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ERA: VIDEO OVERTAKES GAMES…
…YEARBOOK SHOWS INDIES ARE BACK
DUNE PART TWO OPENS BIG…
…DOUBLES FIRST WEEKEND OF FIRST
WONKA COMES WITH EXCLUSIVE VERSIONS
LIONSGATE IS ON SONG
POOR SHOWING IN MARCH
HEART IS TRUE
V/H/S STILL A DRAW
ARROW HEADS INTO MAY…
…AS DOES EUREKA
101’S NEW MANSION
VINDICATION FOR PICNIK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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It was a good week for…Dune Part Two opened to big numbers…
It was a bad week for… Disappearing outlets selling entertainment product is laid bare by ERA…
We’ve been watching… We're reviewing physical media for the next issue of Film Stories, covering predominantly titles due in April, get in touch if there's anything for us to look at…
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Wednesday March 6 saw ERA – the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association – unveil its yearbook for 2024, and, as ever, it is packed with useful facts and information and offers a snapshot of the video industry, where it’s at, and a wider look at entertainment in the home across video, music and games. And among the headlines across the three sectors – which saw revenues grow in total in 2023 to £11.9 billion, a rise of seven per cent – was the fact that video is now the largest of the three areas, a status it hasn’t enjoyed for 10 years. It returned to the top buoyed by the continued growth in streaming and the success of films such as Barbie (as ERA noted, “the most popular film to enjoy at home in 2023 with 770,000 retail and rental transactions”), with £4,915 million spent, a 41 per cent share, just ahead of games with 40 per cent (£4,737 million) and well ahead of music with £2,220 million and a 19 per cent share. Ten years ago, in 2014, video made up 35 per cent of the market, which shows its dominance. Much of the revenue now comes from digital, of course with digital across video, music and games now counting for 92 per cent of revenue, with physical making up a mere eight per cent. Most intriguingly, perhaps, was the return of the independent record store – with numbers up over the past decade from 339 in 2014 to 461 now. As supermarkets and multiples have fallen away – more than 7,000 were selling music in 2014, now the figure is just over 1,000, a fall of 85 per cent – indies have thrived, driven by the vinyl revival.
We’ll be spending the next few days going through the report, but in the meantime, comment on the headline news, including the came from ERA chief Kim Bayley, who said: “In an entertainment market always full of surprises, this is in a class of its own. Despite largely being run by owner managers, indies have seen off competition from some of the largest and best-funded companies in the land. Indies have found their niche and they are here to stay. Couple this with the remarkable return of HMV, now back in its Oxford Street home, and it shows that despite the overwhelming success of music streaming, many music fans remain committed to the high street physical music buying experience. It was high street stores who first identified resurgent demand for vinyl and they have succeeded in holding on to a disproportionate share.” Expect more facts and figures next week.
We spoke to box office analyst and expert Paul Ferrer about its opening frame, he said: “It was an interesting Reddit reaction to Dune Part Two’s box office – it was underwhelming for Dune, but I think it opened exactly as exactly as expected if you compare it to other grown-up sci-fi films. On Monday it took £1.02m compared to Oppenheimer’s £2.2m. The key weekend is the second weekend and how much it will drop – I’m guessing between 30-40 per cent rather than 20 per cent for Oppenheimer. In his report this week, he said: “With an ensemble cast playing across young and old, male and female audiences including Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Christopher Walken nothing has been left to chance for the film also having two huge premieres including London last week and New York this week with Zendaya getting much media coverage from the dresses she wore at both premieres. There were reports that the cast didn’t like each other during the press tour, but this could be just a way to generate more media coverage as seen with the negativity during the Don’t Worry Darling press tour all media coverage helps unless it's towards the film.” You can see regular reports at his site, http://paulferrerblog.wordpress.com
Warner’s Monday March 4 home entertainment release of Wonka on assorted formats including an array of physical SKUs, including retailer exclusives, received an unlikely spot of help thanks to the Internet sensation that was the Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow. The doomed event in Scotland became a viral sensation and source of much online mirth in the week leading up to the release, only raising further awareness of the film itself, some might suggest. Wonka landed in stores with an array of exclusives, with everything from A to Z in retail terms – Amazon had its own exclusive Steelbook take, as did, at the other end of the alphabet, Zavvi, with a 4K UHD Steelbook exclusive. Warner’s own website had a Steelbook that mirrored the sold out US Walmart version.
Meanwhile, last week’s big release, Lionsgate’s latest in The Hunger Games franchise and the first in planned prequels, is still going strong. Comment on its first week and Lionsgate’s next biggie, Anatomy Of A Fall, as well as more from the company, came from Marie-Claire Benson, who said: “Eleven years after the first DVD release, The Hunger Games is back at the top of the DVD charts. The strong home entertainment transactional performance of The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes which – along with the £18m Box Office, demonstrates the continued interest and love for the franchise. Elsewhere we’ve enjoyed great success throughout the lifecycle of Anatomy Of A Fall. The Bafta Original Screenplay win has kept the film front of mind with consumers, and with five Oscar nominations the sales will no doubt continue to be strong over the coming weeks. Equally impressive is the Miller’s Girl EST performance, with great performances from Martin Freeman and Jenna Ortega, and we’re eager to see how The Iron Claw will perform as Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson and Jeremey Allen White land on digital platforms at the end of this month.”
Talking of box office hits, one of the biggest of 2024 so far, Poor Things, has been confirmed for release on March 25 on physical formats, via, as usual with Disney product now, through Elevation Sales. And it's good to see the company pushing the title as hard as possible – it has this week sent out a press release to journalists outlining the Blu-ray and DVD, pushing the bonus content on the high definition format, which is exclusive. For the BD SKU contains a featurette entitled Possessing Beauty - The Making of Poor Things, which, as the release said: "Join Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone, cast and crew in the making of this fantastical film. Explore the costumes, makeup and prosthetics in detail. Take a tour with Willem Dafoe and see how Godwin and Bella’s home mirrors and accommodates them both." The film will arrive just two weeks after the Oscars ceremony – taking place on March 10 as if you didn't know – where it is nominated for 11 gongs, which should add to its impressive tally so far, which takes in five BAFTAs to go with its £7.2 million earnings at UK cinemas. That UK box office haul is far ahead of the usual 10 per cent of US box office ratio (it grossed more than $33 million across the Atlantic) and comes out of total global receipts of more than $104 million.
As well as Wonka, Monday March 4 also saw the arrival of the latest title given the full all-singing, all-dancing restoration treatment by Studiocanal in the shape of the Reprise version of classic Francis Ford Coppola musical One From The Heart. It arrived, as titles from the distributor often do, with a weight of reviews behind it, including a high profile notice in The Guardian, with the paper's Peter Bradshaw noting: "The film looks in some ways like a Hollywood escapist romp from the golden age, and there’s plenty to enjoy here, especially the sparkling emotional openness of Terri Garr, who is a terrific natural dancer and seems always to be dancing, even when she isn’t.” Perhaps one of the best came in The Quietus, which concluded: “One from the Heart offers more than just an enjoyable tribute to the Hollywood Golden Age musicals. Because what makes the film so misunderstood is its sincerity. Coppola risked everything on his dream to challenge the studios and revolutionise cinema. One from the Heart was that dream, and the results are fascinating and beautiful. The look is artificial, but it feels earnest. It was a full-hearted personal vision from Coppola. And 40 years on, that vision still shines, dazzles, and excites.” The film is available on four-disc 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, two-disc Blu-ray, DVD and digital SKUs.
We’ve been tracking the V/H/S horror franchise since its early days and the release of the first of the found footage-style horror from Momentum back in 2013. The Raygun got involved with the ambitious launch of the film that saw the distributor recreating an authentic rental store in east London and produced – complete with a Raygun logo – promotional VHS cassettes for the film. So it’s good to see the latest addition to the franchise, V/H/S 85, arriving on Monday in stores through Acorn, following the release of its predecessor, V/H/S 94, which landed the previous week. We’ve seen every entrant over the past decade or more and this one represents something of a return to form and is one of the best in the franchise, up there with the first two in our humble estimation, so should easily find its way into horror fans’ hearts. As Road Rash Reviews noted: “V/H/S/85 is a very enjoyable watch and by far my favourite of the franchise so far. This time around, it feels like everyone was on the same page and each one perfectly fits the brief… A great addition to the found footage genre too and well worth a watch.”
The last Friday of the month saw, as is customary, Arrow unveiling its forthcoming releases for further down the line, announcing its May titles at the end of February. And what a trio it is. From the instantly recognisable – British crime classic The Long Good Friday in a first ever 4K UHD release, complete with extras including a Making Of documentary and a commentary from director John McKenzie – to a more recent outing from a notable genre director (Guillermo del Toro) and a slightly lesser-known title that will benefit from the inclusion under Arrow’s banner. The del Toro film is a 4K UHD version of his slice of neo-gothic filmmaking in Crimson Peak, which boasts a feature-length documentary among the usual array of extras. And the trio of May titles is rounded off by the “extraordinary and haunting” Pandemonium, which features three inter-connected tales assembled by director Quarxx, offering up all sorts of supernatural and macabre goings-on in what Arrow calls “a unique cinematic blend of fantasy, drama, genre, and humour”.
Also announcing its slate for the coming month of May was Eureka, which continues to mine a rich seam of martial arts titles and more. So here, as ever, is the company’s national account manager Marcus Garwood, who said: “Yakuza, Wuxia and a political thriller are the genres rolling hot off the presses here at Eureka Entertainment this May. We start off with Ting Shan-hsi's 1976 political thriller A Queen’s Ransom (aka International Assassin)[E tan qun ying hui]. Starring George Lazenby, Angela Mao and the legendary Jimmy Wang Yu (The One-Armed Swordsman) tensions are high as Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Hong Kong for a state visit, while a band of skilled mercenaries plan her assassination. The film is available for the first time ever on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration. The package includes a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling, reversible sleeve featuring original poster artwork, plus a limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by James Oliver. Disc extras include (among many others) a brand new documentary featurette by martial artist and actor Michael Worth, brand new audio commentary on the export version by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. Wuxia next as we present via our Masters Of Cinema imprint celebrated Taiwanese filmmaker King Hu's 1975 gem The Valiant Ones [Zhong lie tu]. Starring Feng Hsu (A Touch Of Zen), Ying Bai (Hapkido) and Roy Chiao (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), the film is inspired by historical events and features several storied figures drawn from Chinese history. The Valiant Ones is a standout wuxia film produced during the dying days of the genre, as audience tastes were shifting towards more grounded kung fu cinema. The release will be available on both Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray formats from a 4K restoration. Disc extras are extensive including brand new audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival), The Life of a Lucky Stuntman – brand new interview with stuntman Billy Chan. Limited edition slipcase cover art is provided by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju), plus there is also a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Jonathan Clements.”
Eureka’s Marcus Garwood continued with the last of the company’s May titles, saying: “The genre of Yakuza rounds off the month of May as we bring the ‘King of Cult’ director Teruo Ishii's Prison Walls: Abashiri Prison I-III to our Masters Of Cinema series. Constructed in the late nineteenth century to house political prisoners, Japan’s infamous Abashiri Prison served as the inspiration for a popular and prolific run of yakuza movies released between 1965 and 1972. This release proudly presents the first three entries in this landmark series. All three films star the titan of Japanese genre cinema, Ken Takakura (The Bullet Train) and are available in this set for the first time ever on Blu-ray from brand new restorations of the original film elements by Toei. Limited edition o-card sleeve art is provided by Tony Stella. Disc extras include a brand new video appreciation by Jasper Sharp. The set is completed with a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mark Schilling.”
Another announcement came from 101 Films, which is adding to its excellent Black Label series with a wannabe video nasty which also represented the first feature from legendary horror and genre producer Charles Band’s Full Moon Features outfit, a mainstay of the video business for decades now, in the shape of Mansion Of The Doomed. The film ended up falling foul of the moral panic and outrage during the video nasties furore, and the slipcase that covers the release features the original artwork. It features a booklet with new writing on the film, On Mansion of the Doomed by filmmaker and critic Chris Alexander and The Eye is blind if the mind is absent: The legacy of ocular violence & video nasties within Mansion of the Doomed by writer Andy Marshall-Roberts. 101 Films’ Tim Scaping said: “This May we're excited to be giving gruesome exploitation shocker Mansion of the Doomed its UK Blu-ray debut. Seized and confiscated under the Obscene Publications Act in the UK during the Video Nasty panic of the 1980s, Mansion of the Doomed was the first horror film from Charles Band’s Full Moon Features, and our release features a brand new documentary on Charles' prolific career, along with a new interview with editor Harry Keramidas, who went on to work on the Back to the Future trilogy. The latest release on the 101 Films Black Label, the package also includes a booklet with new writing on the film.
Former Lionsgate president and industry stalwart Nicola Pearcey, who spent time at Disney and MGM before helping launch Lionsgate’s operation in the UK, unveiled the first big release from her new distribution arm at Picnik Entertainment. Last week saw the premiere of Vindication Swim, inspired by the first British woman to swim the channel, Mercedes Gleitze, and the physical and emotional battles she fought, beating not just the conditions, but the brickbats thrown at her by men too. It’s due at cinemas on March 8 – International Women’s Day – before a home entertainment bow later in June. The film went down a storm and the premiere was boosted in coverage by the arrival of guests such as Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood alongside wife Sally who is one of the producers on the film – see the Mail’s coverage here. Picnik Entertainment’s second release in conjunction with Belstone Pictures and Deadbeat, is comedy Swede Caroline and is part of a female friendly slate from Picnik, one of the few female-founded distributer and production outlets in the UK. Our old chum Nick Gibbs-McNeil at kidzcoolit.com said: “It’s a genuinely remarkable movie. Great story, well written. Great pace and well edited. Some wonderful performances. And beautiful cinematography. The director Elliott Hasler is definitely one to watch. I think he could be an award winner of the future – he’s a very talented young man!” Other reviews have been strong too, here’s the Guardian, which said: “An intriguing, rousing and unexpectedly complex film”. 
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Ripley, believe it or not…
Renny’s return…
Due from Signature…
Was at Disney, now at Universal…
More from Picnik (see above) …
One for the Swifties…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
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