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BASE REVEALS MORE FIGURES
AD-FUNDED SUBS GROW
COMMENT FROM BASE CHIEFS
SONY’S MARSH: “CONTENT FIRST”
WICK WRITES ANOTHER CHAPTER
Q4 GIFTING SEASON RETURNS?
TV REMAINS ROBUST
BASE: "AN INDUSTRY THAT WORKS TOGETHER WILL THRIVE"
MORE DIRECTORS CHAMPION PHYSICLA MEDIA
SPIRIT DELIVERS POST OFFICE SAGA
DOCTOR KEEPS BUSY…
…AS DOES DAZZLER
ARROW GETS READY FOR MAY…
BFI REVEALS SPRING TITLES
THE GUARDIAN LOVES DANGER
BBC FOOTAGE OF DVD LAUNCH EMERGES
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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It was a good week for…trailer fans after the Superbowl festivities meant a raft of promos for forthcoming blockbusters landed at the same time (see below for a few of them)…
It was a bad week for… lay-offs at Paramount as three per cent of the global workforce set to go…
We’ve been watching… The Iron Claw from Lionsgate, a powerful drama about a legendary wrestling family, and – for the third time no less – the excellent Cymande doc from the BFI (see below)… Since we were last here – our trip to Nuremberg for the international toy fair has waylaid things a bit – trade organisation BASE has released a more detailed look at the figures it revealed at the start of the year assessing 2023’s business in home entertainment terms. We covered off much of it already – UK home entertainment category, taking in everything from physical media to streaming services and the plethora of different digital options. rose by more than 10 per cent in 2023 to a staggering £4.9 billion in value – but the detailed report earned the industry some strong press coverage and there’s plenty of comment too. Among the things worth noting are that much of the rise of value in the home entertainment business came from subscription services, with 19.3 million UK homes, more than two thirds of the population, having access to an SVoD service in Q3 2023, an increase of half a million on the previous quarter, “and with over 56 million subscriptions in 2023, a 5.4 per cent YoY rise”. The report continued: “Netflix added 23 million subscribers to its ad-tier in the 12 territories in which the ad-supported service has launched, demonstrating uptake of 30 per cent of the total users. Netflix also added an additional 13.1 million subscribers globally in Q4 2023, a record for Q4, resulting in 260.28 million total members globally.”
Ad-funded subscriptions continue to grow. More than half the people surveyed in the UK said they’d accept ads if it meant lower prices, while more than half also admit churning, by frequently swapping what SVOD services they use. Globally, the BASE report noted: “The global visual entertainment market (not inclusive of music and gaming) is now forecast to be worth $753bn, 75 per cent of a global entertainment market, which is estimated to rise to one trillion dollars in 2024. Online video is the biggest part of this anticipated trillion-dollar pie, with $369bn, followed by games at $255bn, Music at $44bn, cinema at $41bn and Traditional (linear) TV at $34bn. Gower Street Analytics estimates 2023 Global Box Office hit $33.9 billion to the year end. This represents a +30.5 per cent gain YoY, continuing global Box Office recovery. However, it remains -15 per cent behind the average of the last three pre-pandemic years (2017, 2018, 2019). Gower Street also recently estimated that, due in part to a strike-impacted release calendar, 2024 is projected to drop slightly to $31.5 billion, a seven per cent drop from 2023."
There was plenty of comment on the year that was too, which always makes for interesting reading. Robert Marsh, BASE chair and VP, international account management/sales, and UK home entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, said: “Visual entertainment began and remains a content first industry: from Premium Transactional windows, through digital and disc releases and on to Pay TV and SVOD, our industry exists to create films and TV shows that audiences connect with, and which they return to again and again. With the growth of AVOD and FAST complimenting SVOD and Transactional, audiences are now able to access our content in more diverse ways than ever before with multi-channel access to entertainment being more and more the norm for many consumers, and particularly fans. Looking at the top transactional titles, the success of BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER, and the breadth of the top five transactional titles in 2023, including Sony Pictures MATILDA, helped deliver 68m total transactions across the year with the final week delivering almost 2.5 million digital transactions, with over 900k EST transactions at a value at £5.9m. Our new releases should rightly be celebrated, but it is the almost unlimited breadth of the transactional market through our catalogues that truly anchors the appeal of our market in the UK, representing three quarters of all disc transactions, and well over half of EST transactions. Visual entertainment is perhaps now more than ever one industry and I am proud to say that, after 100 years of Columbia Pictures, we stand alongside the many other publishers and providers in this community delivering audiences new films and shows to love while helping them discover and be inspired by ones they might have missed along the way.”
Sticking with those BASE figures and, as noted previously, John Wick was one of the success stories of 2023, being pipped by Barbie as the year’s biggest VOD title in the final days of the year. It earned 402,000 sales on discs and EST and 368,000 on VOD. The entire franchise now boasts transactional sales of 2.5 million (excluding VOD) and a value of £21.5 million. Marie-Claire Benson, EVP and head of motion picture group, Lionsgate UK, said: “The incredible success of John Wick: Chapter Four across all formats in 2023 was no surprise, as the John Wick franchise consistently over-delivers on narrative, action, and style for fans around the world. This resulted in 695k volume sales so far of the fourth release in a franchise that is 10 years old this year. As with the upcoming release of The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which has just taken £18m at the UK Box office, investment in quality IP with heroic characters, and original narratives that resonate with audiences, is a key part of our purpose to surprise and delight UK audiences.”
Kevin Dersley, MD at Elevation Sales, and co vice-chair, BASE said: “2023 saw a widespread conversation around ownership that resulted in some positive results for the disc industry; we were buoyed by the opening of so many new HMV stores on the High Street, and their welcome return to 363 Oxford Street, and with a continued presence and investment from leading grocers for the biggest selling titles. We believe we witnessed the re-emergence of a ‘gifting’ season in Q4, reinforced by our friends in vinyl. Savvy consumers have long understood the value of a disc, and fans invest in the very best quality versions of the films and shows they love on Blu-Ray and UHD, but there is a building noise around broader physical ownership. Whether that is comment from Christopher Nolan or Guillermo del Toro extolling the virtue of disc ownership, or high-street shoppers browsing the aisles of hmv, it gives us real hope for the importance of the physical market in 2024.”
Lesley Johnson, Co-vice chair, BASE, and global director, home entertainment, BBC Studios, said: “2023 has demonstrated that the TV sector remains robust in a tough economic climate with 8.3 million transactions, and a 22 per cent share of the EST and Physical Market. Fans and collectors continue to be thrilled by special edition boxsets and are willing to invest in owning their shows on disc. It’s also been a year in which consumers have begun to realise that shows do not stay on streaming formats forever, and that if it’s something they love then purchasing a boxset means they truly have instant access. At BBC Studios we are constantly delighted by the longevity of our classic catalogue which engages audiences, with particular note for Only Fools and Horses, Pride and Prejudice, and Dad’s Army. However, the nation’s favourite Time Lord, Doctor Who, must take the crown in his 15th regeneration, with Ncuti Gatwa attracting fans new and old.”
Liz Bales, chief executive, BASE and DEGI said: “These figures demonstrate what we at BASE already know about audience behaviours and the consequent market trends across all Home Entertainment channels, inclusive of transactional, Streaming, PayTV and FAST: a holistic view of consumer entertainment consumption is now imperative. Audiences view their entertainment from a content-first perspective, not in industry acronyms, and we must do the same as, while FAST and AVoD may be new industry innovations, consumers have always known advertising to exist around their Home Entertainment. The future growth of entertainment lies in both consumer spend and the advertising revenue that accompanies both the powerhouse that remains Pay TV and the emerging contribution from AVoD. 2024 will deliver both success and challenge, but an industry that continues to work together is one that will continue to thrive.”
The first figures have been released in the US too, the Digital Entertainment Group has given preliminary figures for 2023 and will be adding to them in March, but these show overall home entertainment spending up – 17 per cent for the year. The total spend of $43 billion was boosted by the likes of Oppenheimer across physical and digital, although the DEG warned they would be adversely affected by last year’s strikes in 2024. Subs drove this increase too – up more than 21 per cent to over $37 billion. This is head and shoulders above other categories, although EST was also up seven per cent in the final quarter, driven by theatrical hits, which were up 30 per cent. Spending on theatrical hits and blockbusters was up 13 per cent for the year. Strong 4K UHD Blu-ray sales in the final quarter – up 15 per cent – was not enough to stop physical disc sales and rental falling by a quarter to $1.6 billion. US trade publication Deadline further noted: “Netflix’s exit from the physical disc business dealt a blow in the fourth quarter. The end of Netflix’s red-envelope era prompted the DEG to declare that it will no longer track disc rentals, itself a milestone given that the DEG was formed in 1997 to promote the DVD format.”
Talking of physical media, as noted by Elevation's Kevin Dersley above, directors are increasingly trumpeting its importance. Joining those swelling ranks this week was Tim MacKenzie Smith, the man behind Getting It Back: The Story Of Cymande, a documentary looking at the history of British funksters Cymande, who went from south London to fame in America in the 1970s, before splitting due to UK indifference only to be rediscovered by hip-hop heads and sampling. He was taking part in a Q&A at the BFI Southbank ahead of the theatrical release on February 16 alongside the band. He announced its theatrical date to the audience, further noting its February 26 Blu-ray (and BFI Player bow) courtesy of distributor the BFI. He praised physical media and noted how happy he was to see his acclaimed documentary – and it really is a joy – making it on to a disc release.
It’s the most talked about TV drama of the year and now, after it caused numerous questions in parliament, earned acres of print, TV and media coverage and shocked a nation, and now Mr Bates Vs The Post Office is set to land on DVD on Monday February 19 from ITV via Spirit. The programme tells the story of the Post Office Horizon scandal that saw scores of innocent sub-postmasters wrongly accused of fraud and theft when it was the organisation’s bug-ridden computing system at fault. To say it was influential does a disservice to the acclaim and attention it received, all of which paves the way for the release. Spirit’s Tracy Niland said: “We at Spirit are proud to be releasing the ground-breaking ITV1 drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office just in case anyone missed it when it was aired. Twice - due to its popularity and people missing it the first time. With a TV market that is slightly more buoyant than other genres and a large number of the target audience (Grey Pound) not always being that confident using streaming services – we’re hopeful the title will perform well in the market and provide more people with the opportunity to see this story. We’d like to thank all of our retail partners for their support in getting this title in front of customers.”
Sticking with Spirit-handled product, it’s been a busy start to the year for Doctor Who following on from the 60th anniversary of the Timelord’s 60th anniversary celebrations in 2023. Much of the early activity in 2024, surrounds the home entertainment arm of BBC Studios, with a clutch of releases, with the 17th season collection in January and Monday February 12 seeing the release of the most recent Christmas special, itself one of 2023’s most talked about shows. Comment on this and future releases came from the organisation’s Rob Crowe, who said: “If Doctor Who fans aren’t already excited enough about last year’s 60th Anniversary celebrations, and the upcoming broadcast of Ncuti Gatwa’s first full season as the Doctor – due in May – then we have plenty of home ents releases to ensure that they will be! This month we have the fantastic Christmas Special, The Church on Ruby Road – and wasn’t it great to see Doctor Who back on Christmas Day! – as well as the wonderful new colourised version of the sixties classic The Daleks, including as a wonderfully psychedelic Steelbook. Then in March we have the next of our hugely popular range of Doctor Who: The Collection Blu-ray sets, with Season 15 featuring Tom Baker as the Doctor. It’s obviously incredibly exciting to be starting the year with such a strong set of releases on a brand as big as Doctor Who, especially as we lead up to Ncuti’s first season.”
Independent Dazzler’s busy start to the year is continuing and it’s been a hectic February with plenty more to come. The company’s Paul Holland told The Raygun: “It will be our biggest year of Theatrical releases and we are expecting another biggest ever year across our digital business. As always there will a wide range of film and TV content on home entertainment. Monday February 5 saw the release of the fourth series of explosive Sky series Das Boot and the release of the second series of BBC’s award winning drama ‘The Tourist’ and well as a Series 1 and 2 box set, which should keep every Jamie Dornan fans happy for 12 hours ! A new series to Dazzler is Canal Boat Stories Series 1-4. Having done very well with Channel 4’s Great Canal Journeys, we’ve returned to the UK’s waterways and hope this floats as well as that does. We are also releasing our 11th factual release fronted by Bettany Hughes, this time she’s off to discovering India’s hidden treasures.” More on its theatrical and film titles to come…
Some announcements made form boutique labels in the past week or so include news from Arrow of its April releases, with a trio of diverse but impressive titles, taking in an early Robert Altman, a classic from Polish director Walerian Borowczyk and a 4K UHD take on a classic slice of VHS era horror in the shape of Basket Case. Here’s head of marketing Louise Buckler on its titles for the fourth month of the year. She said: “Our April announcements showcased an eclectic range of titles with two directors from the Arrow Academy line joining the ranks of Arrow Video. First up we had Robert Altman’s suspenseful drama That Cold Day in the Park. Our 2-disc Blu-ray features a newly extended 114-minute version of the film re-integrating previously deleted material from a surviving pre-release print. Polish provocateur Walerian Borowczyk’s Behind Convent Walls heats things up at the end of April with a brand new 2K restoration and a host of brand new extras. Frank Henenlotter’s blood splattered love letter to the grimy streets of NYC, Basket Case, rounds up the month with Belial and co get the 4K UHD and Blu-ray treatment with a bounty of extras! There’s plenty for fans old and new to sink their teeth into this April.”
Back to the BFI and the organisation has announced its titles due on shelves in April and May and, as ever, it’s a suitably diverse slate, taking in everything from classic world cinema to an early Billy Connolly outing by way of some British film history. The organisation’s Ben Stoddart said: “As always, our new releases are an eclectic bunch that cater for fans of world cinema, rarely seen British films and last but certainly not least….Billy Connolly! April sees the release of a double-bill of films by Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu, including a longer previously unreleased cut of There Was A Father and a new restoration of his early silent feature I Was Born, But… . Another great of world cinema joins the BFI’s catalogue with our release of Claire Denis’ Chocolat, newly restored in 4K. Rounding out April is the 5th in the ever popular Children’s Film Foundation ‘Bumper Box’ series, 9 more features and an array or short films featuring familiar faces like Keith Chegwin and Robin Askwith! May sees another Japanese master get the Blu-ray treatment with Mikio Naruse’s Floating Clouds, an often requested title that we’re delighted to be finally be able to release in high definition. Also released is Stephen Poliakoff’s Hidden City, a rarely seen 80s British thriller starring Charles Dance, Cassie Stuart, Richard E. Grant and Bill Paterson that is long overdue a release. Rounding off May is Big Banana Feet, which follows Billy Connolly on his tour of Ireland in 1975, where he played both Dublin and Belfast. Featuring rare footage of Billy backstage as well as fantastic clips from his shows, Big Banana Feet is not only great fun but also an important social document. Newly restored by the BFI It will appropriately premier at the Glasgow Film Festival in March and will be screening at the BFI Southbank on May 20.”
Good to see Studiocanal’s ongoing work in bringing classic British cinema to physical media being recognised by the national press. The distributor’s latest release, Circle Of Danger, just out, earned a major review from The Guardian’s chief film critic Peter Bradshaw around its release, And it’s certain that his five star notice for Jacques Tourneur’s Hitchcockian tale from 1951 will have given the release a further boost. He concluded: “It is an endlessly watchable and entertaining film, with a tense and eerie final confrontation scene: an impromptu “shooting party” which is the only sequence where firearms make an appearance, all accompanied by the thin howling of the wind. And it’s wrapped up in a tight 86 minutes: a really sharp and elegant piece of storytelling.”
As has oft been reported, Taylor Swift has done loads for physical media, notably vinyl and even, to a lesser extent, CDs. And on Reddit and all kinds of social media, fans were eagerly awaiting an announcement on a physical media release for her Eras Tour film, which has performed outstandingly at theatrical and as a premium VOD release. Well., they’re going to have to wait a little longer, as this week Disney announced that the film, complete with extra songs not featured in its cinema or digital outings, is coming to the Disney+ streaming service, with a date of March 15 earmarked for its release. Announcing the movie, Disney CEO Bob Iger said, “’The Eras Tour’ has been a true phenomenon that has and continues to thrill fans around the world, and we are very excited to bring this electrifying concert to audiences wherever they are, exclusively on Disney+.” No announcement yet, but given her commercial nous, you’d like to think one was on the way, and with Universal also involved, it may happen, although if it ever happens, Disney will have to have. Lengthy window for SVOD first…
And we’ll end with a little curio or two that we stumbled across on YouTube recently. First up popped a clip from the BBC News when DVD was launched back in 1998 – with players costing £500 and disc around £20. Technological expert journalist Barry Fox, ever the naysayer, was sceptical, and the BBC’s experts were saying it was unlikely to make an impact until it was recordable. Within that timeframe, however, it became the fastest selling consumer electronics item ever. See it here https://youtu.be/o05P8mRorpA?si=F4OSb1pISaG89D0k And that reminded us of the time The Raygun’s Tim Murray appeared alongside them hmv marketing director Richard Orr to discuss the booming DVD market on Barry Norman’s Film Night (the programme he made after a high profile transfer from the BBC). It was filmed in hmv’s 150 Oxford Street store, now Sports Direct. You can see that here from 14 minutes or so, but the whole programme is a delightful trip down memory lane… See it here https://youtu.be/4iYU6uZyx-s?si=nVj0hILpqxCWsxcN
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
The original was the first DVD released in the US…
Ryan M@TH?rf*$!ng Gosling…
More monkey business…
Deadpool returns…
Jack’s back
Due from Dazzler on Blu-ray in March…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
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