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WHSMITH: FAREWELL TO THE HIGH STREET
CINEMA CHEER SPREADS
NO PHYSICAL FOR APPLE TITLES… …AS SEVERANCE TEAM FLIES IN CLASSIC CLIPS EMERGE MORE FROM ERA YEARBOOK… …AND NEW ROLE FOR KEY ERA FIGURE… RSD ANNOUNCES CHARITY PLANS BASE GOES BACK TO THE 80S DEGI UNVEILS NEW REPORT GO WITH THE FLOW… …AS CURZON PLANS RELEASES TIME IS ON OUR SIDE GANGS RETURN TO THE CAPITAL’S STREETS BFI OPENS UP ABOUT HOME ENT BUSINESS… …TALKS ON LABEL’S INNER WORKINGS GO LIVE SUPPORT THE RAYGUN TRAILERS OF THE WEEK 
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It was a good week for… Moana 2, which earned 27.3 million views in its first five days on Disney+, the biggest start since Encanto and the third largest theatrical premiere ever on the sod service…
It’s been a bad week for… Things not going as well for Disney’s Snow White live action offering, however, as columnists and trades spend hours ruminating on what went wrong only days after its release…
We’ve been watching… Flow at a very busy cinema, while, at home, we’ve been working our way through Eureka’s masterful new Laurel and Hardy silents, as well as Lightbulb’s Mogwai doc, If The Stars Had A Sound…
So farewell then WHSmith – or at least on the high street. The retailer was once such a force in the industry that there were titles referred to in sales presentations as “perfect for Smiths”. Labels such as BBC (then BBC Worldwide) and Castle has exclusive deals with the High Street retailer, which boasted an impressive market share, notably in the VHS era. It had toyed with home ent in recent years, still has an offering on its website and stores had recently returned to vinyl, but the name is now set to disappear from the high street. The retailer is retaining its travel outlets but its high street stores have been sold to Modella, owner of Hobbycraft, for some £76 million, and the deal will see the 480 stores becoming TGJones after a “short transitional period”. hmv had initially been linked to the purchase of the Smiths stores, although its initial interest didn’t proceed (it must be noted, hmv owner Doug Pitman, as noted here previously and in an interview with him for The Raygun and a toy trade mag, he now seems to be in the frame for any faltering retail outlets in the UK and beyond).
We’ve been to the cinema a fair few times this year as (relatively) normal punters, from the West End to one of our locals (the lovely Finsbury Park Picturehouse) and even further out of town too and have noticed a buzz around them, with plenty of sold out or near-full screenings, taking in not just the current crop of Oscar nominations but some of the big releases of the year thus far and indie fare too. Just last weekend, we were at a sold-out screening of Flow (see below), Curzon’s Oscar winning animated hit, and, as noted on the last newsletter, box office (alongside home entertainment) is looking good thus far in 2025. And it’s interesting to see news outlets and media liking up on this. This story, from local BBC news, is typical – “There are signs cinema-going is on the up after a series of financial blows and closures across the south,” it starts, noting that one indie cinema puts it down to younger people seeing classic films, The Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford’s executive editor Micaela Tuckwell said Letterboxd had helped them find new audiences and ticket sales were “through the roof”. She added: ”The cinema was profoundly affected by the pandemic but our audience numbers have gone through the roof last year and even in the first few months of this year. I'm particularly buoyed by the appetite for films by the younger generations - so people who are 25 and under - who are really coming in their droves to see classic films that we're showing.So I think that the future of cinema and seeing films on the big screen is really good.” Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UK Cinema Association said: “The news is very positive. As we've come into this year, with the likes of Bridget Jones, we're 20% up again. So I think the prospects for the industry look very strong, not withstanding some of the challenges we continue to face.”
SPOTTED OUT AND ABOUT
“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want to order the Blu-ray,” said the Guardian a few days ago, reviewing the new AppleTV+ series The Studio, starring Seth Rogen, the first episodes of which dropped on the service this week. As we noted over on Bluesky, if it’s on AppleTV+ then it’s highly unlikely it will ever appear on Blu-ray. In accordance with what appears to be the tech giant’s strategy, Apple was said to have turned down Criterion’s request to put Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon into its coveted library as a physical release. It’s happened to other Apple hits too; best picture Oscar winner Coda is the only film to earn that accolade and not be available in disc form, while Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, his film preceding current digital and physical hit Gladiator II, hadn’t invaded stores with a physical copy. Scorsese’s outing before Killers…, The Irishman, backed by Netflix, wasn’t presented from getting a prestigious entry into the Criterion Collection. What’s also not likely on turn up any tine soon on disc then is current Apple TV+ hit Severance. The series has just ended its run on the service, and plenty of acclaim and internet chat has followed in its wake. Also following int s wake were stars of the series, led by Mark S himself, Adam Scott, who flew into the UK this week on a whistlestop tour that included an installation, complete with tons of balloons, including one massive one, featuring the actor’s face, as a PR stunt by Tower Bridge. Other PR highlights for the Severance gang included the likes of Radio X, BBC 6 Music and GQ magazine.  An amazing YouTube clip has surfaced and was sent our way this week (cheers Raygun reader Jeremy Thomas) – it really is interesting viewing. It’s a clip from Barry Norman’s Film 89 about the growth of what was then, much to the veteran critic’s chagrin, dubbed sell through video (the phrase retail video was championed, it must be noted, by former Columbia TriStar and later Warner Video executive Frank Brunger, now sadly passed). Contributions include former Channel 5 supremo Pete Smith, later chief of PolyGram and Universal as the company changed hands and names, and former Warner exec Colin Campbell too, as well as hmv and Ritz Video (RIP) on the retail side. You can see it here… What’s remarkable is that 10 years later, Norman was talking about the growth of DVD, although it seemed like a lifetime had passed between those two programmes. You can see a slimmer, younger Tim Murray from The Raygun alongside hmv’s Richard Orr talking about the fastest growing consumer electronics launch ever over here…
On to today’s retail landscape and we promised more figures and stats from the ERA yearbook and we’ve been having a trawl through the publication from the retail trade association and there’s some fascinating stuff in there (so much so, we’ll return to it in the next week or two). Meet The Video Consumer, says an one page, in which ERA, with the help of its Entertainment Tracker, outlines just who is watching video, what they’re watching it on and their favourite way to watch it. Smart Internet-connected TV is now the most popular piece of kit for viewing product on, overtaking set-top box TVs (representing 48.9 and 39 per cent respectively of consumers). It’s followed by smartphones, with almost a third viewing on their phones (many directors will be mortified at that number); laptops at just over a quarter; Amazon fire stick (16.3 per cent); DVD players (10 per cent); 6.4 pr cent video game consoles and Blu-ray players at 6.1 per cent. The most popular way to consume video is subscription video on demand, with more than 62 per cent of the total panel viewing svod services, which rises to 73.8 per cent among the under 25-year-olds. Digital retail EST is next, with 12.2 per cent (23.4 per cent among under 25s), followed by DVD (just under 10 per cent and more than 11 per cent for the under 25s), digital rental VOD (8.1 per cent overall,18.7 for under 25s), Blu-ray (4.4 per cent of the overall panel and a relatively high 11.2 per cent among under 25s) and 4k (2.8 per cent and 6.5 per cent).
More from ERA and the organisation has announced that Megan Ogleby-Page, the driving force behind Record Store Day in the UK, has been appointed to the role of head of operations. She will oversee all of ERA’s activities, reporting directly to chief executive Kim Bayley. Joining ERA straight from university in 2014, Ogleby-Page has helped RSD become the the country’s most successful new music promotion this century, which, ERA said, generated an extras £10 million worth of sales to indie record stores, as well as pulling in high profile ambassadors such as Elton John and Kate Bush and striking commercial partnerships and sponsorships. She has also worked on other initiatives such as National Album Day and ERA’s Future Leaders Programme. Ogleby-Page has also picked up a number of awards acknowledging her work and is currently studying for an MBA alongside her ERA duties. She’ll start the new role on April 1, just ahead of the next RSD, due to take place on April 12, ERA CEO Kim Bayley said, “This is an incredibly well-deserved promotion. Megan is a force of nature and has more than proved herself on Record Store Day. I am delighted she will now have the opportunity to apply her talents to ERA’s broader activities.” Megan Ogleby-Page said, “The sector we at ERA are proud to represent has transformed the entertainment sector over the past decade and returned it to growth. I am delighted to have the opportunity now to work on behalf of all of our streaming and High Street and internet retail members as well as the independents I have championed for the past 10 years. I am grateful to the ERA board and in particular to Kim Bayley for her faith and mentorship.”
Talking of Record Store Day, ERA has this week announced fundraising activity for the day, with a tranche of releases, 13 in all, including Sugababes and The Cure (the latter’s Head On The Door picture disc), all earning £1 per copy sold for charity War Child for every copy sold, The fundraising initiative is also spreading across Europe. Richard Clarke, Head of Music at War Child said: “We are delighted to be the charity partner for Record Store Day once again in 2025. We’re extremely proud of and honoured to help celebrate the community of independent record stores, the role they play in championing artists and the art of the album. Right now, it's the most dangerous time to be a child living through war, with nearly 1 in 5 children around the world impacted. The support of Record Store Day and the music industry couldn’t be more urgent and needed.” We’ll see you in a queue somewhere…
Trade organisation BASE is, as noted here previously, marking its 40th anniversary this year and its annual awards, due to take place at the Roundhouse on November 13, will be celebrating its achievement in style. For the organisation has announced that the awards ceremony will be going back to the 80s and is themed around the decade that birthed the trade body and the video industry. In a statement, BASE said: “With an official 80s theme and dress code at the awards, we’re inviting you to go full throttle on retro glam, neon vibes, and vintage style. Expect big hair, bigger shoulder pads, and a night as unforgettable as a cassette tape tangled in your Walkman!” It has also announced a suitable drinks sponsor, with Babycham providing the retro-inspired drinks, as well as its first awards sponsor, with TiVo backing the Entertainment Moment of the Year gong. Nick Showering, brand director at Babycham, said: “We’re delighted BASE have chosen Babycham to help add a touch of sparkle to their 45th Awards ceremony.” TiVo’s senior director for content partnerships Stephane David said “TiVo is proud to sponsor the Entertainment Moment of the Year category at this year's BASE Awards. At our core, TiVo is all about bringing great entertainment together irrespective of the source. This sponsorship reflects what we care about most - helping people find and enjoy the content they love.” More details here…
Sticking with BASE and members of the trade body and sister organisation DEGI have been offered a deep dive into the digital entertainment landscape across the UK as part of DEGI’s ongoing collaboration with BB Media. As DEGI said: “This comprehensive overview, exclusive to BASE and DEGI members, offers valuable insights into the UK Streaming Landscape, including penetration of business models, a deep dive into the content offering across platforms, and audience attitudes and screen time.” Yasmin Nevard, Head of Insights at DEGI: The Digital Entertainment Group International said, “The UK Home entertainment market now stands at a mega £5.1 billion, and working with our partner BB Media to understand the landscape and how consumers engage with it, is essential for us and our members to continue to collaborate, optimise, and grow our sector. Each market is unique, and this report is part of a series of country and regional deep dives which we look forward to unveiling across the next year.” Laura Ghisiglieri, Global Business Development & Marketing Director at BB Media, said, “BB Media is excited to collaborate with BASE-DEGI to bring exclusive insights into the UK streaming landscape. This report explores key market trends, from business model availability and FAST channels to audience preferences and the role of advertising in streaming. By leveraging these insights, DEGI members can better understand the UK market’s evolution and strategically position themselves in this dynamic industry.”
We mentioned it earlier, but keep an eye out for Curzon’s newly released at cinemas, Oscar-winning animated feature Flow. We caught up with it in the opening weekend, at a sold out screening, no less, and the tale of a disparate bunch of animals fighting to survive an unspecified natural disaster deserves the plaudits – and numerous awards – it has earned in recent months. And judging hy the audience reaction at the screening we went to and the £400,000 plus the wordless Latvian feature took at cinemas in its opening weekend, the public agree wholeheartedly with the critical acclaim. It really is something special. Curzon has now slated the film for a late June physical release, with a home premiere and digital release on the way too. Curzon’s managing director programme and sales Damian Spandley said: “Working on Flow has been a joy, watching the buzz build as more and more people saw the film and as the awards and reviews have rolled in. It's rare to have an independent film that connects so strongly and universally with audiences of all ages, and we look forward to its expansion into 100s of cinemas all across the UK and Ireland across Easter and an exciting home entertainment release this summer"
Meanwhile, before that, the Curzon has a clutch of releases due on March 31. These include two separate releases for early works from Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho previously paired together, Barking Dogs Never Bite and Memories Of Murder. And there’s a standard box set release for its collection from another awards-friendly director, Ruben Östlund. The full set with additional art and ephemera has long since sold out. A card game based on the helmer’s films and original available in the set, Ostlund’s Ordinary Disasters, is also released as a separate item on the same day.
One of this week;’s big new releases is We Live in Time (we’re still broken from seeing it at cinemas on its opening, although not as much as one of the people sat nearby who, still in tears on leaving the screening, bawled “I thought it was a romcom”). Comment on the release, starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, came from Studiocanal\s Will Fraser who said: “Following a successful Home Premiere, we’re delighted that We Live in Time is now available to own on DVD and Blu-ray. We have also worked closely with hmv to create a Blu-ray exclusive product, featuring alternative packaging artwork and an exclusive art card designed by Holly Stapleton. This equally hilarious and emotional love story will leave audiences mesmerised by the on-screen chemistry of Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh.”
Biggest TV premiere of recent weeks, and certainly one of the highest profile given Sky’s hefty marketing support, is Gang’s Of London, with Dazzler gearing up for its home entertainment bow in the summer. The company’s Paul Holland spoke about this and teased another TV drama on the way too. He said: “It’s all kicking off in Dazzler Towers this week with the launch of the third series of most brutal, high intensity TV series of recent years, Gangs Of London. The fight for the control of London’s streets returns to Sky and Now TV. Dazzler is thrilled to again be releasing the Blu-ray, DVD and Digital release of the series in early June. Nobody is safe and there are plenty more twists and turns as London is once again in the grip of all out gang warfare. Another great new drama for Raygun readers is currently airing on ITV and is coming out on DVD and Blu-ray next month. Protection is a six part drama starring Siobhan Finneran, who manages a witness protection unit and finds herself at the centre of a breach which results in a key witness murdered. She is convinced of corruption in her unit but discovers it goes much deeper and higher the more she investigates. If you loved Happy Valley this is one for you.”
It’s increasingly rare for distributors and suppliers to talk to the public or press or have any openness or transparency about strategy and thinking behind releases, or share their thoughts with regard to formats, including 4K UHD, extras and more. So bravo then to the BFI. As part of a Behind The Scenes series discussing the inner workings of the organisation, it recently hosted an event with three of its senior figures, all chums of The Raygun, dedicated to its home entertainment arm. Head of video publishing and online programming John Ramchandani, video publishing business and operations manager Ben Stoddart and long-time producer of assorted physical media Vic Pratt (also one of the architects behind its excellent Flipside imprint) all laid out what their jobs entail and how the BFI’s home ent department works – and they’ve now put them up on YouTube. In terms of transparency, these presentations are open as anyone has ever been about the decision making and work that goes into releases and is fascinating even for such seasoned industry watchers as ourselves. Anyone familiar with the BFI’s home ent Facebook group, run by Ben Stoddart, will be aware of the transparency the organisation has shown in recent months and years and his entry is revelatory). You can see the three here , here and here. Oh, and just added is the Q&A at the end, here, which includes an interesting (and amusing) answer on trying to acquire rights. It’s not often we recommend anything as strongly, but these are a must-watch.
We’ll include a comment from BFI head of video John Ramchandani’s presentation as a teaser here, but we strongly suggest you watch these to see for yourselves. “At BFI we balance the cultural remit with the commercial aspects of home entertainment. We release films that fit within the wider BFI programme and also run as an ongoing business so our decisions are led by those two fundamental points. We release around 30 films films a year and just in this 12 month period alone there are eight restorations (carried out either in-house or using an external facility); four new releases from the BFI distribution; various TV series, box sets and collections, and some films from the archive – the Children's Film Foundation. We don't just release films from the UK – our role is to enrich film culture in the UK so this year our slate includes films from Japan, India, Belgium and Mexico. We also promote diversity, whether that be female directors, Black and global majority directors, LGBTQIA+ films and directors. Where possible, we listen to you, our customers, via social media platforms and written requests. We listen to what you want and where possible we use that to influence our release slate.” He further outlines the acquisitions process, where they get titles from (independent licensors, directors and family members who own the rights themselves, sales agents such as Park Circus, which represents the MGM library among others, Hollywood Classics International, Cornerstone and Match Factory, direct from studios and broadcasters such as Channel 4 (it has recently inked a five picture deal with the latter) and more.
 The Raygun, is 15 years old and continues to report on the home entertainment industry and its ever-changing face. To ensure we can continue to bring you the latest news, opinion and analysis from a business we love and care passionately about, you can support our independent journalism by donating to us via Ko-fi… Thank you.
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Adam Sander reprises his finest role… It’s back…
And so’s Leo…
Fifty years old… How does it feel?
https://youtu.be/aqJv_DDOKe0?si=FYk7cVWq9ZTThkk_ New BASE trailer for Mother’s Day…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
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