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HMV TRADING UPDATE
HARRY IS YEAR'S BIGGEST
CLUNGETASTIC RESULT FOR 4DVD…
NEW QUEEN OF COMEDY CROWNED
LEMON NOT SOUR FOR 2 ENTERTAIN
FACT WARNS BLUE CHIP COMPANIES
LOVEFILM INKS SONY DEAL…
…AS NETFLIX SIGNS WITH THE BEEB
OH NO! GRUFFALO RETURNS…
…AND IS PART OF EONE'S HEFTY SLATE
ARROW TALKS SENSE
INDIES CELEBRATE IN BEST OF POLLS
THIS WEEK ON THE WEBSITE
DRIVE GEARS UP FOR RELEASE
ANCHOR BAY HAS THE SOLUTION
THE RAYGUN'S YEAR END POLL…
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
RELEASE OF THE WEEK – RESURRECTING THE CHAMP
AT THE MOVIES
SITE OF THE WEEK
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
 It Was A Good Week For… Both Warner and 4DVD, announcing seven figure plus sales for their biggies…
It Was A Bad Week For… Sky, the latest ISP ordered to block Newzbin2…
And just when you think it's about to quieten down for the Christmas break, just as we're looking to get the newsletter out nice and early, suddenly, there's a whole flurry of activity…
We'll start with the latest bout of broadsheet and business page hand-wringing over the future of HMV. The retailer (we won't use the same kind of adjectives so fond of the "quality" press ahead of that word) this Monday unveiled its latest trading update, hot on the heels of a weekend of fevered speculation. The six month loss taking out exceptional items was some £36.4 million, with like for like sales down almost 12 per cent, but the doom and gloom merchants neglected to mention a few facts, such as these figures do not take into account the key Christmas period. And the word is that the past week or two has been more encouraging for the retailer. It is believed to have had significant performances with both Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 and The Inbetweeners Movie and if the journalists and analysts writing not just the "troubled retailer" news stories but also accompanying comment and analysis pieces about the future of the retailer, had popped in to any HMV store on Saturday, they'd have seen just how busy those HMV stores were. HMV chief executive Simon Fox said: "This has been a challenging start to the year. However, we have taken decisive action to restructure the business and are now seeing the benefits of this, particularly in our Technology products business. Like all consumer-facing companies we are facing tough trading conditions but we continue to push forwards through this period. We remain well prepared for the key trading days ahead." HMV's Christmas trading statement is likely to be announced in the second week of January, we'll reserve any further speculation about what may or may not happen until then…
Numbers of the week: £40 million: the sum that HMV was said to have lost in its first six months according to reports in The Guardian. £40 million: the sum that The Guardian, which is closing its Friday Film & Music section in January, is predicted to lose in its current financial year.
 Right, on to some good news now. We've already mentioned Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2, but here's some more detail on its magical performance. Warner this week confirmed that, with 2.553 million units sold across the UK and Ireland, the title is now the biggest selling new release of the year. The second biggest of the year is its predecessor, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1, which sold 2.029 million units in its first eight weeks. Other records to have been smashed by Potter-related products are on Blu-ray, where it has notched up sales of more than 200,000 units, making it the year's biggest new Blu-ray release, and in the film box set arena, where it is now the biggest selling week one release. Warner md John Stanley said: "These outstanding early sales figures for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 are all the more remarkable, given the challenging economic climate, particularly in retail. They are, I think, a reflection of the incredible support we've received from our retail partners and the general public's appetite for owning a piece of movie history. With another major shopping week to go before Christmas [these figures were announced at the start of this week], this is a story that is going to run and run."
Also scoring well is The Inbetweeners Movie, which as we noted last week, did some storming business, soaring to a final week one figure of 1,303,807 units across its DVD and triple play versions. And, as noted in our HMV story, the retailer scored well with the hit comedy film. The company's Gennaro Castaldo said: "There's been an unprecedented level of demand for The Inbetweeners Movie over the past few days - making it our biggest-ever week-one release on DVD across any genre. It's clearly connected with the British public in a big way, and we're seeing large numbers of HMV customers making this their number one last-minute gift purchase." Head of 4DVD David Root said: "We continue to be amazed by the success of this film and are delighted that the success it enjoyed in the summer has been echoed as we approach Christmas. It’s a true British success story, from the imagination of a pair of incredibly talented writers in Iain Morris and Damon Beesley and brought to life through some first-rate performances. In putting together the DVD and Triple Play, we were aware of the need to offer the fans something new – given just how many people saw it first time around – so we collected over two hours of additional material, from behind-the-scenes interviews on set to hilarious outtakes and deleted scenes to create a really engaging product for the festive season."
More from 4DVD, and again, another title we've featured on here in recent weeks, is Sarah Millican's first DVD outing, Chatterbox Live. Buoyed by her performance on Friday night's British Comedy Awards, the comic's debut release has now sailed past the 150,000 mark (as of last weekend) to become the bestselling release from a female comedian ever . The record, previously held by French and Saunders, had stood for more than a decade. 4DVD'S Jessica Scott said: "We are over the moon that Sarah has achieved this incredible feat. Given her infectious sense of humour and her down-to-earth delivery however, we are not surprised. Sarah really seems to have captured the nation’s hearts this year as demonstrated not only by these record-breaking sales but by her being crowned The Queen of Comedy at the British Comedy Awards. Here’s to another record-breaking 2012.”
 Every Christmas season brings with it one or two titles that over-perform in the run up to December 25 and this year one of those titles has been 2 entertain’s Celebrity Juice, currently sitting, according to most recent figures in the overall top 10 and at number two in the TV charts. With a Christmas special due to air again tonight (Thursday) and support on Twitter, with its stars Leigh Francis and Fearne Cotton plugging it on the social media site, as well as Celebrity Juice’s own feed, it’s got a couple more days to perform well…
One of the more interesting news items of the week appeared in a number of the quality publications, as the Federation Against Copyright Theft launched a PR initiative against what it sees as a dangerous new development in the war against illegal downloads. For it seems as if scores of companies are inadvertently funding copyright infringing websites through online advertising agencies serving ads to them. There are approximately 33 agencies serving ads to illegal download sites, the revenue from these helps make big money for site operators. And FACT has this year written to more than 80 blue-chip UK companies to warn them that their ads are appearing on illegal sites; these include the likes of British Telecom and News International. One of the main problems is that there's not just a lack of regulation, but that even with controls by the companies and the online advertising operators, some pirate sites can slip through the net and legitimate ads turning up on their sites, boosting their coffers. FACT's PR blitz, which took in the likes of The Times and the Daily Mail, may help people tighten up even further, as well as forcing the government's hand. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport said this week it was discussing the matter and expected the issue to be tackled in its green paper next year.
 Another busy week on the deal front, as the current giant of the subscription market, LOVEFiLM, and the new kid on the block, Netflix, both struck new pacts. We'll do them in alphabetical order, and first LOVEFiLM, the UK pioneer now owned by Amazon, has inked a deal with Sony Pictures Television which will see Sony titles become available for streaming to LOVEFiLM members in their second subscription pay TV window (effectively after Sky’s premium service), as well as catalogue titles and TV programming, from June next year. It follows on recent deals signed with Warner, eOne, Studiocanal, Disney, Lionsgate and Momentum. It will offer titles such as the Social Network, Salt, a timely 2012, and when it arrives in this window, Arthur Christmas. LOVEFiLM chief executive Simon Calver said: ""Our latest major content agreement means we'll be able to exclusively offer our members world-class content from Sony Pictures. The number of recent high profile deals we have secured means we are able to keep expanding the service, offering our members high quality films and TV and the ability to watch as much as they want for one low monthly price."
Netflix, meanwhile, has been striking its own deals, signing a licensing agreement with BBC Worldwide that will see much of the television giant's programming being available to stream to Netflix members when the service launches in the UK and Ireland in 2012. It will take in titles such as Torchwood, Little Britain and classic, older programmes such as Fawlty Towers. Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said: "BBC shows are a big favourite of our over 20 million members in the US, Canada and Latin America. Members love watching back-to-back episodes of BBC series where and when they want, at the click of a button. We are incredibly proud to make these high quality programmes available to Netflix members in the UK and Ireland." BBC Worldwide's president and md for sales and distribution Steve Macallister added: "With our content already available on Netflix in North and Latin America, we're delighted to be a launch partner for Netflix in the UK and Eire, offering viewers the chance to watch some of our best loved shows on the platform from day one. UK audiences have really grasped the experience that online viewing can bring, and our programming has proven to be particularly popular with this digital audience."
One of the highlights of the Christmas television schedule is The Gruffalo’s Child, an adaptation of the bestselling book which is a worthy companion piece to its predecessor, The Gruffalo. The brand, created by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler will be instantly recognisable to any parent, and is becoming, thanks to the first outing, a Christmas staple. But unlike many other seasonal tales, The Gruffalo and now The Gruffalo’s Child are not specifically about Christmas, which means eOne won’t have to wait almost a year to release it. Instead, The Gruffalo’s Child will be out on February 13, in time for half term. The first tale sold more than 56,000 units in its first week, has lifetime sales of more than 360,000, and is still selling through well this Q4. Commenting on the release and its accompanying marketing, eOne’s Holly Gough said: “The Gruffalo is an evergreen property and it’s been hugely pleasing to see sales this year far surpass those of last year. We’re really excited about the release of The Gruffalo’s Child next year and following on from the success of The Gruffalo we have high hopes for it. It’s truly stunning animation and very much the companion film to the first. For the release we’re planning TV, digital and press, as well as a national PR campaign.” The latter has already begun; there was a competition offering the February DVD release as a prize in the big editorial piece in the bestselling Christmas edition of the Radio Times.
The title forms part of another hefty slate from the ever-growing eOne in the first quarter of 2012. This includes, in January, the much talked about Red State, from Kevin Smith, as well as Perfect Sense, from its ongoing deal with Arrow (see below for more) and the first season of Haven. February sees releases for a brace of Arrow television titles, Borgen and Braquo (the former the latest Scandinavian outing from the same team as The Killing, the latter tipped as a French equivalent of The Wire); Albatross, a coming of age tale starring Downton Abbey's Jessica Brown Findlay; action adventure in The Three Musketeers; the aforementioned Gruffalo's Child; more from Ben And Holly's Little Kingdom in the shape of a triple pack, family feelgood tale Will and, at the opposite end of the scale, human sacrifice horror The Shrine. March sees another mixed bag, with The Ides Of March, directed by and starring George Clooney alongside the new Hollywood heartthrob Ryan Gosling among others; the penultimate instalment in the record-breaking Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn Part 1; David Tennant and Kelly MacDonald starring romcom Decoy Bride; Devil's Bridge, tipped as a UK equivalent of Deliverance; Those Who Kill and the latest volume of Peppa Pig adventures.
 We said we'd return to Perfect Sense and the film marks the latest stage in the growth of independent Arrow, with some of its bigger titles distributed via eOne. And this end of the world tale, starring Ewan McGregor and Eva Green, is just that. As Arrow's Alex Agran said: "We're hugely excited to be releasing this unique film with awesome star power. This film has raised the bar again for Arrow and we've got an exciting marketing campaign and a strong PR campaign supported by the cast. The marketing support behind the release will encompass full page press ads in film and sci-fi monthlies as well as an innovative digital ad campaign showcasing an interactive website linked to a Facebook app themed around the idea behind the film - a disease where you lose your senses one by one. QR codes on ads and postcards will link through to augmented reality content and a pre roll campaign on targeted media sites will remind consumers of the star power behind the film plus the uniquely compelling proposition that this movie presents."The title is out on January 30.
Arrow was further celebrating this week after it was deemed best label of the year in a 2011 round-up by The Guardian's Guide supplement. Also winning in the year-end list compiled by video reviewer Phelim O'Neill, were the BFI, with best restoration for The Great White Silence, Eureka's Masters Of Cinema imprint for best reissue (of sci-fi classic Silent Running), The Twilight Zone from Fremantle (best extras) and, in the marvellous "best disc to convince your mum about Blu-ray" category, 2 entertain's Frozen Planet. Arrow's Alex Agran said: "We were so surprised to read the Guardian piece and review of the year that we just kept pinching ourselves all day. We do put an enormous amount of effort and passion into each and every one of our releases and we love giving the fans of these films a version that they'll want to collect and cherish. As long as there are people who like what we do and want to keep collecting, we'll keep doing it. It's just amazing to have received this kind of recognition." You can see the article here.
Further cause for celebration among the independent sector and labels such as Arrow, Masters Of Cinema and, best of all, the BFI, as Time Out published its list of the 50 best DVDs of 2011. BFI had more than any other label (10 in all), and, along with Masters Of Cinema (eight), Artificial Eye (five), Arrow (four) and Second Run (also four), showed this handful of indies are rated among the industry's best, taking more than 60 per cent of the chart. BFI's Sam Dunn said: "We're passionate about what we do, here at the BFI, so it's incredibly rewarding to see so many of our releases being recognised and championed in this way. And finding that our 2-disc collection, Here's a Health to the Barley Mow, had made it to number three was a brilliant way to end a successful year." You can see the full rundown here.
 We will be compiling a round-up of year-end Best Of film and DVD charts for publication on our website in the new year, incidentally. Also on our website this week: our weekly round-ups of press coverage for home entertainment and screenings and, after a sabbatical, the welcome return of our My Inspiration comment, with words from Icon's departing head of marketing Chris Warrington. It's an excellent piece, you can see it here…
All of which brings us on neatly to Drive… When we talked about the scaling down of icon's distribution arm recent we did mention that a few titles were still to come. Chief among those is January's Drive, which will see the company's current incarnation end on a high. The film's reputation is such that it's already seeing pre-orders above and beyond what you'd expect for a film of its size (although Drive's receipts were impressive). "We really believe it's going to over-convert, said Icon's Chris Warrington. "More and more people are finding this film, and they want to see it again and again." The campaign will include TV, press and online. The film is set to appear in plenty of Best Of lists for 2011 (for example it's already been chosen as Total Film's film of the year). One of the more innovative strands of the campaign is likely to see a "live" screening via Twitter on the Monday of release, with consumers sitting down to watch the DVDs or Blu-rays they've bought that day and discuss the film live on Twitter; Icon is hoping to get director Nicolas Winding Refn on board. "We want to replicate the communal sense of watching a film in a cinema using social media to connect people live," said Warrington. It's testament, incidentally, to the professionalism of the likes of Warrington and his colleagues that they continued putting together the marketing campaign right up until this week, when many of the distribution staff left the company…
Of course, with Christmas now a few days away, it must mean that the fitness season is around the corner, and the post-Christmas season will see another milestone mark reached as Anchor Bay's 10 Minute Solution brand passed the 1 million mark in terms of units sold. It's an incredible achievement for a brand that has broken the mould in terms of its the fitness market. And as it passes that magic figure, it will officially become the country's biggest fitness brand. It's a brand that's made it to the top without celebrity presenters and, what's more, it's also managed to perform year round too. The only celebrity comes in the form of its ambassadors, familiar figures in the UK who espouse the values of the brand on television, newspapers, women's magazines and elsewhere. The ambassador this year is former Coronation Street star Tina O’Brien, who has been interviewed by women’s magazines and colour supplements, with the coverage scheduled to appear late in December and early January. There’ll also be giveaways and plenty of reviews, as well as advertising in newspapers and magazines.
Stuck at a loose end while you wait to go off on your hols? Pretending to do a bit of work at home? Working between Christmas and the New Year… Why not while away some time completing our year end best of survey. The Raygun is pulling together a year end poll across the industry, to find out the best and worst of 2011 and the trade's hopes and fears for the year ahead. Anyone can take part, all you have to do is answer the following simple questions, and drop them on an email to tim@theraygun.co.uk. We'll be selecting a few highlights, and then printing them in full in the new year (so if you want to remain anonymous, please let us know). And feel free to persuade your colleagues to join in too. You can be as flippant – or as serious – as you want. Here are the questions:
Favourite three releases of the year:
Highlights of 2011:
Lowpoint of 2011:
Event of the year:
Biggest challenge in 2012:
What I'm looking forward to in 2012:
 QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"We believe this is the longest sentence ever imposed for a defendant charged with uploading a single copyrighted film to the Internet."
US attorney Lisa E Feldman, after New Yorker Gilberto Sanchez was jailed for a year for illegally uploading an early, unfinished version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine on to the Internet. It was the the "single worst case of pre-theatrical release piracy Fox has experienced to date", the film was illegally downloaded an estimated 20 million times. Prosecutors said Sanchez had been uploading films for four or five years and "did not appear remorseful after charges were brought".
RELEASE OF THE WEEK
Momentum has enjoyed a notable success with The Fighter this year and it will be returning to the ring early in 2012, February 13, to be precise, with Resurrecting The Champ, a pugilist picture starring Samuel L Jackson and Josh Hartnett, giving what the company's Adam Eldrett said are "two superb performances". The film sees Hartnett playing a journalist who encounters a hobo known only as "champ" (Jackson), a man with a past. Eldrett said: "[The release is] slightly inspired by our success with The Fighter in the summer we certainly have the respect and contacts within the boxing fraternity. We are supporting the film by ensuring it has a competitive price at new release stage giving us a wider net of distribution while our press and online advertising campaign takes hold."
AT THE MOVIES
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows entered the UK box office charts at number one with more than £3.8 million from its opening frame, followed at number two with another new entry, Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, which took £2.4 million. Elsewhere, Arthur Christmas has now passed the £15 million mark, Puss In Boots £4 million and Breaking Dawn Part 1 could soon become the most successful film in the Twilight franchise thus far…
Not strictly film-related, but given his pedigree on both television and at the movies, anything Aaron Sorkin does is of interest… More details have emerged of his new project for HBO. The series, due to air later in 2012, will be called The Newsroom. Set in a cable news, er, newsroom, it will star, among others, Jeff Daniels and Jane Fonda…
More HBO news now and ever since we saw both Tina Fey's take on her and, latterly, the, ahem, adult version of her tale, it's hard to see anyone else take on the role of would-be presidential candidate Sarah Palin, but Julianne Moore's set to do just that in Game Change, a feature length film from the television giant. It's due to air in the US in March and you can see the trailer here…
With his take on Nordic noir The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo due shortly, director David Fincher has been talking about his next projects. Most are in the planning stage, but he told MTV this week he favours an adaptation of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Cleopatra, as well as still talking about Goon, although one title he'd talked about previously, Rendezvous With Rama, has been dropped as it would be too expensive…
SITE OF THE WEEK
Right, fancy winning a load of stuff from MovieMail? Get stuck into this lot… http://www.moviemail-online.co.uk/scripts/quiz.pl?ID=25
TWEET OF THE WEEK
We were talking about The Guardian's coverage of HMV on Saturday morning… Follow The Raygun at www.twitter.com/theraygun
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
What a week it's been for trailers… Here they are, in alphabetical order…
The latest from The Dark Knight Rises has already been unpicked and pored over…
Which is better, The Dark Knight Rises or The Hobbit. There's only one way to find out…
Trailers for trailers of trailers for Ridley Scott's Prometheus…
And here's the latest from Borat and Ali G…
And all it takes now is us to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a prosperous and peaceful New Year. We'll be back on January 6, although we will be updating our website between now and then…
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