|
GUN GOES OFF
RHAPSODY MAKES MUSIC
PANTHER LEAPS IN
ART IS THE WORD
CLASH CITY ROCKERS
LIVING THE DREAM
THE STEELBOOK GAMES
DOGS HAVE MORE BITE
IT’S A YES FOR NOPE
MOUTH OPENS…
…AS OLDMAN PAYS TRIBUTE TO BFI
BFI’S CONTRACT MADE PUBLIC
ENTERING THE BADLAND…
…AND HEADING TO BENIDORM…
…THEN ON TO WHITSTABLE
POWERHOUSE’S GIANT RELEASE PLANS
PIECE OF THE ACTION
ALRIGHT ON THE NIGHT
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
It’s been a big few weeks for theatrical and home entertainment, with Top Gun Maverick marking a barnstorming week one on physical media after its excellent theatrical and digital performances. The long-awaited Tom Cruise sequel did some 100,000 units in its first week, with some 95 per cent of those coming from Blu-ray, DVD and 4K Ultra HD.
The news of Maverick’s success came as the Official Charts Company and BASE celebrated the fourth anniversary of the launch of the ground-breaking combined digital and physical Official Film Chart with a press release outlining the bestsellers in those four years. It noted: “Musical hit Bohemian Rhapsody tops the list at Number 1; the 2018 Queen biopic has racked up 1.92 million sales, made up of 1.25m physical copies (across DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD) and 662K digital downloads. Dancing in at Number 2 is the 2018 sequel Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, in tandem taking the honour of the biggest release on physical formats with 1.28 million physical copies sold in the UK across DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD.” Elsewhere, superhero films (Avengers Endgame at number three, Joker at nine and two Spider-Mans in the top 20, rule the roost, with musicals marking their renaissance too – Greatest Showman at number four, with Frozen 2, A Star Is Born and Rocketman all appearing in the top 20. And, the report further added: “Less than a year after its release in December 2021, No Time To Die makes it into the Top 5 at number five, notching a total of 1.46m sales. In 2021, Daniel Craig’s final performance as James Bond earned the title of best-selling Home Entertainment title of the year after surpassing the one million sales mark in just three weeks – across both physical and digital formats. Recently-released, critically-acclaimed sequel Top Gun: Maverick claims number 13 on the list after clocking up 879,000 sales in less than three months, and earning the title of most digitally-downloaded film to date with 766,000 of its total purchased via the format. Over the last four years, the Official Film Chart has seen 106 number ones. Of these the longest-reigning was Trolls World Tour back in the summer of 2020, which enjoyed seven weeks at the top, six of which were consecutive. The only other film to manage six consecutive weeks at Number 1 is Wonder Woman 1984.”
Big theatrical performer at the weekend was the latest from Disney in its ongoing and seemingly never-ending superhero films, with the sequel to Marvel’s Black Panther, Wakanda Forever. And given the acclaim that matched the first outing featuring the titular hero from the African state, it has stormed into cinemas, taking more than in its opening frame. This puts it as easily one of the year’s biggest three-day openings, its worldwide total makes it the second biggest of the year, behind another Marvel flick, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. It took $180 million in the US, with a total global haul outside of America of $150 million, giving it a $330 million total.
It’s been a sterling year for horror, as any genre fan will tell you, but it’s not just in terms of quality either – some of the year’s big commercial successes have come from the scarier end of the spectrum. Take, if you will, the example of the current success of box office breakout Smile, from Paramount, and, recently at both theatrical and notably home entertainment, Signature’s gore-soaked horror sequel Terrifier 2. The film recently appeared nearly atop the Official Film Chart and has been a huge home entertainment hit across physical and digital formats. Comments on its success came from the company’s Cliff Green, who said: “We are delighted by the response to Art the Clown’s return to the UK market in Terrifier 2. We had every faith that the follow up to Terrifier and the creative team behind it would deliver! Thanks to explosive coverage online and offline; the word of mouth has set Terrifier to become one of our biggest genre franchise releases to date and a new slasher icon in the making. Selling more than 4,000 physical units week one and becoming the most downloaded film of release week, there’s no stopping Art the clown.”
Another recent strong performer and success worth noting is the latest from the wrestling world and the WWE, the premiere sports entertainment organisation, via, as ever, Fremantle. For following hot on the heels of the summer success for the latest Wrestlemania release. Its Clash At The Castle, highlighting the biggest grappling event to take place in the UK for some years, has been lurking around the upper echelons of the charts like some menacing wrestler since its release at the end of October. It’s approaching the kind of numbers that Wrestlemania does annually, no mean feat seeing as that’s been the star of the WWE calendar for many years. Fremantle’s grappling guru Ken Law said: “We are delighted with the week one performance of CLASH AT THE CASTLE. Being the first stadium live event staged by WWE in the UK for 30 years, it has really resonated with British fans and they’ve come in for it in numbers. WRESTLEMANIA is our biggest, flagship WWE release of the year but CLASH AT THE CASTLE has run it close and, with the huge success of the event, we’re very hopeful WWE will be staging a massive stadium live event every year in the UK which will become the mainstay of our Q4 line ups.”
Also performing well at the box office as we speak – going not just by the numbers, but also by the screening we were at at the weekend, where silver surfers and an older audience packed out our local indie – is Lionsgate’s excellent Living, which features Bill Nighy in a award-worthy turn and has been further boosted by the star’s support and some excellent marketing. (Although, it must be noted, that due to the floods of tears, we couldn’t see too much after the film had finished, such is its power.) It’s not due on home entertainment formats for a while, but the company has certainly laid the groundwork for a hugely successful release across all formats. Commenting on the title, the company’s Olivia Dean said; “We’re absolutely delighted with the success of Living’s theatrical launch. The positive word of mouth has been unmissable, with audiences praising the film’s fantastic performances – heralded by a ‘career-best’ from Bill Nighy, and supported by an ‘effervescent’ Aimee Lou Wood, plus Alex Sharp and Tom Burke. Based on Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru , the screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro and direction from Oliver Hermanus have created a true gem. The film is nearing £2m at cinemas, and as awards season approaches, we’re very much looking forward to bringing Living to audiences at home on DVD, Blu-ray and digital formats next year.”
Meanwhile, in stores on Monday November 14 is the first in. few classic releases from Lionsgate for home viewers, offering up both Steelbook and, a week later, Steelbook and 4k UHD options for classic titles from its catalogue. Comment came from the company’s Kirsten Sweeney, who said: “We’re proud to be releasing The Hunger Games: The Ultimate Steelbook Collection for the UK market [on Monday November 14]. The collection contains all four films from the franchise, packaged in beautifully designed artwork from top artists Flore Maquin, Ise Ananphada, Alice X. Zhang, Tula Lotay, Paige Reynolds, Aracely Muñoz, Gemma O’Brien, Lauren Hom, Meni Chatzipanagiotou and Gia Graham. The collection provides the perfect opportunity for viewers to return to Panem whilst awaiting the release of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” Continuing on to November 21’s big release from its catalogue, Lionsgate’s Kirsten Sweeney said: “We’re also celebrating the UHD release of modern classic Reservoir Dogs with a limited edition Steelbook. The debut feature from the legendary director Quentin Tarantino has been remastered in 4K and this Steelbook provides fans with the first opportunity for fans to see the film in Ultra High Definition format. The Steelbook also features brand new artwork – including a transparent slipcase which pays homage to one of the film’s most memorable scenes…”
Monday’s biggest release was almost certainly Universal’s Nope, the latest from comic actor turned spooky directing powerhouse Jordan Peele. It’s another corker too, following hot on the heels of Get Out and Us and starring homegrown hero Daniel Kaluuya. Comment on the release and the support behind it comes from Universal marketing manager Jasmine Brown, who said: “Nope descended into homes across EMEA at the end of October on home entertainment. Our campaign came in strong with social heavy execution, boasting the thrill and terror of Nope with exhilarating, edge of your seats creative. Running across Instagram and TikTok for Pre Order, EST and Joint Vod/PH driving a call to action encouraging audiences to buy, own and rent now. Activity across YouTube in the UK for both Joint and Physical soon to go live will give encourage to rent or buy with a sneak peak of behind the scenes footage. Our EST and pre-release PH campaign has also delved into hard to reach audiences with a influencer campaign in partnership with Meta, working with talent to create fresh creative to add that little extra to the campaign. Going live mid-November for VOD and PH we have an additional four influencer campaigns to push more excitement for its release, and one for VOD in France in December, ensuring we capture audience’s attention and highlighting how truly epic Nope is.”
Not content with last month rounding out the latest London Film Festival, the BFI has been ridiculously busy going into the final quarter, with a raft of releases too. Among its chief LFF wares on display was recent acquisition Enys Men, the sophomore feature from Bait director Mark Jenkin, which is due via the organisation at theatrical and home entertainment in 2023. The LFF also gave it a theatrical curtain-raiser for its restored and weighty Blu-ray release of Gary Oldman’s classic directorial debut Nil By Mouth. Commenting on its recent activity, the BFI’s Phil Roberts said: “It was a really busy London Film Festival for BFI Distribution this year, with seven releases across the programme. All of which will be coming soon to Blu-ray / Digital. Highlights included the UK premiere of Enys Men, the highly anticipated follow-up to Mark Jenkin’s Bait which is another Made in Cornwall modern cult classic, and the new 4K remaster of Nil By Mouth which featured a memorable on-stage interview with stars Ray Winstone and Charlie Creed-Miles. Nil By Mouth director Gary Oldman is also in the UK this week to support the re-release, before it comes out on Blu-ray in early-December.
Oldman’s support, as noted above, even extended to not just praising the BFI for its restoration work, but also that of the company’s Ben Stoddart, who oversaw the deluxe release and raft of extras included with it. You can see the full Oldman interview here and Stoddart said: “it’s been a real personal pleasure to produce the BFI’s new 2-disc Blu-ray of Gary Oldman’s Nil by Mouth. Whilst an undoubtedly tough watch, the film is a startling piece of work and even more so when you consider it was Oldman’s debut as a writer and director. The film is currently back on the big screen in selected cinemas and the Blu-ray will be released on December 5. My thanks must go to Gary Oldman, his wife Gisele and producer Douglas Urbanski for all their help and generosity. I’m really pleased with all of the extras we’ve managed to include and getting to meet Gary, Ray Winstone and Charlie Creed-Miles was a pretty amazing bonus.”
Monday November 14 saw the BFI release another title remastered by its acclaimed BFI National Archive, from the mind of Peter Greenaway. Ben Stoddart, again, said: “Monday saw the sees the release of Peter Greenaway’s much loved film The Draughtsman’s Contract on two-disc Blu-ray. Newly remastered by the BFI National Archive, it’s looking better than ever and this limited edition release includes a host of extras including The Greenaway Alphabet, Saskia Boddeke’s deeply personal portrait of her husband, his art and his relationship with his daughter. The BFI has had a long relationship with Greenaway’s work and it’s great to finally upgrade this film to Blu-ray.”
Also out and in stores this week is the latest from indie Lightbulb, with Badland offering up Western excitement starring the likes of Bruce Dern and Mira Sorvino alongside James Russo and old video favourites Tony Todd and Jeff Fahey. Commenting on the release, the company’s Matthew Kreuzer said: “We are very excited to be bringing this all-star, action-packed, Western to retail shelves from Monday. Elevation has pulled out all the stops in brokering fantastic retail support from Morrisons, ASDA and HMV.”
And another independent label run by a familiar face from the industry across many years comes in the shape of Tom Stewart and Parkland Entertainment, releasing its latest release from Timothy Spall in the shape of It Snows In Benidorm. Stewart outlined the film and Spall’s pedigree, as well as running through more activity from the indie this week. He said: "After releasing The Last Bus in 2021, we’re followed up with another Timothy Spall Theatrical at the end of this summer, achieving around £150,000 Box office. We sold over 10,000 DVDs of The Last Bus so we hope to follow that road and have strong support on more than eight digital platforms. Tuesday night saw our UK Premier of CHARLOTTE at the Curzon Mayfair with stars Keira Knightley and Jim Broadbent is attendance. Supporting this year’s Jewish Film Festival in a Gala spot, we then will move onto its theatrical on December 9 and Home Entertainment on January 23.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzskr3rr7xE Another biggie for this week and testament to the wonderful Whitstable, a place we’ve stayed in more than a few times, is Whitstable Pearl has landed on physical formats following its success on Acorn’s excellent Acorn TV streaming service. The company’s Helen Squire said: “We’re very excited to bring on of our biggest SVOD hits from Acorn TV to DVD and EST. This popular Acorn Original series stars Kerry Godliman as restauranteur turned private detective. Series 1 launched today and Series 2 premieres on Acorn TV on November 28. It’s a great opportunity to wrap our two campaigns together with Kerry and the rest of the cast, including Frances Barber, Robert Webb and Stephanie Beecham, taking part in multiple interviews with press outlets courtesy of Aim Publicity.”
Forthcoming release news and the boutique labels are already looking forward to 2023, with the latest to unveil its first announcements for the next year is Powerhouse Films and its Indicator series, announcing its titles for January. Here’s the company’s Sam Dunn to talk us through its titles for the first month of the next year. He said: “As we put the finishing touches to our last releases of 2022 (including our most ambitious project to date: the career-spanning, 10-disc, 26-film Blu-ray box set Magic, Myth & Mutilation: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J Murphy, 1967–2015), we turn our attention to 2023. First out of the gate are UK premiere Blu-rays of four American films from the late-sixties and early seventies: John Huston's inventive biopic Freud, starring Montgomery Clift; the Marlon Brando thriller The Night of the Following Day; the elegiac western Death of a Gunfighter, starring Richard Widmark; and the eccentric George C Scott–Joanne Woodward comedy They Might Be Giants. Each of these brilliant films is presented with extensive new and archival extra features, and comes packaged with a limited edition-exclusive booklet that includes newly commissioned essays and archival reprints."
To the Cineworld in Leicester Square for the latest release from our friends at the recently acquired Anime Ltd company. And of course, given the whole company’s ethos, it’s an anime title, One Piece Red. The company launched the title at cinemas on Friday November 4, with fireworks coming in the form of a £500,000-plus box office haul for the title. It was launched with a giant piece of promotional activity at Kings cross station featuring huge props from the film, while our correspondent was at the West End premiere and was hugely impressed not just by the film itself, but by the turnout and stars on show too. And the film’s success has rewarded Anime Ltd’s faith in it, paying off in big box office receipts – £500,000 in its opening weekend – ahead of its home entertainment bow. The company’s Andrew Partridge told The Raygun: ""We're extremely pleased to see One Piece Film RED cross the half million mark in the first weekend! The prominence of PLF in the screenings was especially heartwarming to see and we hope fans get a chance to see the film as it deserves to be seen - on the big screen."
We’ll end with news from BASE, which has launched a weekly promotion across digital retail channels offering up cheap films on Thursdays, the kind of activity that mirrors the popular Meerkat and other cinema promotions. The promotion, called One Night Only, sees each raft of offers for cheap downloads of big, big films for just 24 hours and kicked off on November 3. Participating retailers include Apple TV App, BT TV Store, CHILI, Sky Store and the Virgin Media Store with distributors involved taking in BBC Studios, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Spirit Entertainment, Studiocanal and Warner Bros Discovery. Liz Bales, Chief Executive at BASE said: “We’re excited to be launching ‘One Night Only’ as a bold promotion driving a fresh phase of growth for the industry. We wanted to create something that felt not only compelling and unique for consumers, but for distributors and retailers too, to help reinforce the value, ease and importance of home entertainment in a distinctive way that benefits all parties involved. The promotion offers a fresh opportunity to engage audiences, encouraging them to return to stores on a weekly basis to check out a new selection of fantastic titles. We are incredibly excited by the breadth of the participants at the launch of the campaign, and hope to see even more
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Sticking the knives in…
0-100 in 90 minutes
Coming out of the dungeon next year…
You may think you know it, but you don’t…
Due from Signature
Wick’s the way to do it…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
You're on The Raygun newsletter mailing list, which has been running for eight years, because you requested it, have been recommended to us or sent us emails. You can unsubscribe at any time, if you're daft, using the link elsewhere or by emailing as below. But of course, you don't want to do that, do you? We don't share your information with anyone else, we don't like cookies and we're the good guys. We care because you do…
To subscribe to The Raygun newsletter, please email info@theraygun.co.uk
with subscribe in the subject matter
To unsubscribe, email info@theraygun.co.uk with unsubscribe in the subject
line
For editorial or advertising queries, contact tim@theraygun.co.uk
The Raygun
7 Lightcliffe Road
London N13 5HD
|
 | Powered by YMLP.com | |
| | ||
