blumhouse fans, with pre-roll activity across entertainment and horror websites, placing it as THE film to watch at Halloween. There’s further social support, and the PR includes interviews with Bacon and writer David Kopek appearing Empire, the aforementioned Guardian: G2 piece, Metro Online, Mail On Sunday: Event Magazine. Bacon will also be interviewed on Sky News and The One Show. Competitions with prizes including a Blumhouse Collection boxset, appearing across Bauer media sites. The box, which also includes the likes of Split and The Purge, is out on Monday. Senior product manager Emily Evans said: “I’m delighted we have been able to release this new horror in time for Halloween. It’s the perfect [trick or] treat for horror fans!”
During the current ongoing crisis at cinemas, spare a thought too for the independents who are struggling to get their films on to screens and in theatres who have just had the rug pulled from under their feet. Take, for example, Paul Tanter, who we quoted here last week talking about his success in getting his seasonal horror Nights Before Christmas into FrightFest ahead of its November home entertainment bow via Kaleidoscope. His Dystopian Films imprint had an agreement that would have seen Stealing Chaplin in to Cineworld at 33 sites around the UK, including the capital. It was due to release from October 16, giving it time to find an audience ahead of the big November Bond release. And then after paying for classification through the BBFC, as well as the production of the DCP, and was just about to deliver assets to Cineworld. And then it saw the news, which broke in the Sunday Times, about Cineworld’s plans to shutter and its own plans went out of the window. The cost of the classification and DCP means that the film could well be both out of pocket and without a theatrical release. Tanter told The Raygun: “It's a terrible time right now for the Cineworld staff currently working their final week while facing an uncertain future and searching for new jobs. The knock on effect for indies already facing increased difficulties and restrictions due to Covid is going to be felt for a long time as the options for release continue to dry up. Proper theatrical releases are a rarity at our end of the industry, especially for those doing it without public money and BFI support. Cinemas have been working hard to make the venues as safe as possible yet have felt the brunt of the impact of Covid restrictions while enjoying none of the support and subsidies that the restaurant industry has received. While I do hope the studios with crowd-grabbing blockbusters on their shelves decide to release them sooner rather than later, the industry would benefit right now from a scheme similar to the ‘eat out to help out' that food outlets benefitted from.” He confirmed the film will have a home entertainment release and is currently looking at other theatrical release options. We wish them all the best.
AT THE MOVIES
The big news from the streaming world this week has seen Disney officially announce that its next Pixar biggie, Onward, is heading not as originally intended to cinemas, but rather straight to Disney+. And it will eschew the premium approach used for recent live action retread Mulan, preferring instead to go as a standard release. And in a seasonal gesture of goodwill, it’s going live on December 25. “We are thrilled to share Pixar’s spectacular and moving Soul with audiences direct to Disney+ in December,” said Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “A new original Pixar film is always a special occasion, and this truly heartwarming and humorous story about human connection and finding one’s place in the world will be a treat for families to enjoy together this holiday season.”
The Game Of Thrones prequel series, once more than one, but now just down to House Of The Dragon, continues to wind its way towards TV screens with the latest news seeing a major casting announcement for the series. And it’s good news for fans of one of the UK’s finest acting talents, Paddy Considine, will star. The series, developed with original GoT creator George RR Martin and based on his Fire And Blood tome, is set some 200 years before Game Of Thrones. It will centre on House Targaryen and will see Considine starring as the grandly named King Viserys I.
Get ready for another cinematic universe (how that phrase alone grates), albeit not one that revolves around superheroes. For Robert Downey Jr, currently due to appear for the third time as Sherlock Holmes in a Dexter Fletcher-directed title due out at the end of 2021, wants to develop a whole world based around Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation. It will, he revealed during an online festival, move over to other Warner-owned outlets such as HBO and streaming service HBO Max. He added there was no existing “mystery-verse” out there, thus creating another word with which to annoy us.
SITE OF THE WEEK
It’s up – here’s a feature we’re particularly proud of, with The Raygun’s Tim Murray speaking to Best Before Death director Paul Duane to tie in with the Blu-ray bow for the marvellous Bill Drummond documentary released by Anti-Worlds
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Alan Moore in involved with film shocker…
Mank, not manky…
Almodovar x Swinton
And Pedro's old chum Penelope here…
South of the river? At this time?
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