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OFFICIAL CHARTS REVEALS Q1 PHYSICAL FIGURES
THE RAT RETURNS
NOSFERATU GETS IT TEETH STUCK INTO CHARTS
IT’S IN THE BAG
RISK IS FLYING INTO STORES
GET YOUR FREAKY ON
THE SWEENEY ROARS ONTO BLU-RAY…
…007 GETS A 4K MAKEOVER
RADIANCE REVEALS JULY SLATE…
…AS EUREKA UNVEILS JUNE TITLES
WAX ON, WAX OFF WITH INDUSTRY TRUST
SPOTTED OUT AND ABOUT
SUPPORT THE RAYGUN
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK 
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It was a good week for… Another hugely successful Record Store Day, where we managed to pick up at leasdt one pof the highly desirable, limited releases, and sales were, The Raygun understands, 20 per cent up year-on-year. What ERA has managed to do effectively is bring in younger and younger music fans too – congratulations to all concerned…
It was a bad week for… Hollywood, as China threatens to block some US films from release due to the ongoing trade war with the Trump administration…
We have been watching… a double biull from Dogwoof with, ahead of its Blu-ray bow, the 20th anniversary edition of seminal music doc Dig!, aka Dig! XX; and, at the cinema, One To One, the excellent John and Yoko documentary…
We’ve been noting some positive figures across theatrical and home entertainment in the first part of 2025 and the Official Charts Company has provided us with some interesting figures looking at the first quarter in home ent terms; the Q1 highlights make for predominantly positive reading. The experts at the organisation have revealed some interesting figures on the physical media front – physical new release was UP 1.5 per cent in the first quarter compared with 2024 (just over 610,000 units shifted, compared with a touch above 601,000 the previous year); Blu-ray and 4k UHD sales were up 2.5 per cent in the first three months of the year compared with 2024 (993,881 versus 969.961), although overall units sold was slightly down year-on-year (2,373,067 against 2,758,689). As for the top titles of the year so far, biggest DVD seller was Wicked, from Universal via its new arrangement with Spirit, which sold almost 40,000 copies on DVD in the first three months while the biggest Blu-ray was Gladiator II, from Paramount via Elevation, which sold more than 20,000 units. The biggest TV release was Doctor Who The Collection Season 7 from the BBC.
The ongoing issue of the scene with the rat in James Cameron’s The Abyss has reared its head again this week, with the scene once again seemingly causing controversy. It’s now more than 35 years since the film was released, and it lasts just seconds rather than minutes, but it’s amazing how problematic James Cameron’s early underwater sci-fi outing The Abyss has been in the UK. The scene involving a rat being used to show how the liquid which enables people to breathe underwater works is a thorny one because, as the BBFC oft noted over the years, it was potentially against the law. When it last surfaced, back in 2023 ahead of a potential 4k UHD release, the BBFC said: “When The Abyss was originally submitted for classification in 1989, we sought and received expert advice regarding a scene in which a man submerges a live rat in liquid. The advice stated that this scene constituted the cruel infliction of terror on an animal, and therefore contravened the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937. This Act makes it a criminal offence to exhibit in the UK any film sequence that has been ‘organised or directed in such a way as to involve the cruel infliction of pain or terror on any animal or the cruel goading of any animal to fury.’ Accordingly, the scene involving the rat has been re-edited in all versions of the film classified by us.” The editing for all subsequent releases across home entertainment formats quite clearly irked director James Cameron. It was resubmitted in 2023 for its planned 4k release, but when the BBFC came back with the same advice after once more checking with animal experts (“we advised the distributor that should The Abyss be formally submitted, changes would again be required to the scene involving the rat before the film could be legally exhibited in the UK”), Cameron blocked its release on these shores. This in turn led to complaints to the BBFC for what fans saw as blocking the release, although many are believed to have ordered the US release. And now it’s back, after our chums at Film Stories magazine noted that The Abyss was added to Disney+ – complete with the scene intact (we’ve checked and it appears to be the case). Does this mean that Disney is potentially breaking the law? Or does it merely highlight the madness of a classification system that appears to discriminate against physical media, a throwback to 40-year-old legislation for a bygone era? We’ve railed against a system that charges home entertainment companies a lot of money to classify films for physical media, but seems unconcerned about what is shown on streaming services. And although SVOD now comes under the scrutiny of OFCOM, does anyone really believe there will be ramifications for Disney+; would the Mouse House really be prosecuted for contravening a near-90 year old law? Moreover, how does Disney+ get to put something that has been refused classification in the UK on a viewing platform for UK viewers? How can online platforms put up programming with little fear of reprisal, while physical media is still punished? We’ve requested a comment from Disney and will report back.
In the meantime, OFCOM does have its own rules concerning UK-based on demand programme service (ODPS) providers, of which Disney+ is one, and these include editorial standards rules which include showing prohibited material – this covers material that has been refused a certificate by the BBFC. So in putting it on its UK service, Disney+ could be in breach of those rules. OFCOM doesn’t, however, discuss individual cases, but it could investigate if it believes a service has not followed its standards… More on this one on the coming weeks.
Spirit and its deal with Universal continues to reap dividends for partners, as this week’s Official Film Chart from Official Charts Company and BASE highlights – the title is currently second only to the premium release of current box office smash Bridget Jones Mad About The Boy, returning to the top 10 after soaring 13 places to its highest chart position yet, number two, on the back of Spirit’s physical release. Spirit’s Sarah Stanley said: "Obviously, we have had a Wicked start to 2025 and are looking to build on that with the release of Nosferatu continuing in the same vein. We are encouraged by consumer demand for the film thus far and we hope this momentum continues to grow with the remainder of Universal’s incredibly diverse 2025 slate. A big thank you to all of our retail partners and the amazing Spirit team for all their hard work on this release."
Talking of Universal, just landing on digital home entertainment is the latest from the ever-prolific Steven Soderbergh, the London-set spy thriller Black Bag, which boasts an all-star cast, headed by Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett, as a married couple who are both spies (it must be stressed that Mr and Mrs Smith this is not). The film earned more than £3 million at UK cinemas and features, as ever (and we have to point this outs he’s mates with a bunch of our mates), a fantastic score from DJ turned soundtrack composer par excellence, David Holmes. The film landed on Monday April 14, with Apple TV offering up exclusive extras, including behind the scenes featurettes and deleted scenes. Comment came from Universal’s marketing manager for the release Johanna Beaven who said; “We’re really excited to bring Black Bag to consumers on premium digital with never-before-seen bonus content. Featuring a stellar cast and edge-of-your-seat action, this spy thriller is ready to make its mark – right in your living room.”
Out on Monday from Lionsgate is Flight Risk, the Mel Gibson-directed action thriller starring Mark Wahlberg as the pilot transporting a would-be informant from the wilds of Alaska back to civilisation to testify his former mob boss. It’s a heck of a lot of fun with just the right amount of action pedigree and has all the makings of a strong home entertainment proposition. Comment on the release came from Lionsgate's Lana Camp who said: "High-stakes action thriller Flight Risk, starring Mark Wahlberg, will be released on DVD, Blu-Ray, and UHD on April 21. To support the launch, we're executing a focused media campaign aimed at reaching passionate thriller fans.”
Also from Lionsgate, in a limited theatrical release from April 18 and on digital 10 days later is one of the year’s wilder film outings, Freaky Tales, an anthology tale that is part martial arts, part horror and sci-fi and all homage to the 1980s, when it's set. It includes action in a video store, natch, alongside an appearance from, among others, the very on trend Pedro Pascal, as well as a cameo from Tom Hanks. It's oodles of fun and very much catering for genre fans and works a treat as a home viewing experience, nostalgia and all. Lionsgate’s Sophie Fawcett said: "On April 18 we release Freaky Tales in a number of select theatres across the UK. The film will play in Glasgow Film Theatre, Prince Charles, Home Manchester and Pavilion Weymouth. Then, we release the film across digital platforms on April 28 where we’ll be supporting the release with a targeted media spend that will cut through a busy marketplace.
“Get your trousers on, you’re nicked!” Yes, half a century after its made its television debut, The Sweeney is back, in sparkling, newly restored high definition as Old Gold Media, the label started by industry stalwart Pete Kalhan is releasing the original tough buddy cop series on Blu-ray. To mark its 50th anniversary, Old Gold has fully restored the entire series, and will be bringing it to the high definition format, with the first season released o June 2. It’s available in the original mono 2.0 and new 5.1 sound options, with the first release containing a raft of extras ,These includes commentaries and introductions for each episode, with original cast and crew and British cop series and The Sweeney experts among the contributors. The series changed the face of British TV police shows, moving light years away from Dixon Of Dock Green and Z-Cars into far grittier, tougher territory and it made stars of its leads, John Thaw and Dennis Waterman as top flying squad detectives Regan and Carter. The rest of the seasons will arrive throughout the year and Old Gold’s Pete Kalhan told The Raygun: “I’m so pleased that Old Gold Media can complete the work that was started by my good friend [and former Network Releasing chief] Tim Beddows (RIP), and we will finally see all four series of the newly restored The Sweeney, released on Blu-ray throughout 2025, which also happens to be it’s 50th anniversary. Many thanks to Jonathan Wood, Grant Taylor and the team at Spirit Entertainment for enabling this to happen…”
There have been some further intriguing and much-talked about catalogue items in the past week or two, with the eagerly awaited first ever 4k UHD release for classic James Bond titles going up for presale from MGM via Warner. The Daniel Craig 007 adventures have made it to the ultra high definition format, but this is the first time earlier adventures of the super-spy have made it to the format. The James Bond: Sean Connery 6-film Collection, as the name suggests, features the half dozen early Bond outings featuring Connery in the lead role, taking in Dr No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever, all in 4k and all with a raft of extras. It’s available in two versions, a standard six-film set and a premium-priced set encased in a Steenbok library case, with each of the films coming in its own Steelbook packaging too. It’s had fans salivating across social media and you can see it’s up for pre-order at hmv here. Also getting physical media fanatics all hot under the collar this week has been the announcement of a 4k UHD edition of the director’s cut of Kingdom Of Heaven. This is available in two SKUs and marks the 20th anniversary of Ridley Scott’s epic tale. Both contain three discs – one 4k disc and one Blu-ray, each containing different versions of the film alongside commentaries and introductions, and a third disc featuring further bonus content – with one coming in standard packaging and the other in a specially designed Steenbok (you can see this one here).
More from the boutique imprints and Radiance was first out of the blocks among the independents to announce its slate for July, with a raft of new releases announced. These take in the usual wealth of world cinema, as outlined by the company’s Bruno Savill De Jong, who said: “We are very pleased by the response to our July releases. Our collection of Essential Polish Animation has generated particular excitement, spotlighting the creative and form-pushing post-Soviet style of filmmakers such as Walerian Borowczyk and Jan Lenica across four decades and 27 short films - most of which are making their disc debut. Plus we have Toru Murakawa's The Beast To Die, a much-lauded underground dark thriller that is sure to appeal to fans of Japanese crime films. We have also announced the underseen gem Rosa La Rose, Fille Publique, a beautiful and tragic exploration of love on the streets of Paris, which features a 2K restoration approved by director Paul Vecchiali. This month we've also partnered with label Arbelos Films for the UK release of Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive, an early work by indie legend Wayne Wang which gleefully deconstructs its cowboy/courier genre with fierce guerilla filmmaking. This release comes with a new interview from Wayne Wang, an interview with co-writer/director Spencer Nakasako and Wang, a booklet with writing by Aliza Ma, and a limited slipcover exclusive to our website. Overall a solid batch of titles to kick off our July-December Membership subscription, which is available to order now.”
More from boutique labels and Eureka has revealed its June titles, outlined for us here, as ever, by national accounts manager Marcus Garwood, who said; “Vengeance, war and folktales are the trio of genres we are slipping onto the June barbecue for you. Shaw Brothers Studio first with a two-film set entitled Exact Revenge, featuring 1971's The Eunuch and 1972's The Deadly Knives (aka Fists of Vengeance). Written by the legendary Lo Wei (Fist of Fury) and directed by Teddy Yip (The Black Tavern) these films are two of the studio’s most interesting and underrated takes on the revenge story. The set is encased in a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju) and also contains a limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on both films in this set by writer and film critic James Oliver. Masters Of Cinema next as we present British-Chinese filmmaker Po-Chih Leong's affecting war drama masterpiece Hong Kong 1941. Winner of Best Cinematography at the 1985 Hong Kong Film Awards, the film stars Cecilia Yip (Nomad), Alex Man (Rich and Famous) and Chow Yun-fat (The Killer) in his breakout role. A story of loyalty and love, Leong’s film deals with one of the darkest periods in Hong Kong’s history. The release has a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Time Tomorrow. There is also a limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Hong Kong 1941 and Po-Chih Leong by Gary Bettinson, editor of Asian Cinema journal. Continuing our series of DEFA film releases our third film for June is 1950's folktale gem Heart Of Stone (also known as Das Kalte Herz or The Cold Heart. The first East German production to be shot in colour, it remained one of the most successful films the GDR ever produced until DEFA’s dissolution in 1992. By turns whimsical, weird and darkly macabre, Heart Of Stone is an arrestingly beautiful work of fantasy that established a template for DEFA’s future folktales – including a penchant for scenes likely to induce nightmares in children – and was swiftly followed by the likes of The Devil from Mill Mountain, The Singing Ringing Tree and Rumpelstiltskin. The release is presented for the first time in the UK from an astonishing 2K restoration by the DEFA Foundation. Its enveloped in a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring stunning atmospheric new artwork by Carly-AF. There's also a limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing. Disc extras include Once Upon a Time in the East – a new interview with Soviet cinema expert Claire Knight on Heart of Stone and children’s media in the Eastern Bloc, Tales from the Black Forest – new video essay on Heart of Stone, folktales and gothic horror by film and literature scholar Mary Going.”
The latest instalment in the long-running family action franchise Karate Kid is on the way – Karate Kid: Legends lands in cinemas on May 28 – and to mark the occasion its stars, including Jackie Chan and original Karate Kid Ralph Macchio have joined forces to encourage audiences to see the film legally at cinemas. It is, of course, the latest thrust in a campaign from the Industry Trust for IP Awareness, and airing in cinemas and online, you can see it here. Comment on the latest Industry trust spot came from Ian George, MD (UK & Ireland) of Sony Pictures Entertainment who said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Industry Trust this summer to celebrate the release of Karate Kid: Legends. We honour the many, many experts who have created a fun-for-all-the-family film, full of heart and sensational choreography. The cinema is a world of imagination and possibility, and we believe that sharing the big screen with friends and family can make every moment legendary.” Chief executive at BASE and The Industry Trust for IP Awareness Liz Bales said: “It’s great to see Karate Kid: Legends take to the ring in the latest Moments Worth Paying For campaign, reminding audiences that the big screen is the ultimate way to experience action, drama, and storytelling at its best. With the return of such a beloved franchise, and an amazing cast in Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio and Ben Wang captivating a new generation, this campaign reinforces the power of cinema in bringing people together for unforgettable moments. Thank you to Sony Pictures Entertainment for their support in making this happen, and to DCM, Pearl & Dean UK and Ireland, and members of the UK Cinema Association for their continued dedication to the big screen experience."
SPOTTED OUT AND ABOUT
 Here’s a bus highlighting this weekend’s big theatrical outing from Lionagate, the Penguin Lessons, featured in last week’s newsletter…
 Netflix has gone for gold this week with its tale of the legendary diamond heist at the Millennium Dome (now the 02 in London) The three-part docuseries, The Diamond Heist, which boasts the involvement of Guy Ritchie as co-executive producer, was launched on the streaming service this week and was supported by one of the original robbers, Lee Wenham, and some big marketing. This included a wraparound ad on The Sun newspaper and a giant billboard in Clapham, south London, featuring an actual diamond encased within it. Wenham is pictured here with the newspaper in front of the ad, which was protected by security guards and CCTV.
 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
Freaky stuff…
More Pedro Pascal…
Due from MUBI…
What’s next, 28 Decades Later?
https://youtu.be/IYGG55qwQZQ?si=ghVCoVL8r3HVbK7j
Truly, er, fantastic…
Actual horror…
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