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BOND BREAKS RECORDS…
…AS INDUSTRY CAMPAIGN HITS
TRADE-WIDE ACTIVITY FOR Q4
FRANCHISES DRIVE SALES…
…AS 007 DRAFTING KICKS IN
DRIVE ARRIVES ON 4K…
ZAPPA FREAKS OUT ON BLU
PIG BRINGS HOME THE BACON
DEER IS CHEAP AT THE PRICE
VIDDY ORANGE EVEN BETTER
VIGIL SURFACES ON HOME ENT
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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Apologies again for the late-running newsletter, this is due to the HGV driver shortage, Brexit woes, no petrol, ongoing health issues and more.
Bond is back. With the cinemas packed to the rafters and the public obviously not too concerned about further Covid-related threats from being in busy auditoriums and heaving multiplexes, a whole host of records have been breaking as Universal released the much-delayed first title under its deal with MGM and Eon. With the second Venom film doing similarly big business on the other side of the Atlantic, things are looking up. Bond’s figures are immense, talk of £21 million in its first three days at UK cinemas, £26 million over the first four days, and an opening that was bigger than Skyfall and Spectre, Universal’s biggest debut ever and more. Meanwhile, Bond drafting in stores is picking up and following last week’s newsletter looking at the amount of marketing spend earmarked for theatrical and home entertainment releases in the coming months, BASE kicks off a new marketing thrust on Monday October 4 that will be running through until Christmas.
More on the minutiae of the campaign in the next newsletter, but suffice to say, it aims to capitalise on the excitement surrounding the big cinema releases and their imminent home entertainment arrival, as well as drafting opportunities, while not forgetting the importance of other areas such as TV and TV catalogue, 4K and premium releases. Discussed at the ERA AGM as part of the BASE presentation, the campaign will centre on radio ads but will see activity every week right up until Christmas. BASE chief executive Liz Bales told The Raygun: “Consumers have not been in to cinemas and not been in to stores during the pandemic. The message now is digital and physical transactional is back with a vengeance. We want to pull back as many consumers into the category over the next quarter as we can. There’s big releases and fresh content going into stores, it’s the perfect time to reengage with consumers across the board. There’ll be a whole range of things that will run through until Christmas.” Bales said BASE was working with ERA and its members and was also happy to talk to non-BASE members to get them involved with the campaign and its different elements. “It’s really important that we all work together,” she said. Key to the campaign is capitalising on the consumer excitement about big new blockbuster releases, first in cinemas then home entertainment, and turning that energy and excitement into actual transactions across digital and physical. Bales concluded: “EST and physical formats will really come into their own across the next quarter and we want to grab as much of the energy and excitement as we can. There’s everything to play for and now is the best time to take that optimism and take it forward.”
The outline of the close collaboration on the campaign and the opportunities in the coming months for the market in the wake of the return of blockbusters to cinemas was put under the microscope at the ERA AGM, where BASE put on a showcase of forthcoming titles and the state of the market. One of those taking the stage was BASE chairman Rob Marsh, who told The Raygun: “It was a privilege to share the stage with my colleagues across the film distribution sector at the BASE showcase, and to celebrate the future of the visual category with our retail partners. Everyone in the room was utterly blown away by the exclusive content shown, buoyed by cinema’s re-opening and the fantastic new slate of films coming to the category over the next 18 months. We were also able to share some of the incredibly powerful statistics around our category, including the fact that fifty new franchise films are planned for cinema release from now to the end of 2022, which is great news for the 90% of British audiences who described themselves as ‘fans’ of franchise films in the early joint BASE/ERA research study findings, with the Marvel Universe coming out as the ultimate favourite. This is going to be an unprecedented comeback for the whole category and physical retail in particular, following the challenges of the pandemic, and everybody invested in the future of screen entertainment. The excitement in the room was powerful testament to the fantastic work that went into the event by Liz and the BASE team, hosted so graciously by Kim and the ERA team. I was proud to be a part of it and am so excited for what is to come in the months and years ahead.”
Meanwhile, as No Time To Die celebrates its massive theatrical success in the UK and beyond, it’s full speed ahead for drafting for the entire Bond series; Warner told The Raygun that the drafting for the physical catalogue, targeting both existing Bond fans and newer entrants to the franchise alike, is well underway. The studio is focusing its efforts on fans building up their collections and it has, the company said, “secured great set-up across all physical retailers” with out-of-category space in many. Expect to see the 24-film mammoth boxset and Spectre appearing on the Official Film Chart this week too…
Studiocanal continues to add to its Q4 slate and in a week where 4k is offering up strong sales for retailers, not least with Universal’s The Thing, the announcement that there’s another biggie on the way will be welcome news. For the company is marking the 20th anniversary of the release of David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive with a new 4K version of the title. The company’s Alison Arber said: “MULHOLLAND DRIVE is often cited as one of the best films of the 21st century, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the film’s release and in celebration we are very excited to be releasing a stunning new 4k restoration of David Lynch’s seminal surrealist classic. Approved by Mr Lynch himself, this stunning new restoration will be housed in a beautiful new collector’s edition with gorgeous artwork from the Krzysztof Domaradzki, artcards, posters and a booklet with new essays from Anna Smith and David Jenkins.”
New announcement from Altitude and the distributor has been working with Bill and Ted star turned sometime director Alex Winter for a Blu-ray release of music doc on freaky outsider Frank Zappa on December 6. The doc, Zappa, is arriving on a physical release due to demand following its digital outing, as the company’s head of home entertainment Adam Eldrett explained. He said: “Thrilled to announce our BLU RAY release of ZAPPA, since our digital release we have seen some demand for a physical disc outside the U.S. and excited to be bringing one to the market this Q1. Director Alex Winter and editor Mike J Nichols have recorded a new audio commentary exclusive to our release and we have worked with Alex to select four art cards that come in pack. It's a multi-disc edition so you get the film on DVD and BLU-RAY and also includes some deleted scenes. Fans of ZAPPA will I am sure certainly want to put it on their shelves.
It’s preceded by another physical release from the company, with the highly rated Nic Cage film Pig arriving on both DVD and Blu-ray after its platform theatrical and premium vod release. The company’s Adam Eldrett, again, said: “Monday October 4 also sees the release of PIG on DVD & BLU RAY, we have seen some strong pre-orders for the title as this film continues it's lifespan after a theatrical and PVOD release and onto standard EST and VOD in the last couple of weeks where it's remained high up the iTunes chart since release. It's such a unique performance from Cage and really a must see.”
One of the finest films we’ve seen on 2021 is due in stores on Monday October 4 in the shape of Deerskin, which stars The Artist’s Jean Dujardin as a man who buys a deerskin jacket that starts to wield an unlikely and rather twisted influence on its owner’s life. Quentin Dupieux’s film won plaudits at London Film Festival last year and on its subsequent theatrical release and arrives on DVDm Blu-ray and digital, the physical copies in a rather fetching sleeve featuring the gorgeous jacket and more. Commenting on the release for Picturehouse Entertainment Martin Hearn said: "We can't wait to bring Quentin Dupieux's DEERSKIN to DVD, Blu-ray and Digital on Monday. In terms of sartorial elegance, Bond may have his tuxedo but there's no competing with Georges (a brilliant Dujardin) who edges it with a deerskin jacket to die for. With Adèle Haenel delivering another outstanding performance, this is a wickedly funny treat and a film that has no shortage of killer style!” 
4K releases now and there’s another biggie in stores on Monday October 4 as Warner releases a new ultra high definition version of classic A Clockwork Orange, one of the most controversial films in the studio’s catalogue. Commenting on its release, Warner said: “To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of what some call the most contentious film in history we are releasing a newly restored 4K Digital restoration this Monday 4th Oct. We have 4 new 4k SKUs coming into the market, with 2 ultimate collector editions, a Titans of Cult edition and vanilla version, all with beautiful new creative and a host of collectable parts to each of the SE’s, which will be a real treat for collectors and film fans.”
Also due to land on Monday October 4 is the latest Sunday night must see BBC drama, Vigil, released by ITV on physical and digital via Spirit following its much-talked about transmission. Airing in the Line of Duty slot, the submarine crime drama bore many of the hallmarks of the show, not least in water cooler-style cliffhanger endings, and comes from the same production team and stars Martin Compston alongside headliner Suranne Jones. Commenting on the release, Spirit’s Tracy Niland said: “World Productions (the people behind Line of Duty and The Bodyguard amongst others) certainly don’t make programmes that fly under the radar – or in this case - sail under the sonar. Martin Compston returned to sate your Sunday night BBC1 fix alongside Suranne Jones, Endeavour’s Shaun Evans and Game of Thrones’ Rose Leslie to take us on an absorbing, tense, claustrophobic journey under the sea to show exactly what it’s like to live on a submarine when there’s a murderer on the loose (have to say it didn’t look that inviting even if you take the murderer out of the equation!!) Throw in some politics, twists, turns, Russian spies and cliff hangers and you’ve got BBC1’s most watched new drama of the year with episode 1 seen by over 12m viewers. We’re proud to be bringing this to Home Ent on Monday October 4 and would like to thank our retail partners for their support as we look forward to continuing the trend of people buying their way back to the TV genre’s physical market.”
AT THE MOVIES
Former BFI staffer Jane Giles, who oversaw its home entertainment arm among other things, has turned her hand to film producing after the huge success of her book on famous London cinema the Scala. Giles used to work at the notorious Palace-owned venue, whose all-nighters were the stuff of legend. She penned a mammoth tome, Scala Cinema 1978 - 1993 on the venue and its storied life and has now teamed up with director Ali Catterall for the film version. Scala Club Cinema features an all-star cast, including Barry Adamson (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), Ralph Brown, Paul Burston, Adam Buxton, Caroline Catz, Mary Harron, Douglas Hart (The Jesus and Mary Chain), Graham Humphreys, Matt Johnson (The The), Princess Julia, Isaac Julien, Nick Kent, Beeban Kidron, Stewart Lee, David McGillivray, Mark Moore (S'Express), Kim Newman, James O’Brien, Lisa Power, Paul Putner, Smoking Dogs, Peter Strickland, JG Thirlwell (Foetus), Cathi Unsworth, Chris Watson (Cabaret Voltaire), Ben Wheatley, Jah Wobble (PiL) and “the very wonderful” John Waters. Waters himself said: “The Scala had magic. It was like joining a club – a very secret club, like a biker gang or something... It’s like they were a country club for criminals and lunatics and people that were high… which is a good way to see movies.” Giles and Catterall have now launched a kickstarter campaign to enable them to complete the film, which has finished shooting. You can see more here…
TWEET OF THE WEEK
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TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Even the trailer is like its own movie…
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A right wrong’un
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