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NEW Q1 TRAILER LAUNCHED…
…JAN TO MARCH BIGGIES ALL INCLUDED
FRANCE MIRRORS UK CAMPAIGN…
…AS VOD GETS PUSH
HARRY ANNIVERSARY SEES WARNER TUBE ADS
THE BOSS IS BACK
WHO’S IN A STATE OF FLUX
BUILDING A NEST
GOBLIN ARRIVES
QUOTE(S) OF THE WEEK
AT THE MOVIES
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
It was a good week for… Warner, looking ahead to 2022…
It was a bad week for… Apologies for the late running newsletter, we've been moving offices and lugging stuff around…
A new year and, now, after its unveiling this week, a new trailer from trade association BASE, with its specially created teaser for the first quarter landing and being used across the industry and beyond. As ever, the trailer highlights the coming attractions on physical and digital for the months ahead and has already gained traction after being used by UK entertainment, film and home ent websites to show off the forthcoming slate. And it presents a rosy picture of the first three months of the year, with a blend of quality, awards-friendly titles (the heavily tipped House Of Gucci and King Richard) and the big blockbusters that have been setting cinemas on fire since they reopened in 2021 (huge hits such as box office behemoth Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel’s Eternals and Dune chief among them). There’s also family fare in the shape of Monday January 24 release Boss Baby 2 and Clifford The Big Red Dogs, as well as TV titles such as the much talked about Sex And The City update And Just Like That, as well as classy television programming like the godlike David Attenborough’s latest The Green Planet. And there’s even a smattering of horror thanks to forthcoming revived slasher franchise Scream. You can see the full trailer here.
Comment on the new Q1 BASE trailer came from Louise Kean-Wood, head of communications and marketing at BASE, who said: "Following the national coverage surrounding the renaissance of home entertainment that we saw at the beginning of the month, it feels like the perfect time to launch the latest BASE 'What to Watch NEXT' trailer, which shifts the spotlight on to some of the most exciting new titles being released by BASE Members to own, or download-and-keep, over the coming months. BASE creates these trailers every quarter to share with audiences, retailers and trade, and their reach keeps on growing; the Q4 2021 trailer had an audience of over 300k, with new shares from both HMV and MUMSNET. We are always looking for new social, digital, or in-store partners for the trailers, so let us know if you'd like to partner with us and share the trailers now or in the future. If you'd like to learn more about becoming a BASE member, contact Vicki@baseorg.uk."
Sticking with industry initiatives and it’s worth noting the Digital Entertainment Group International has launched a campaign in France aimed at encouraging the purchase of digital films both new and catalogue in the territory. The campaign, entitled Les VODays, put together by DEGI in conjunction with local trade organisation the Syndicat de l'Edition Vidéo Numérique (SEVN), was set to last from Monday January 17 through to 23, with nine retailers taking part (Apple TV app, CanalVOD, Filmo, Microsoft Movies & TV, VOD from Orange TV, Amazon Prime Video, Rakuten TV, UniversCine and Netgem) with titles from the French arms of Sony, Universal and Warner as well as local distributor SND Films. It offers new and popular titles on EST and VOD at promotional prices, with both Hollywood and homegrown Gallic titles, ranging from The Suicide Squad, Fast & Furious 9 and Peter Rabbit 2, to Attention Au Depart! The initiative mirrored DEGI-backed efforts under the Mega Movie Week banner in the UK and other territories such as Germany, the Nordics and Australia. It was supported by catch-up TV advertising, ads on the Allocine network and social media activity. As the announcement noted: “The activity will reach and appeal to new customers who have yet to discover the ease and simplicity of digitally downloading their films, as well as enabling existing or lapsed customers to build their digital libraries at limited-time promotional prices.”
Further comment on the initiative in France came from James Duvall, head of business insights and intelligence UK and international at DEG International who said: “The DEGI team is thrilled to be working with SEVN in France, and to share the expertise we have developed over the last few years across the wave of digital-growth, driven by the promotional and educational campaigns we have delivered internationally. Our insights around constantly evolving consumer behaviour continue to drive our activity and recommendations, and we hope for many more opportunities with distributors and retailers in France, and internationally in the near future.“ President of the Syndicat de l'Edition Vidéo Numérique (SEVN) Yves Elalouf added: “Our main goals are generating new customers and bringing back lapsed consumers on participating platforms by communicating the offer message of the campaign. Creating awareness of the benefits of buying movies digitally.”
In case you’ve been in some kind of pandemic-related isolation over the past few weeks, you can’t have failed to have seen the activity surrounding ding Harry Potter and his pals and sworn enemies as the first film in the franchise, Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone marks the 20th anniversary of its release. The event was marked with a high profile anniversary programme airing on Sky, with the film’s original cast, most notably its then-young stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, reuniting for the event. And anyone travelling around London after Christmas will have immediately noticed the underground advertising campaign from Warner highlighting the home entertainment availability of the series. The ads, appearing at numerous London tube sites, proclaim “20 years of movie magic” and end with the tagline “Experience the Magic at Home on 4K, Blu-ray and Digital”. It’s all given a renewed boost to the film, which has risen back up the charts in 2022 and further extended the life of the boy wizard. Discussing the film and its rewatching potential via home ent, Potter star Daniel Radcliffe said: "The time in most people’s lives when they discovered it meant that it has an incredibly important place in a lot people’s childhoods, and they still feel very protective over it.One of my favourite fates that we could never have ever imagined for the Harry Potter films but that I have been told by several friends is that they are fantastic when people are hungover and feeling really crappy about themselves. They will just watch back-to-back a few movies and it just takes them to a place of warmth and comfort. That is so lovely to me. That is the real-world effect that a film can have on someone’s life. I think that is great.”
Releases for Monday January 24 now and one of the biggest sees an animated property returning to stores for a sequel in the shape of the Boss Baby, as the cunningly entitled The Boss Baby 2, subtitled Family Business. Commenting on the release, senior product manager Jess Keegan said: “The Boss Baby is back in business and will be available for consumers to own and rent from Monday across the UK and Ireland! We’re excited to bring the second movie instalment of this kids-favourite franchise to families to help banish those January blues! With a campaign spanning VOD, Digital media and Social, we’ll be targeting parents and families to ensure Boss Baby will be their pick for movie night.”
Monday sees the latest Doctor Who adventure arriving, as the newest outing featuring Jodie Whittaker as the Timelord transports into stores. It comes as the series enjoys something of a renaissance, with Whittaker’s Flux: The Complete Thirteenth Series earning plaudits from the fans and critics alike, most hailing the story as a return to form and one of the Doctor’s best adventures for some time. It also arrives on the back of a strong 2021 for all Who-related BBC Studios releases, with the series being among those mentioned in dispatches in the year-end BASE statement, thanks to its huge success across different strands, with Doctor Who titles selling almost 300,000 copies across the year. And it also presages another busy year for the Timelord, with the final outings with Whittaker and show runner Chris Chibnall, ahead of the 60th anniversary in 2023 which will see Russell T Davies returning to the programme. And, of course, there’s plenty of home entertainment activity too, with more animated specials utilising newly created visuals to replace lost episodes where the soundtrack still survives (The Abominable Snowmen chief among them), more classic collections and new material such as Flux too. BBC Studios’ sales manager Rob Crowe said: “Doctor Who has continued to be a huge brand for us in recent years, with both new series and classic releases performing consistently well, so it’s incredibly exciting to have Flux: Series 13 coming to DVD and Blu-ray. And with the 60th Anniversary just around the corner, the next couple of years are shaping up to be even more exciting for the world’s longest-running science fiction TV show!”
And in a busy year for the independent Picturehouse Entertainment imprint comes another classy release, as Jude Law and Carrie Coon arrive in The Nest, due in stores on Monday.
Commenting on the release for Picturehouse Entertainment, Bill Sich said "We're really excited to be bring Sean Durkin's new film to DVD, Blu-ray and Digital. Following the acclaim for his first film Martha Marcy May Marlene, it was great to see The Nest receive similar critical plaudits around its theatrical release. Jude Law and Carrie Coon deliver stunning performances and are supported by a brilliant cast. Beautifully shot and with a great soundtrack to match, this film is a genuine must-see.”
Those of us with long memories can fully remember the first-ever viewing of the shocking low budget but completely nutso Japanese black and white film Tetsuo: The Iron Man back in the early 90s as anime and contemporary Japanese horror and sci-fi cinema were filtering through to this country via the likes of progressive labels such as the nascent Manga operation. And, to be honest, we’re still reeling from the impact. All of which means we warmly welcome the arrival of director Shinya Tsukamoto’s follow-up Hiruko The Goblin, which finally gets a long overdue Blu-ray release on Monday courtesy of Asian cinema specialist Third Window. The imprint’s founder Adam Torel said: “On January 24 is the first European Blu-ray release of Shinya Tsukamoto’s follow-up to TETSUO: THE IRON MAN with his almost Sam Raimi type of more ‘entertaining’ and ‘playful’ HIRUKO THE GOBLIN. Coming to Blu-ray 30 years after its initial release featuring a brand new HD master and loads of extras, I hope that people can discover one of Tsukamoto’s more forgotten titles!”
QUOTE(S) OF THE WEEK
“We’re optimistic that we’ll continue to adapt to the changing nature of COVID and learn to live with it. Although there are many challenges, we’ve learned how to be productive with a distributed workforce, productions are largely back and there’s more consumer choice than ever before — both in amount of content and ways to view. It’s a great time to be a fan of linear storytelling. We will continue to improve and expand HBO Max to more markets, while providing a la carte options for fans and collectors. SVOD services will continue to dominate viewing time, with transactional supporting a vital role in discovery, sampling and fandom. Physical media (4K/Blu-ray/DVD) continues to be a meaningful market, with approximately $2 billion in U.S. consumer sales, and largely immune to evolving distribution patterns. We have a great movie slate, with four DC films coming to theatres and another instalment of Fantastic Beasts. We also have a number of series releasing, including the new House of the Dragon, a Game of Thrones prequel. History has shown these franchises to be powerhouses in driving catalog sales so we are looking forward to a great year.”
Jim Wuthrich, president of content distribution for WarnerMedia
“Similarly to 2021, we expect a very healthy home entertainment market in 2022, with strong consumer engagement across multiple business models. Release patterns will likely continue to fluctuate and vary across studios on a title-by-title basis.
“With the theatrical marketplace continuing to strengthen, the growth of PVOD and the expansion of various SVOD services, the distribution landscape is stronger than ever. As we look ahead, studios have more options and outlets to create value and reach consumers which strengthens our ability to continue investing in great content.
“[With a theatrical slate including Jurassic World: Dominion, Minions: The Rise of Gru and Downton Abbey: A New Era, Universal] is perfectly positioned to draw audiences back into theatres and fuel further transactional growth across the varying windows and platforms.”
Michael Bonner, president of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
“As the global hub for transactional home entertainment across ViacomCBS, our division is exceedingly fortunate and singularly focused on delivering an extraordinary 2022 line-up of the company’s theatrical and television content, as well as third-party acquisitions through our extensive partnerships.
“Our theatrical slate includes new entries in wildly popular franchises, including Scream, Top Gun, Mission: Impossible, Sonic the Hedgehog and Jackass, which are not only highly anticipated, but also provide excellent opportunities to stoke fan interest in the earlier films and television shows available through home entertainment.
“[There’s 50th anniversary of The Godfather on catalogue,] for which we anticipate massive consumer excitement for the film’s return to theatres, new 4K home entertainment releases, and licensed merchandise, [and the first-time-on-4K director’s edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture] with fantastic new VFX, which will be released first on Paramount+ and then on home entertainment platforms.
“With two years of experimentation and the expedited evolution of our business, we know we need to remain agile in our windowing and co-promotional strategies as we continue to support the return to theatres and the rapid growth of our streaming service, Paramount+.”
Paramount Home Entertainment president Bob Buchi
“Our expectation, given the quality and quantity of the theatrical release slate, is that box office sees significant increase and momentum in 2022 vs. 2021. The old adage of content is king still rings true, and with more product in the marketplace, consumers will ultimately have more choices and more opportunities in the home entertainment space.”
Lionsgate svp of global digital sales and distribution Adam Frank
“We expect all business segments — transactional digital, packaged media, SVOD and AVOD/FAST — to grow year-over-year driven by five key factors:
• A more robust theatrical release schedule, inclusive of major tentpoles and franchises like Jurassic World, Top Gun and Black Panther that were delayed during the pandemic. Lionsgate has a strong slate that includes Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, starring Nicolas Cage; Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret; and White Bird, among others; • A more viable theatrical marketplace, with theatre-going comfort increasing as vaccine/booster shot rates increase and tentpoles drive attendance;
• The continued unprecedented demand for new release and library product from SVOD and AVOD/FAST platforms. Lionsgate has achieved record library revenue over the past year;
• The ability to capitalise on home entertainment consumer behaviour, consumer content thirst and technology enhancements — across all offer types — as accelerated by the pandemic lockdowns of 2020 and early 2021; and
• Continued collaboration with our theatrical exhibition partners to release films with dynamic windows to meet demand across all platforms.”
Lionsgate Jed Grossman, EVP and GM of worldwide sales and distribution
“For disc sales, MVD and our label partners are focusing on collectible content in deluxe packaging. We anticipate a similar trajectory for disc sales, which have steadily grown over the last several years. The pandemic certainly gave them a boost, but the resilience and resurgence of disc sales may have more to do with the frustrating customer experience our industry has created in the OTT space. Finding what you want is now very challenging. How many streaming services do you need to subscribe to only to not find the film you want to watch, when you want to watch it? You can more easily find what you want transactionally, but it is still a search. Why not just pay a bit more and own the deluxe-edition disc?”
Ed Seaman, COO of MVD Entertainment Group
All quotes from US and international distribution chiefs in the US from an excellent article on the lessons from the pandemic and what they mean for business across home entertainment, theatrical and more in 2022… You can read the full article here.
AT THE MOVIES
Big news from Aardman, which has confirmed details of the Chicken Run sequel which will finally be making its way to Netflix some time next year (that’s 2023 for people who’d still be writing 2021 on cheques if they were still writing cheques). The film will be known as Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget and sees Thandiwe Newton and Zachary Levi providing the key voices in place of Julia Sawalha and Mel Gibson… Also from Aardman, there’s news of a new Wallace and Gromit adventure, as yet untitled, which will air on Netflix and, for its UK bow, the BBC. It will make its debut in 2024…
Best news of the week for the Weird Al Yankovic fans at The Raygun (we are huge, huge Weird Al supporters) is that a biopic is on the way. And what’s more, Daniel Radcliffe himself will be playing the polka and spoof song star. Funny Or Die website director Eric Appel is at the helm. Weird Al himself – oh, how we’ve waited to have a comment from the great man on this newsletter – said: “When my last movie UHF came out in 1989, I made a solemn vow to my fans that I would release a major motion picture every 33 years, like clockwork. I’m very happy to say we’re on schedule. And I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film. I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for.”
Bong Joon Ho has been fairly quiet in filmmaking terms since his Oscar success with Parasite, but reports this week suggest he’s mulling a return with a big budge Warner-backed sci-fi flick entitled Mickey7. It’s based on a yet-to-be-published book, but the film will likely star Robert Pattinson as the titular hero, a disposable staffer given all the hard work on a mission to colonise a planet.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
We’ve been banging on about this for ages, here’s Censor…
Due on Shudder…
Amazon’s Reacher gets closer…
For those that don’t remember this actually happening…
Expect “based on a podcast” to become an increasingly familiar sight…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
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