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CORONAVIRUS INDUSTRY UPDATE
HMV: “ALL RETAILERS ARE IN THE SAME BOAT”
A FIRST FOR KNIVES OUT…
…AND A SECOND FOR FROZEN
WIVES’ DALLIANCE WITH VOD
CONSUMERS “EMBRACE” PVOD
MUBI SEES VIRUS GROWTH…
…AND STILL LIKES PHYSICAL MEDIA
BACK FOR GOOD
COBRA STRIKES
FARMING OUT RELEASES
GOING ALONG WITH IT
FILM STORIES LANDS AGAIN
STUDIOCANAL IS IN THE CLUB…
VILLAIN RELEASED
OCCUPATION BEGINS
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK 
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Well, that was another weird week, wasn't it? One characterised by frantic behind the scenes negotiations about premium video on demand, supply chain issues and, despite everything going on, a mammoth subscription video on demand launch, more news about pvod titles and a record-breaking EST performance too. As the lockdown forced the closure of non-essential stores – one that had been presaged by hmv’s announcement to shutter its stores ahead of PM Boris Johnson’s announcement – the industry was left further reeling, but, despite the pressures, fears and worries facing everyone in the industry, (ourselves included, let's be frank), there have still been plenty of items and stories to cheer us up from the lockdown… Oh, and keep checking back to our website, we’ve been updating regularly with Coronavirus news and issues affecting the business. You can see this week’s here…
Right, let’s start with a snapshot of where we’re at. Yes, all hmv stores are closed, but the retailer has been heavily pushing its online offering, with a raft of different deals up for grabs for savvy punters. What’s more, it has also avoided the opprobrium directed towards other retailers – Mike Ashley, who was sniffing around hmv early in 2019 but thankfully lost out to Doug Putman and his Canadian Sunrise Records chain, has come under fire for his response, his treatment of staff and plans to try and stay open – and emerged with credit as a responsible retailer. Deals flagged up by the retailer this week include WWE titles, the Marvel range, TV box sets to binge and plenty more, including this lovely Knives Out set (see below for more). The retailer’s Neil Taylor said: “It is challenging for the business with all of the stores closed down right now, but retailers everywhere are in the same boat, along with millions of businesses all over the world, so we're all going through these challenges. Online is doing well and the distribution team are doing an amazing job getting the customers orders out to them.”
Monday's release of Knives Out, covered here extensively as well as in our special edition this week looking exclusively at Rian Johnson’s whodunit, is notable for a number of reasons, not least the fact it is the latest title to get the full hmv First Edition treatment. The deluxe version of films is the latest innovation from the retailer, with titles under the banner coming in their own special, bespoke editions. As the company noted: “[First Editions are] the best new movies… given the best possible treatment. Strictly limited, each First Edition release comes in special packaging with added bonus content exclusive to these versions.” In the case of Knives Out this means exclusive packaging, 12 artcards and a 24-page novella penned by Harlan Thrombey. Other titles to have benefited thus far include Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, while on the slate are such goodies as The Lighthouse and now 1917, unveiled recently and due on May 18. Oh, and before that, there’s the small matter of Color Out Of Space, due on April 6…
Over on the digital side, it’s been a remarkable week for Frozen 2. The Disney title showed the potential for home entertainment releases during the current coronavirus crisis, amassing the second biggest total for a week one release of a digital title. Its mammoth total of 218,700 digital downloads made it the second biggest ever, beaten only by Avenger Endgame, well in the lead with 225,400. But it sailed past the previous runner up, Avengers Infinity War, which totalled 214,300 in its first week. Commenting on the success, Virgin Media Store and Virgin Movies’ senior manager Adrian Zak said: “Frozen II made a record-breaking start on the Virgin Media Store with our second biggest Week 1 performance for a title to date. We supported Frozen 2 across the platform and with some cool bonus content included with purchase the title topped the weekly sales by some distance. Our customers refuse to ‘Let it Go’ either and the second week of its Early EST window continues to dominate sales.” The physical release, meanwhile, is out on Monday. It’s a busy time for Disney – the studio this week launched its Disney+ service in the UK. We didn’t receive our press pack until this week, while the studio offered no further comment beyond the list of programmes sent out. More on this next week, with consumer press reviews and word from analysts and industry experts…
Of course, premium vod is another winner in among the current crisis, with more films arriving this week after their theatrical was cut short or lost after cinemas around the country closed their doors. The latest to announce, following the likes of a clutch of Universal titles and Sony’s Bloodshot, was Lionsgate. The company announced that its recent feelgood tale Military Wives, which opened just before the crisis took hold, was arriving on digital services as a premium vod title, on Friday March 27. In a statement, the company’s chief executive Zygi Kamasa said: “The cinematic experience is key to our industry, and exhibitors continue to be our integral partners and allies. With cinemas closed nationwide due to the current climate, we want to continue to make Military Wives available to consumers.”
There are still mutterings from many on the theatrical side of the business, but it’s interesting to note that vod operators are now rolling out the red carpet for their direct from cinema/still in cinemas style releases. Take Virgin Movies, which featured a takeover of its main menu for The Invisible Man, on-air promos, and a premium rental folder placed in clear view on the main Virgin Movies menu. According to those at the company, Universal’s pvod titles were “embraced”, and performed above expectations. As chief digital entertainment officer at Virgin Media David Bouchier noted: “Its great news for our customers that they didn’t miss out on the latest cinema releases. At a click of a button, friends and families could sit back, relax and enjoy the latest blockbusters from the comfort of their sofa.”
Meanwhile, over at MUBI, the curated subscription on demand has had a busy time since the virus spread wider. It brought forward the release of Bacurau, its recently theatrically released Brazilian tale, on the service by a week to meet demand and give it the airing it deserved. Commenting on the move, as well as increased demand during the global pandemic, MUBI’s Sophie Rhatigan said: “Bacurau was showing in cinemas at the point most cinemas started to sadly close due to COVID-19. The film never received the full run that we had planned for it, and as disappointing as that was for everyone involved, we agreed with all of our partners to bring it forward on MUBI by seven days. There was a really high demand to see it due to the well-deserved critical acclaim it was receiving all over. It was the second most viewed film on MUBI in the UK and Ireland w/c March 16. Yes, we’ve seen increased activity globally. Both subscribers and views have grown over the past few weeks. To give an example, last week (w/c March 16), subscribers grew 24 per cent in the UK and 34 per cent in Ireland and viewing in the UK and Ireland increased almost by 50 per cent compared to the previous week (March 9).” MUBI has had an introductory offer giving three months’ subscription for £1 to drive new business.
Sticking with MUBI, and Bacurau (it really is hands down one of the best films we’ve seen this year), and the company is continuing with its physical home entertainment imprint, launched last year, too. The film is due on both Blu-ray and DVD on April 27, and MUBI has pledged to continue with the label beyond the next release too, as it continues to ramp up its acquisitions and exclusive titles to release at cinemas, then on the svod service and finally on physical formats. Commenting on the label so far, the company’s Sophie Rhatigan said: “The label is going really well. We’re proud to be one of the few streaming services that makes and supports physical media. There’s still a clear demand for it and we’re really happy with our results so far. We’ve released five titles now (A Dog Called Money, Border, Suspiria, Under The Silver Lake, Yves Saint Laurent: The Last Collections) and are excited to release Bacurau on April 27. Bacurau is definitely one to keep at home! Suspiria is our top performing home entertainment release currently and we’re continuing with releases beyond Bacurau. We can’t wait.”
It’s nice to have a light-hearted rejoinder alongside the likes of Contagion, a prescient film whose viewing numbers worldwide have reached pandemic levels (see last week’s newsletter for more, but it has shot up across legal and illegal platforms), there have been other successes too. And our favourite came from Acorn, whose favourite self-sufficient sitcom from the 1970s, The Good Life, has seen a new burst of activity this week. For the outlandish antics of the Good family – on trend in 2020 although unheard of when it first aired – in ditching the rat race for a simpler life have soared during the lockdown. Acorn said sales have soared, and, as the company’s Helen Squire noted: "Last week, as isolation began, sales of The Good Life doubled and are up again this week! Could it be that people are adopting Tom and Barbara’s philosophy of self sufficiency and consider the classic comedy show an essential instruction manual? Drinks over the fence with our neighbours (while observing the rules of social distancing of course) now seem like the mark of a vibrant social life so hopefully yours are nothing like Margot and Jerry! Now where did we put our chickens?”
Meanwhile, regular meetings of the government’s Cobra emergency team have given something of a boost to Dazzler Media and its release of the new Sky One series of the same name. The release of the series, which stars Robert Carlyle as the prime minister chairing the Cobra team during a crisis, was released on Monday and has spent the week atop the iTunes TV charts among other things, thanks, the company believes, to its name as much as anything else. Dazzler’s Paul Holland said: “‘In these challenging times the priority for everyone is to stay safe, if we as an industry can provide great content for people to be entertained with that’s nice, but our priority has to be supporting the NHS and our families.”
Our thoughts go out to the independents, companies with less of a budget, but ones bringing exciting, different films to the market, carefully spending their relatively lesser budgets on PR and marketing initiatives, squeezing as much as possible on a limited spend to create awareness. Parkland Entertainment is one, the company’s Love Sarah was building up a head of steam moving towards its theatrical release, but this has now been postponed until the crisis is over. Its Biggest Little Farm arrived in stores on Monday just as hmv closed its stores, while its home entertainment release was further affected by Amazon’s move to prioritise essential goods. But it’s hoping digital will make up any physical shortfalls, while it is further eyeing premium vod releases in the months ahead. As the company’s Tom Stewart said: “The Biggest Little Farm is now out there …It’s hampered by stock that awaits being sold in hmv and we were also affected by Amazon which is understandably having to give priority to matters outside of the home ent industry. It’s on digital now of course which we hope the audience at Home certainly will enjoy its very inspiring message particularly at a time like this. We’re working on bringing theatrical films to vod this April and May, beginning with Astronaut on April 27 and Camino Skies in May. Following this will be the Epic War true Story The Last Full Measure featuring the ensemble cast of greats such as Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Plummer, Ed Harris, Will Hurt which will target Father’s Day. We’ll also be announcing further vod films next week.”
One way film fans have been coping with self-isolation and lockdown is by organising watch-along and twee-along events (there’s still no formalised way to describe them yet), with fans flocking to watch films at the same time, with many viewing, including the talent, tweeting throughout the film. This week has seen Second Sight and UK consumers joining in with Anna And The Apocalypse director John McPhail and the cast for a tweet and sing-along (the indie recently released an extras-laden Blu-ray of the film). The weekend sees Zavvi helping to host a similar event, as noted by the company on its twitter feed, saying; "Join us at 7pm GMT this Sunday for the first #ZavviWatchParty as we get together to watch and discuss Jurassic Park. Get that DVD or Blu-ray ready, and use the hashtag to get involved, and we will be live tweeting along with quiz questions, trivia and more! See you there.” Universal was hosting a double whammy too, with one for The Invisible Man on Saturday and one of its other pvod titles, Emma, on the Sunday.
Talking of Film Stories, the truly independent film magazine which champions British film, indie fare and supports homegrown writers, eschewing the superhero blockbuster fare that perpetually graces the covers of other film magazines, and the publication has welcomed a new writer to its freelance fold with its new issue. For the latest issue, the 15th, out this week, includes The Raygun’s very own Tim Murray penning a feature on when projection goes bad, recounting what happens when cinemas cock up and what they’re doing about it. You can buy the issue or subscribe here…
Social media has been a boon to many during the Coronavirus crisis , and a contact with the rest of the world (once you can get past the daft conspiracy theories) and among those keeping busy this week was Studiocanal. The company used its twitter feed to unveil its own “film club”, directing those staying at home to Studiocanal films across assorted TV channels and online services and providers. In its announcement, the company said: “So, 2020 hasn’t gone to plan for many of us. To help keep you entertained through this difficult period, we’re forming the STUDIOCANAL Film Club. Everyday we'll be sharing suggestions of best films to stream on Amazon Prime, Netflix, BBC iPlayer and more!” You can see it here…
New releases are still making it to market and next on the slate from Studiocanal on March 30 is a classic slice of gritty British drama in Villain, starring the legend Richard Burton. Commenting on the release, Studiocanal’s Carys Gaskin said: “Described by Peter Bradshaw for The Guardian this week as one of Richard Burton’s ‘best, most lip-smackingly gruesome performances’, Villain is roaring on to Digital, DVD and Blu-ray from March 30 after an excellent restoration making this 1971 film look more vivid than ever. With a story inspired by the Krays and a supporting performance from a charming young Ian McShane, who we were also lucky enough to interview for the release whereupon he explained how happy Burton was to work with him as he reminded him of his wife, Elizabeth… “
Due on March 30 from Lightbulb Film Distribution is The Occupation, a Second World War tale that has earned plaudits and awards at film festivals. Wartime tale are still a solidly commercial proposition, and this one, following a Jewish girl, Sara Guralnick, who flees Poland after her family are killed by the Nazis, assuming a different identity in the Ukraine. But she discovers even more dark secrets about her new “family” that threaten to reveal her true identity. It’s being released on DVD and digital formats by Lightbulb, whose commercial director Matthew Kreuzer said: “We are delighted to be releasing The Occupation; a film with such a compelling story. The director, Steven Oritt, spent time with Sara, up until her death in 2018, to accurately portray her account of the war. It’s a story that she was keen to share.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“There were mixed reactions this week at the news that the forthcoming DVDs and Blu-ray edition of Cats – yes, that Cats – would feature a commentary track from director Tom Hooper. Some were excited to hear him finally account for the various creative choices behind the film, though I personally thought we should have held out for a full public inquiry.
“If Hooper had made Cats five years ago, it’s highly possible a commentary track wouldn’t have been recorded: the form fell out of fashion as DVD sales declined over the last decade. But with Blu-ray and now 4K discs emerging as a collector’s medium – thanks largely to the treasure-trove-like packages put together by boutique labels such as Arrow, Masters of Cinema and Criterion – they’ve begun to make a welcome comeback.
"Many of them are exercises in saying nothing as exhaustively as possible. That doesn’t mean they’re not worth listening to: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s commentaries are endlessly compelling, despite revealing almost nothing about the films. 'This is my job, I’m a construction worker,' he notes at the start of a discussion on Total Recall, as his character is introduced using a pneumatic drill on a building site. Then, later, just before his character shoots his wife and quips 'Consider that a divorce': 'I love that line when I say here Consider that a divorce.’
"Actors and filmmakers acknowledging the shortcomings of their own work has value too. Take this observation from Ben Affleck on the commentary track for Armageddon: 'I asked Michael [Bay, the director] why it was easier to train oil drillers to become astronauts than to train astronauts to become oil drillers. He told me to shut the f--- up. So that was the end of that talk.'"
Remember that piece the other week “we should have bought the DVDs”? This is along similar lines as the excellent weekly email from Robbie Collin at the Daily Telegraph this time discussed DVD commentaries…
AT THE MOVIES
Not a great deal of film or TV news around, and we’re not really up for lengthy stories about which productions have been shuttered – it’s most of them – nor about which films have seen their releases postponed, sir there’s not a great deal to report…
So let’s start with the undoubted hit of the crisis, Netflix’s Tiger King. The limited series has provided Netflix subscribers in lockdown with some light relief, thanks to its completely nuts take on the lives and complex relationship between collectors of rare, endangered and dangerous animals, most notably, the big cats of the title. For before the documentary series became the sensation it now is (if you don’t believe us, check social media, where it's everywhere), a based-on-a-true-story drama series was being developed. Kate McKinnon, star of Saturday Night Live, is involved and on board to play Carole Baskin for the series, entitled Joe Exotic. Expect all streaming services t be hovering around this one…
UK viewers are only just getting their heads around The Mandalorian, but already news is heading across the Atlantic about casting for the second season of the Disney+ flagship. Consumers viewing legally over here are only up to episode three, with the svod service plumping to release new helpings weekly, as it did in the US. Other territories have now reached the end, and Disney is gearing itself out for the sophomore series, and, after news that Rosario Dawson is lined up for a part, another name has surfaced in the past few days. Michael Biehn, the saviour of the future in the first Terminator film, and star of many a DTV hit, is also set to star, appearing, most likely as a bounty hunter…
Netflix may have halted production on its current slate, but it’s still looking at new programming to invest in. Latest to look like it’s being firmed up is a new adaptation of classic 1980s video game Dragon’s Lair. And it looks like Ryan Reynolds will star too, giving it massive instant appeal.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun
SITE OF THE WEEK
Industry-related Coronavirus news from The Raygun is over here… Send us any news for inclusion…
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
On the new, forthcoming Quibi service…
Forthcoming from Amazon…
Due on Apple…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
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