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BASE, BBFC LOWER PRE-SCHOOL PRICES…
…LABELS WELCOME MOVE
“OUTSTANDING” DIGITAL RESULTS AS Q4 RAMPS UP…
…AND XMAS DAY OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES
PRINCE IS QUEEN FOR THE WEEK
PIRATES SAIL ON
MIDWEEK CHART UPDATE
ALTITUDE SCALES NEW HEIGHTS
SONY INKS STX DEAL…
…RAMPS UP FOR BLADE RUNNER…
…WEARS THE CROWN…
…AND JABBERS ON FOR CRITERION
MANGA’S ON THE CORNER
FURIOUS MARKETING
CHURCHILL’S CIGAR CELEBRATION
REVELATION’S MIPCOM SLATE
LOCKER OPENS UP
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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It Was A Good Week For... Wonder Woman strikes a blow for female superheroes…
It Was A Bad Week For… The scandal engulfing Harvey Weinstein and TWC has dominated headlines, conversations and will reverberate around the industry for months to come…
There have been rumblings about the excessive costs of classification for independents and smaller for as long as we at The Raygun can remember, dating right back to the VHS era and beyond, the spectre raised its head a few years ago when we pulled some independent imprints together with industry trade body BASE, back when it was still known as the BVA, to discuss benefits for smaller releases. So it’s good to see the BBFC and BASE this week joining forces to unveil a new initiative aimed at making the cost of rating releases for pre-school titles much cheaper for the industry. In a joint statement the pair have announced that pre-school releases across the board will now be 30 per cent cheaper. The full statement said: “As part of a continuous effort to drive cost efficiencies in an ever evolving multi-video market, the BBFC alongside BASE is delighted to announce that they will now offer distributors a significant discount of 30 per cent on the certification cost of pre-school packaged media. Through an effective collaborative partnership, the BBFC and BASE explored many options with the objective to secure potential cost savings across a host of different content types, resulting in this substantial reduction in the certification cost of pre-school content. The discount will be applicable to all pre-school content that complies with the VRA, regardless of broadcast status, and will be effective from October 16 2017. The BBFC continue to support the market by investing time into identifying cost efficiencies where possible in order to eliminate risk and additional costs for pre-school distributors, whilst also providing absolute confidence to parents.”
Given the complexities of the Video Recordings Act and classification operations at the BBFC (pre-school is the most straightforward in terms of classification, with cost savings being passed on to distributors), it’s unlikely that this kind of discount can be replicated in other sectors, although the BBFC did add it showed its “commitment to providing the industry with an efficient and cost-effective service” and trying to respond to its customers’ needs. The move has been welcomed by many of those involved in this sector. Anne Miles, from Abbey said: “Abbey is delighted with the Base/BBFC initiative in the reduction of fees for pre-school programming. Any reduction of costs in the present climate is welcomed. However we struggle to understand why pre-school content broadcast on CBeebies or Milkshake isn’t exempt from classification. Certification was introduced to restrict/control access to violent and sexual material, none of which, is ever going to appear in an episode of In the Night Garden or Milkshake’s Brand New Besties.”
And now we’re in Q4, the releases are coming thick and fast – Pirates Of The Caribbean last week, Wonder Woman this week and, following hot on their heels as if it was some form of high speed chase, the latest Fast & Furious is on its way too. So we thought we’d get an update on the digital sector and how it’s doing as the blockbuster releases start coming in thick and fast (as one retailer said to us recently, the best thing about this Q4 is that between now and Christmas it feels like there’s something big coming out every week). So here then, is Rakuten TV’s Simon Homent on the state of play. He said: “We have seen outstanding results with Wonder Woman so far. The genre works very well for us, especially in ownership, so we invested in a big push for the release in the digital window and the result was very positive. Even after the competing release of Fast & Furious 8, Wonder Woman has held up exceptionally well. Pirates Of The Caribbean has also been a big success for us so far, proving that there is lots of life in this franchise yet. We’re really excited about how Q4 is shaping up already.”
Sticking with the digital side of the business, and it seems as if Christmas Day is the new Boxing Day. The latter has always seen both a raft of fitness titles and horror and genre fare being released for the post-Christmas market, while in recent years Christmas Day has seen a spike on online orders for Amazon. This week has seen Lionsgate, among others, announce a release for The Limehouse Golem on Boxing Day, for physical, with a digital bow coming on December 25. It makes perfect sense, as Rakuten TV’s Simon Homent explained: “We have seen in previous years that Christmas Day and Boxing Day are two of the biggest days of the year for us. We do not enjoy the same pre-Christmas gifting opportunity as our physical counterparts, the digital customer is more active on the days that they are at home, so this year we will be prepared for more record breaking days, starting from Christmas Day and carrying through into the New Year.”
And to this week’s releases and the latest DC comic book adaptation, and a film rated by many as one of the finest of its ilk thus far, Wonder Woman, has followed its theatrical success with a strong first few days on sale. It shifted some 123,000 in its first few days on release, according to the Official Charts Company’s midweek bulletin, meaning it is on course to top the chart when the full chart is revealed on Sunday. It was boosted by marketing activity that included, among other things, a promotion with ice cream specialists Chin Chin, offering a special sundae to customers on, er, Monday (they were ace by the way, you can see them here). Commenting on its week one performance, Warner md John Stanley said: “The results for Wonder Woman have been incredibly strong with all formats performing well. In particular, the collectors and high definition SKUs and our new film books. We have activity planned through to the end of October to continue to drive sales as we head towards The Justice League theatrical release in November.”
Wonder Woman may look to oust Pirates Of The Caribbean's latest adventure, Salazar’s Revenge off the top slot, but the Disney title became the fifth film from the franchise to hit the top of the Official Charts Company’s listings. As noted here previously, it included an amazing launch event which saw Disney commissioning its own tall pirate ship for not one but two trips up and down the Thames, opening Tower Bridge specifically for the vessel and creating a real buzz among influencers and press which resulted in coverage across social media and online. Those attending included Grace and Amelia Mandeville, Chai Cameron, Tomska, Twist and Pulse and Ben Charman, as well as outlets such as Reveal, Marie Claire and Culture Trip. It was part of a campaign that aimed to revive interest in the franchise and further build on the momentum created by the summer theatrical bow. Disney worked with retailers, taking in Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and HMV plus online presence with Amazon, Zavvi and Zoom. Meanwhile, there was social activity online targeting specific audiences, with AV across social media channels.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge has slipped to number two in the Official Charts Company midweeks after the arrival of Wonder Woman, and it’s Disney and Warner dominating the top five – the former has two titles as part of its promotion (Beauty And The Beast and Moana) at numbers three and four respectively, while the chart is rounded out by the original Blade Runner, drafting on the back of the Sony release of Blade Runner 2049. In terms of new entries, there’s the sixth season of Grimm at number eight, while further down the listing there’s arrivals for Cage Dive at number 29 and Doctor Foster: Seres Two at number 36…
To a venue just behind the BBC in the heart of London’s West End for an event to celebrate the fifth birthday of Altitude, the multi-talented independent which straddles the production, sales and distribution sectors, the latter in the form of its growing theatrical and home entertainment operations under the Altitude Film Entertainment banner. It was a cracking night out, with assorted stars in attendance, not least the youngsters who appear in its big London Film Festival premiere The Florida Project (see trailer link below), who have been charming their way through press and publicity interviews this week. It comes as the company unveiled plans for a feature and potential franchise based around the hugely popular Horrible Histories books and TV series, and as the company cements its distribution success, which takes in everything from this year’s big Oscar winner Moonlight through to recent hit Lady Macbeth and forthcoming ambitious home entertainment releases Rock Dog and Shot Caller. What’s more, as we noted here last week, it’s debuting a some of its mouthwatering slate at this year’s LFF, headed up by the acclaimed The Florida Project. Commenting on its first five years and the prospects ahead, the company’s Head of Distribution, Hamish Moseley said: “The team have worked exceptionally hard over the past five years to build Altitude into what it is now but we couldn’t have done it without such close collaboration from our partners across all areas of the industry; we are ever so grateful for all the support we have received and look forward to paying that off with an even more steady supply of award winning and crowd pleasing films!"
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is continuing to show its faith in our sector by inking more deals to grow its sales and distribution operation after signing one eagerly sought after deal with fledgling theatrical operator STXinternational. SPHE has unveiled a multi-year deal with the relatively new player to handle its home entertainment releases, taking in sales, marketing and distribution for STX’s impressive, and growing, slate. It will kick off in January 2018 with the release of recent theatrical hit Wind River, with further titles including another high profile release Home Again, with one of the London Film Festival biggies in the shape of the Andy Serkis-directed Breathe. Commenting on the deal, SPHE president Man Jit Singh said: “We are thrilled to be working with STX. This deal enables us to build on our formidable reputation as a leading distributor and signifies our profound understanding of the home entertainment marketplace. We look forward to exploiting our resource and expertise to bring this exceptional slate to audiences across the UK and Ireland, STXinternational president David Kosse said: “As the home entertainment business continues to evolve, this new partnership allows us to leverage our collective strengths and assets to grow our distribution business across platforms. Sony Pictures is a leader in global home entertainment, and we look forward to joining forces to bring STXinternational’s exciting slate of star-driven projects to consumers in the UK and Ireland.”
It’s been a big week for Sony Pictures elsewhere too – not least with the theatrical release of one of 2017’s most eagerly awaited titles, the Dennis Villeneuve-helmed Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic. Arriving in cinemas with a wealth of glowing reviews under its belt, as well as a distinctive marketing campaign, the film took more than £6 million at the UK box office, placing it firmly at number one with a haul almost double the usual US to UK box office formula. SPHE used the opening weekend to unveil a wealth of SKUs for the home entertainment bow due in the first quarter of 2018, including a much sought after limited edition Blu-ray set for the hardcore devotees which includes whisky glasses, alongside Steelbooks, 3D Blu-rays, double-disc Blu-rays and good old DVD too. After having seen the film ourselves over the opening weekend, we can only add, alongside the glowing notices, a comment that the film is a must-own, it will stand up to repeat viewing. SPHE’s Kate Jeremy said: “We’re delighted with the opening result. The rave five-star reviews have translated to number one at the box office and a really strong hold through the week, setting us up for a stellar Q1 release. We’re looking forward to delivering a campaign that will bring the scale of this extraordinary title to life.”
And, sticking with SPHE, the company highlighted its faith in physical by hosting a special dinner for assorted press, key retailers and others to mark the Monday October 16 release of Netflix-to-DVD and Blu-ray release The Crown. In the luxurious surroundings of St Ermin’s Hotel, St James’s Park, London, it recreated the coronation banquet from 1953 for the assorted guests. The company has already proved its chops with titles that have already enjoyed success on svod platforms – witness the success of the likes of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and House Of Cards – and the lavish affair, which drew plenty of comments and coverage across social media on the evening and beyond, will act as the perfect launchpad for the series, which charts the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Commenting on the release and event, SPHE’s Amy Sawyer said: “Monday marks the release of The Crown Season 1 on DVD and Blu-ray and we’re delighted to bring this magnificent drama to home entertainment consumers. Our ambition was to deliver a campaign fit for a queen and to generate excitement around a premium product that would not only capture the attention of non-Netflix subscribers, but make this series a must-own for Christmas. We couldn’t achieve this without fantastic support from our retail partners as well as working closely with Penguin on cross promotional activity around The Crown Official Companion book. We also secured access to on-screen talent and hosted media at an opulent, modern interpretation of the Queen’s Coronation Banquet – bringing this high-quality series to life.”
On to the London Film Festival and SPHE was busy here too, unveiling the new 4K restoration of Terry Gilliam’s first solo venture as a director, Jabberwocky. As part of its LFF screenings, Gilliam attended a sold out preview at the BFI Southbank and took part in a Q&A afterwards. It too provided the perfect platform for the launch of the title, due out as part of the prestigious Criterion Collection under SPHE’s watchful eye on November 20. At the event star Michael Palin said: “It was a chance to play a character all the way through… little did I know I was going to be beaten up, peed on. It was a very dirty time in my life … (Gilliam) tried to break me.”
With the parlous state of the independent sector, particularly when it comes to theatrical releases, coming under renewed scrutiny this week, and with continued rumblings about pvod and what should happen to windows, it’s interesting to note that one fiercely independent imprint has managed to find the formula that works for its releases and helps them when they arrive on DVD and Blu-ray. It hasn’t been releasing films at theatrical for long, but in the past two years, Manga has hit pay dirt with a number of releases, most recently In This Corner Of The World, which arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on October 23 after its theatrical release earlier this year. The Manga formula includes ingredients such as audience, opening mid-week, realistic forecasting plus a strict/targeted P&A spend, a recipe it further refined for In This Corner Of The World, which arrives on physical formats with a wealth of strong reviews. Commenting on its successes at theatrical, the company’s Andrew Hewson said: "For In This Corner of the World, it’s about reviving interest in the release with a fresh marketing campaign – the was incredibly well received across the board by critics, garnering fantastic reviews during its theatrical release. The great above the line marketing campaign perfectly complemented the PR with London Underground posters and print ads across The Guardian and Time Out, as well as a highly targeted digital spend on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and relevant re-skins. We will be looking to replicate the same level of support for home entertainment. As we are also handling the film internationally, we will oversee the DVD/Blu-ray release in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia! The film will be available on DVD, Double Play as well as a Limited Edition Blu-ray - this will be packaged in a rigid collector's box, clear o-card, selection of original character sketches, bonus booklet and more than an hour of behind the scenes on disc extras."
So how has Manga managed to achieve such a strong theatrical platform for its releases? The imprint’s close relationship with its devotees has helped. As Andre Hewson said: “It’s completely obvious, but knowing your audience is incredibly important. Who are they? How do we reach them and convince them to leave their house and pay good money to see our film at the cinema? We are lucky in the sense that we already have a very receptive and vocal inbuilt audience where we can directly talk to over 100K fans via our social media platforms, then from this initial announcement we can gauge appetite for the film and build a realistic marketing/PR campaign. We also create a dedicated booking site and use that metadata to see which cinema chains/regional locations are proving the most successful and increase screens where appropriate. In addition, another key element for In This Corner of the World was a solid PR campaign from Substance Global – it also helped that the film is outstanding and so we knew to expect fantastic reviews!"
Some new release news now, and Monday sees more biggies, not least in the shape of Fast & Furious 8, the latest in the franchise that has gone from theatrical blockbuster (and home entertainment success) to DTV releases and back again. Universal’s campaign has already kicked off, with a “heavyweight” TV push across mainstream channels, taking in spots booked during the likes of Channel 4’s Gogglebox, ITV’s Jonathan Ross show and assorted Premier League matches. There’s outdoor advertising based around commuter hubs, with further digital advertising. There’s a cross promotion with the live show from the Fast & Furious franchise, with joint PR and a Tesco initiative offering prizes. PR support has included Daily Star Online and Metro Online visiting Cuba for a press trip, with further social media support. Senior product manager Emma Sihra said: “I have loved working on such an exciting campaign for the eighth instalment of this blockbuster franchise, we have great retail support and are looking forward to a great release.”
Also due next week is Churchill, the latest take on the wartime leader, with Brian Cox in a starring role as the Prime Minister, with Miranda Richardson alongside him. Here’s Lionsgate’s Ben Grunbaum outlining the marketing behind the release. He said: “The home entertainment release of Churchill, coming to blu-ray and DVD on October 16, will focus on a targeted publicity campaign aimed at an older, ABC1 audience with partnerships including Classic British Hotels and 100 Wardour’s Street Cigar Room. On release day, Premier PR and Lionsgate will be collaborating to create a special evening for high-brow journalists to attend a whiskey and cigar evening at 100 Wardour Street’s own cigar room and bar, The Den. Journalists will have their own Churchill themed whiskey cocktails made upon arrival, using Churchill’s own brand favourite, Johnnie Walker, before taking part in a cigar tasting with a cigar sommelier. Additionally, targeted press will also be sent an engraved tumbler and bottle of Johnnie Walker whiskey on day of release, engraved with Churchill’s famous quote “we shall never surrender” to encourage social chatter to support the release. Lionsgate and Premier PR have also partnered with Classic British Hotels and The Telegraph to offer one lucky reader a two-night stay at luxury 4 start hotel, Chartwell, the much-loved home of Sir Winston Churchill, alongside a private tour of the state rooms and exhibitions, followed by afternoon tea at the Blenheim Hotel. The campaign will also be supported by features and reviews across several high-end outlets in print and online. Marketing support comes in a targeted TV, Press and online campaign.”
It’s MIPCOM next week and we note with interest that Revelation Films, a long-standing independent, is continuing to show the way forward for indies in the current state of the industry. It has developed a varied production slate and is increasingly look to sales across the board, becoming less reliant on pure DVD sales as an outlet. It’s continuing to mine its Faces Of The Underworld brand and assorted gangster-related fare, with both Irish and American Gangsters series, as well as True Gomorrah, which looks at the Italian underworld, in addition to a new series called Serial Killers, and a further production with Freddie Foreman, Gangster Number 1. Revelation is moving into other areas, custom bike building in Oil In The Blood and boxing in To Be The Champ. Theres a revival and remastering of sci-fi series Starhunter in true HD, as well as a new series of the programme, much loved by the sci-fi cognoscenti, with another feature looking at race issues in the US, White Light, rounding off the packed slate. As Revelation’s Tony Carne, a canny operator alongside long-term cohort Trevor Drane, said: “Our ability to deliver entertaining and cost-effective programming for our partners and buyers continues to see us grow our production and rights management business.”
The digital locker concept has moved a step forward in the US this week with the launch of Movies Anywhere, which sees five Hollywood studios (Disney and all its offshoots, Fox, Universal, Warner and Sony) and four online retailers (Amazon Google Play, iTunes and Vudu). It enables them to access their films purchased from the assorted companies involved and watch them wherever they like through the app and website. It offers some 7,300 movies, with a launch offer giving them five free films. “Movies Anywhere is a massive step forward for the consumer digital media experience, bringing the incredible film libraries of five studios together in a virtual one-stop movie-watching shop,” said Karin Gilford, General Manager, Movies Anywhere, who leads an independent, dedicated cross-functional team of product, technology, marketing and other professionals. “Movies Anywhere means that consumers never have to remember where they purchased a film or which device they can watch it on, because all of their eligible movies will be centralised within their Movies Anywhere library and available across platforms through the Movies Anywhere app and website and also available at their connected digital retailers. And as Movies Anywhere continues to add more studios, retailers and platforms, the entertainment possibilities are endless.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Digital ad revenue linked to infringing content was estimated at $111 million last year, the majority of which (83 percent) came from non-premium advertisers. If the industry had not taken aggressive steps to reduce piracy, those pirate site operators would have potentially earned an additional $102-$177 million in advertising revenue, depending on the breakdown of premium and non-premium advertisers.”
US operator Trustworthy Accountability Group on its efforts to cutdown on advertising on illegal download and streaming sites. AT THE MOVIES
As noted above, Blade Runner 2049 dominated in its opening weekend, taking just short of £6.1 million in its opening weekend. The Mountain Between Us, with £777,646, was the only other feature film to enter the top 10. Netflix news of the week sees it entering the world of sporting documentary cum reality series, with the announcement of a deal that will see it going behind the scenes at one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious football teams, Juventus. Juventus FC will consist of four hour long episodes and will air early in 2018. Erik Barmack, vp of international original series at Netflix says: “Netflix is the home of passionate storytelling, and there are no more passionate fans than tifosi of the bianconeri. We are excited to have unique, exclusive access to one of the most important squads in the world.” Let’s hope it’s as funny as that Liverpool one from a few years back…
As any parent knows, the best children’s books and TV series of recent years has been Horrible Histories, while the underrated feature length Bill showed that the team behind the programme can cut it on the big screen. So it’s with great excitement we see that Altitude has marked its fifth birthday (see news story above) by announcing it is making a film based around Terry Deary’s outstanding book series and the accompanying TV show. And what’s more, the company is eyeing it as a potentially lucrative children’s franchise. Altitude chairman and co-ceo Will Clarke said: ““Horrible Histories: The Movie has been a huge passion project of mine since establishing Altitude. We have been working hard with Caroline, Dom, Giles and Jessica for three years in developing this for the big screen and we are now thrilled to be moving forward into production next year. Terry’s Horrible Histories series has an incredible international footprint and offers huge opportunities for the big screen and ultimately will entertain families across the world. We very much see this as a franchise with rich and incredibly funny source material to produce further films in the series. I’m also extremely proud to have this as the first film that will prove Altitude’s strengths as a fully integrated, independent British film studio.” Moving the other way, from book to film to TV series is Paddington, as news has emerged that Studiocanal is planning a short animated series based on the loveable bear. Little more is known about the programme, but each episode will be just over 10 minutes in length… SITE OF THE WEEK
Go to about 10 minutes and 30 seconds in over here to see Dominic Sandbrook talking about video nasties, includes a PR stunt that involved sending Mary Whitehouse a copy of Cannibal Holocaust… TWEET OF THE WEEK Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun… TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Justice League tying in with the release of Wonder Woman… https://youtu.be/K11ZpbZ_r78 Talking of Wonder Woman…
And a new Star Wars too…
https://youtu.be/Q0CbN8sfihY New Stranger things trailer…
Its all in the Mind…
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