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BOND TO THE RESCUE
NO TIME TO DIE THE YEAR'S BIGGEST
EXPERTS OPTIMISTIC FOR 2022
4K GROWS AS CONSUMERS GO FOR ULTRA HD
WARNER IS TOP DISTRIBUTOR IN 2021
SONY: “CONSUMER APPETITE AS STRONG AS EVER”
“DVD, BLU-RAY STILL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY”
2022 MAY BE THE “BIGGEST AND BEST YEAR EVER”
ERA: CRISIS AMPLIFIED TRENDS, RENEWED GROWTH IN 2022
VIDEO, MUSIC, GAMES WORTH NEARLY £10BN
ORIGINAL DUNE “A SPECIAL KIND OF BEAST
SOUVENIR A GIFT FOR 2022
OC RAISES CHARITY CASH
HITCHING A RIDE
WORLDS APART
UNIVERSAL’S KOOKY START TO THE YEAR
RESCUE MISSION LAUNCHED
DON’T SLUMBER ON THIS ONE
CASTLE FOR KEEPS
DAZZLER LOOKS AHEAD
CODE RED FOR DISNEY+ DEBUT
THE BOYS ARE BACK, AGAIN
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
It was a good week for… No Time To Die, the year's biggest…
It was a bad week for… Physical sales down in 2021, althoughj public still like to own…
With No Time To Die providing the perfect turbocharged boost to the end of 2021, the market figures for the past 12 months were announced as the industry returned to work in the New Year, showing a growth in the overall home entertainment market for the year just gone. And while there were some declines across elements of the business, there are still encouraging figures for those reading between the lines. As ever, James Bond helped with a last minute escape and, after years as a key home entertainment business driver, 007 has also showed a path forward for the business in 2022 and beyond. Trade body BASE was first to announce its figures compiled for the year, with help from the likes of the Official Charts Company, Futuresource Consulting, Omdia, and Kantar. The headlines are impressive, with BASE hailing the market’s rise to £3.7 billion in value, up 13.3 per cent year on year. The year in home entertainment mirrored that of theatrical, the full effects of cinemas being shuttered was felt by our side of the business in 2021. But the gradual reopening of cinemas and then the explosion that was the latest Bond outing helped both arms of entertainment in the second half of the year. BASE said the success of No Time To Die from its December 15 EST release through to its physical bow five says later, shows the public’s desire to watch films in different formats and on different screens, or, as the organisation put it, co-existing multi-format screen entertainment. This idea of this fits in with BASE and ERA research that shows films and TV are the public’s favourite form of entertainment – and they’ll watch across multiple channels.
No Time To Die ratcheted up numerous different records and achievements during its performance at the end of 2021. The biggest selling home entertainment title of the year, it shifted 1,148,000 units across multiple physical and digital formats. It marked the largest week one physical disc sales for a title for four years, with 621,000 units sold. It was the year’s biggest EST title too, selling 430,000 copies. And Daniel Craig scored again as it became the year’s biggest Blu-ray, with 237,000 sold, of which 15 per cent were 4K UHD, seeing it outperform the previous 4K record-holder, Avengers Endgame. Universal’s Stephanie Don told The Raygun: “What a way to end the year! We’re absolutely thrilled with the incredible result of the long-awaited No Time To Die’s home entertainment release, and we’re delighted to see it become the highest selling HE release since 2017 and the highest ever 4K release. Our colleagues and partners all did an outstanding job across the campaign, particularly keeping up with the demands on stock during such a hectic week, and we are excited to be starting the new year on such a positive note.”
BASE pointed out a few other records, such as the final week of the year which became the biggest ever week for EST in value terms, delivering just shy of £8 million in revenues, while Christmas week in itself was the single biggest combined value week for home entertainment since before the pandemic. What’s more, with Spider-Man No Way Home notching up more box office records at cinemas at the same time as this strong home ent performance, the wider industry has cause for optimism into 2022. And research from Gower Street now shows 2022 has more blockbusters – 22 – than previous years, with that screen-to-screen entertainment concept meaning dividends at every point. David Sidebottom, Principal Analyst, Entertainment, at Futuresource Consulting said: “2021 has no doubt been one of the most challenging on record for the UK home video sector, but continued consumer thirst for transactional content in 2021 was evident despite a more limited slate, with iVOD library sales growing YoY once more. The sector remains incredibly robust heading into 2022, with transactional digital video sales set to bounce back, potentially to record levels, boosted by a plethora of new movie releases.”
More figures from the BASE year-end statement, and the irresistible growth of subscription vod services slowed slightly in 2021 after its runaway success in the first throes of the pandemic – 2021 figures were up 28 per cent year-on-year, with homes averaging 2.3 subscriptions per household. There were 48 films released as premium vod and premium EST, swelling digital coffers by more than 10 per cent. There were more than 17.7 million EST transactions, with Peter Rabbit 2 second behind No Time To Die; Wonder Woman 1984 was the biggest among the 27 million-plus digital transactions that took place in the first nine months of the year. DVD and Blu-ray sales totalled 21 million units, while 4K UHD enjoyed a strong year as increasing consumers plumping for it. A number of 4K discs alongside the record-breaking No Time To Die sold more than 10,000 units each, led by the likes of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Black Widow, The Suicide Squad, Godzilla Vs Going, The Thing and The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, which delivered more than £1.3 million in revenues from its near-20,000 units sold.
As suggested by those numbers above, Warner had a sterling year, scooping the top distributor market share (and we’ll have comment and detail on the major’s annus mirabilis in 2021 and plans for the coming year in the next newsletter). Its TV shows such as Game Of Thrones and Supernatural led the way in the TV sector, while BBC Studios’ Doctor Who franchise sold more than 282,000 units. In catalogue Warner excelled again while the likes of Dune and the Indiana Jones collection also showed interest is far from waning in older, classic titles that have been lavishly repackaged and looked after.
Further comment came from across the business. Rob Marsh, BASE Chairman and Senior Vice President, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, said: “The figures released today show what we at Sony Pictures firmly believe: that despite a challenging period for the industry due to the pandemic, the consumer appetite for Film and TV remains as strong and vital as ever. Peter Rabbit 2, the film that reopened cinemas in 2021 was a huge success for us across all formats, becoming 2021’s highest grossing family title in Cinema and Home Entertainment. Venom: Let there be Carnage is having a fantastic release at Home Entertainment, and Spiderman: No Way Home has blown cinema audiences and records away with its phenomenal UK and global performance since its release in December, and we are making huge plans for its release on Home Entertainment in the first half of 2022. The spirit of collaboration and innovation that has sustained the screen industries, and the home entertainment industry in particular, through the last two years of uncertainty has resulted in an energy that is fuelling us all, to do more and be more as an industry, and it is audiences that are reaping the rewards. We are so excited for our consumers to experience the amazing slate of films and shows to come in 2022, and to continue working with BASE and our colleagues across the industry to ensure that audiences have access to the best content in the best possible ways for them.”
More comment on the year-end figures and Kevin Dersley, Co-Vice Chair, BASE and Managing Director, Elevation Sales said: “The physical market faced a challenging year, but the strength of catalogue, TV, and the continued consumer discovery of the premium Home Entertainment experience of 4K UHD and Blu-ray, served those consumers who bought over 21 million discs in 2021. With the reopening of cinemas consumers will now be able to find and enjoy their favourite new releases in stores again as well. For avid film fans and everyday high-street shoppers alike there is an ongoing and important role for DVDs and Blu-rays to play in what promises to be an exciting year of releases in 2022.” Lesley Johnson, Co-Vice Chair, BASE and Director of Home Entertainment, UK & EMEA at BBC Studios said: “Buying and owning TV titles clearly continues to appeal to UK audiences, with the demonstrable success of both new to own titles and classic shows in 2021. The accessibility of TV boxsets is great news for the 50% of viewers who admit they binge-watch most or all of their entertainment shows. In these times of national crisis, we’ve seen audiences turning to the shows they love as a sort of visual comfort food.” Jessica Goodchild, Commercial Lead, Home Entertainment UK & Ireland at The Walt Disney Company says: “As an industry, it is vital that the spirit of collaboration that not just sustained us but that has created a whole new landscape of Home Entertainment, continues. We will future-proof our category against unpredictable challenges by speaking both to the retailers (through direct and regular feedback and conversation) and to audiences and consumers, about all the amazing choices that are now available to them, through individual and cross-category campaign activity and initiatives.”
Meanwhile, closing out the BASE statement, the association’s chief executive Liz Bales predicted that 2022 might be another record year. She said: “Throughout this pandemic, entertainment at home was the refuge that many chose to take from an uncertain world, and it became clearer than perhaps ever before: audiences are the life-blood that fuels our industry. Serving audiences the content they love is driving a new, innovative world of Home Entertainment. Last year, faced with challenge, our industry was forced to adapt, but now, because of those changes, 2022 may be the biggest and best year for Home Entertainment ever.”
ERA’s figures, released just after those from BASE, showed the problems in the physical sector, but said that some big falls in notably DVD – down 39 per cent compared to last year and more than half of what they were pre-pandemic – were partly down to less theatrical titles coming through. Bond’s sales were, the retail trade body noted, three times that its nearest physical sales rival, the second Peter Rabbit film. ERA chief Kim Bayley said: ““Crises tend to amplify existing trends and the coronavirus pandemic has clearly been a significant factor in the explosive growth of video streaming and precipitous decline of disc sales. On the positive side, however, the reopening of cinemas and the significant backlog of Hollywood blockbusters means we can expect renewed growth in ownership formats in 2022.”
ERA further noted the huge streaming success – up more than eight per cent compared with 2020 and more than 35 per cent on pre-Coronavirus 2019. It showed, ERA said, that the 2020 pandemic-inspired streaming boom was not a one-off. Overall, the entertainment market was worth a record £9.76 billion, up 4.6 per cent year on year. Interestingly, physical music sales grew for the first time in 20 years, up 7.3 per cent. ERA’s Kim Bayley said: ““The entire sector was braced for revenues to settle down in 2021 after 2020 grew an astonishing 18.7%, but growth continued – for the ninth successive year. Strikingly this growth is increasingly independent of new release activity; the vast majority of this growth being driven by digital services making entertainment more accessible and convenient than ever before. If we can repeat this success in 2022, the UK entertainment market will exceed £10bn for the first time. “The return of physical music sales to growth a full two decades since they started to decline is nothing short of a miracle. It is a testament more than anything to the doggedness and resilience of physical retailers, led by the indies, who have driven the vinyl revival in the face of some initial scepticism.”
Beyond the comprehensive year-end BASE and ERA statements, we spoke to a few industry insiders about their views on the year ahead, both in terms of product and more, as well as looking back to the past 12 months. Arrow’s success with the original Dune was highlighted in the BASE statement and the company’s Fran Simeoni said: “We are delighted with the success of DUNE, we’ve long thought it a special film and regardless of the Villeneuve adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic opus would have been planning it at some point but these factors surely contributed to the desire to see the film again among a wider audience but it was a special kind of storm that I think propelled it so high and indeed for the industry as a whole. With people stuck at home and so many delayed releases a lot of people have turned to classic home entertainment and it’s testament to the brilliant industry we have in the UK with so many labels doing excellent work I think we won over a lot of new fans who have become collectors over the last two years. As people have realised the incredible quality that is available with a catalogue purchase, be it high quality restorations, deluxe packaging, enticing extras like booklets and so on it helps to instil an addiction in fans that sees them returning over and over. Dune though was a special kind of beast that really sets the fires burning among fans as we really went all out with the package with a couple of variants featuring newly designed artwork and classic original artwork options, a SteelBook with rigid packaging, two booklets and more, gorgeously designed. This kind of choice I think really helped to inspire consumers and give them the kind of product options you don’t see that often, coupled with a loaded disc of brand new 4K restoration, loads of extras and a strong awareness campaign from our marketing team allowed the title to hit a very big audience.”
For independent distributor (and exhibitor) Picturehouse, with the former, Picturehouse Entertainment, boasting one of the films rated as the best of 2021 by critics and experts, The Souvenir Part II. The film was voted as Sight & Sound’s best of the year, one of the most prestigious year-end polls, and appeared in scores of top 10s. It’s a key title for the company in 2022, due at cinemas next month. Commenting on the year ahead for Picturehouse Entertainment, Director of Marketing and Distribution Sara Frain said "Despite all the current challenges, we've got a really exciting year ahead. We're kicking off January with three acclaimed Home Entertainment releases in the shape of Herself on the 17th, followed by The Nest on 24th and Never Gonna Snow Again on the 31st. With theatrical in mind, we follow these with the much anticipated release of Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir Part II which will be arriving in cinemas on February 4 – it's a superlative piece of work that looks truly stunning on the big screen. Looking further ahead, our mix of releases for 2022 are certainly as diverse as they are brilliant; they include Harry Wootliff's new film True Things starring Ruth Wilson and Tom Burke, the gripping Welsh language horror film The Feast from Lee Haven Jones, Gasper Noe's phenomenal new work Vortex alongside exceptional (and it would be no understatement to say important and thought-provoking) new films later in the year such as Panah Panahi's Hit The Road, Audrey Diwan's Happening and Justin Kurzel's Nitram. We look forward to welcoming audiences back to cinema.”
The recently formed OC Group, covering the long-time, now-merged, successful agencies OC and Zero Degrees West has also offered up its views on the past year and looked ahead. The company’s design work featured on some of the year’s most acclaimed – and successful – titles and the company’s Alex Carter said: “‘It’s been heartening to see the lift across the entertainment industry during the final months of 2021 and gives us all hope for the exciting year ahead. For OC Group, we ended our fantastic year by once again running our successful Gift & Give initiative. It offers our client partners the opportunity to allow us to donate to charities on their behalf and this year raised an impressive £3600 to be split equally across both our supported charities, Medicinema and Film & TV Charity – we can’t thank our clients enough for helping us donate to these wonderful organisations.”
On to other news and the New Year brought a new announcement from our old chums over at Second Sight that will have Blu-ray collectors and genre fans positively salivating, as it represents, at last, an all-singing, all-dancing Blu-ray release for a genre favourite and one that turns up anytime labels ask consumers what films they’d like to see released in remastered, deluxe form. The Hitcher, the Rutger Hauer and C Thomas Howell starrer that was a huge hit in the VHS era, thanks to its perfect rental potential and has been on wants lists for boutique labels and Blu-ray specialists for some time, particularly in 4K form. Now Second Sight has confirmed that it has worked with Warner to finally find a negative of the film, and the whole process of making it shipshape and shiny has begun with a view to a future release. Commenting on the news, Second Sight’s Chris Holden said: “When we originally mentioned this release last year there was huge excitement, even though we made clear there were sadly no elements available to create a 4K release and it would just be a Blu-ray from an existing master. We didn’t give up the hunt however and finally tracked down the original negative in the Warner archive. After a few months of correspondence we have been able to agree access and will be working on a new 4K restoration. Director Robert Harmon and writer Eric Red have been great in supporting the release already and were very happy indeed to hear the news. The social media posts announcing this have been met with the kind of response we saw when we first announced Dawn of the Dead so we’re expecting big things for this one!”
Monday January 10 sees the first two 2022 Blu-ray releases from one of our favourite small but perfectly formed independent imprints, Anti-Worlds. The label has, over a series of special titles, made a name for itself as offering completely out there titles, ranging from last year’s marvellously titled twisted S&M tale Dogs Don’t Wear Pants and the BBFC bothering Isabella Eklof’s shocking indie film Holiday from the previous year, as well as the Bill Drummond film Best Before Death, one of the our favourite films and most comprehensive release packages of recent years. It’s marking its second birthday as a Blu-ray label with a further two releases due on January 10. These are Patrick, the only film in the world that has the following imdb synopsis: “a bereaved nudist campsite handyman finds himself on an existential quest as he attempts to recover his missing favourite hammer”; alongside Infinite Football, a Romanian film looking at a new way of playing football. The company has also announced a further spring release with a lavish Blu-ray release for the excellent Days Of The Bagnold Summer, the directorial debut of Friday Night Dinner and The Inbetweeeners about the growing pains of a teenage boy, complete with a wealth of extras. If that wasn’t enough, it has also announced a further two acquisitions for theatrical and then home ent release in the shape of psychedelic sci-fi film After Blue and part-satire and part-horror Bloody Oranges. Commenting on the activity, Anti-Worlds’ Andy Starke said: ““Our two new releases really highlight the Anti-Worlds ethos… deep dives into films that appear one thing and become another. I hope viewers get as much out of the presentations and we did … a double bill of existentialism… whether it be based on football or naturism-we all have common ground thinking about our place in the world…”
Monday releases now and leading the pack on January 10 is the latest saga from creepy and kooky horror family The Addams Family, returning in their second animated outing courtesy of Universal. Jess Keegan, senior product manager at the major said: “’They’re creepy, they’re kooky and in this sequel to the 2018 smash hit animated reimagining, The Addams Family are back again and hitting the road on the holiday of a lifetime, because even a family who relish misery as much as the Addams do need a break from time to time! Following its spook-tacular performance at the box office back in October, we’ll be encouraging fans to take a trip with the Addams Family, targeting parents and kids with our campaign which plays on topical themes of January Blues and booking a much needed summer holiday across VOD and social!’
The whole world was gripped by the Thai kids who got lost in a cave back in a pre-pandemic 2018 and the daring attempts to rescue them from a possible dark and watery grave. And the tale of the mission to save the lads and their football coach is chronicled in The Rescue, due in stores from documentary specialist Dogwoof on Monday January 10. Commenting on the release, the company’s Nafi Gordon-Sy said: “We are incredibly excited about this release, it's one of the most gripping films of 2021. It has been a pleasure working with Nat Geo, the filmmakers (Chai and Jimmy, who we worked with previously on Oscar and BAFTA winning Free Solo) and the Cave divers themselves. On the back of incredible press reactions from the theatrical release and the recent Oscar shortlist, there's already signs that it will break out beyond documentary lovers to a wider audience . Our initial orders have increased to meet this growing demand and the DVD will be available through major retailers including Amazon, HMV and Zavvi.”
Also in stores on Monday January 10, on DVD, with the Blu-ray to follow on January 31 (the latter complete with a raft of extras, including audio commentaries, a Q&A and alternate ending) is the latest remake of a classic slice of VHS-style horror in the shape of Slumber Party Massacre. The reimagining of Roger Corman’s 1982 slasher classic sees director Danishka Esterhazy putting a very 2020s feminist spin on the teens getting offed tale without letting up on the fun, gore and inventive deaths. Commenting on the release, Matthew Kreuzer, Commercial Director at Lightbulb Film Distribution, said: “We are thrilled to be bringing this super-fun slasher to DVD and Blu-ray horror fans in the UK and Ireland in January 2022.”
Meanwhile, indie Dazzler Media kicks off a another busy year for its blend of TV and feature product with the release of Castle Falls, starring homegrown martial arts star Scott Adkins alongside biffer legend Dolph Lundgren, who both stars in and directs this action outing. Dazzler’s Paul Holland said: “I met with Dolph at the AFM in 2019 and it was clear this was a big project for him and we were really excited to get involved at am early stage. Dolph together with Scott Adkins always has the potential for an explosive on screen collaboration and this doesn't disappoint. Dolph is supporting the film, out on Monday January 10, with interviews including The Guardian and Empire.”
Dazzler Media’s Paul Holland continued to preview some of the company’s other forthcoming titles, saying: “We have a number of new TV titles launching on TV in January [more on these next week], but for now we are very excited to see the return of A Discovery Of Witches for Series 3. The highly anticipated series started last Friday on Sky Max. Also last Friday saw the launch of Monty Don's Adriatic Gardens on BBC2, whilst Martin Freeman was on Graham Norton's show promoting Dazzler's forthcoming release of Responder. Finally after a year’s break due to Covid, the biggest daytime drama of the last 10 years is back. Father Brown Series 9 hit the screen last week and is on every day this week before the physical and digital release on February 7.”
News form the world of streaming and Disney and Pixar have announced that the forthcoming feature from the animation powerhouses, Turning Red, will debut exclusively on the Disney+ subscription vod service in the spring. The title, about a nerdy teen girl who turns into a giant red panda when she gets too excited will air on the service from March 11, in a move that has been confirmed by the studio as being down to the continued delayed recovery of theatrical titles. Kareem Daniel, Chairman, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution said: ““Disney+ subscribers around the world enthusiastically embraced Pixar’s Academy Award-winning ‘Soul’ and the critically-acclaimed “Luca” when they premiered exclusively on the service and we look forward to bringing them Pixar’s next incredible feature film Turning Red. Given the delayed box office recovery, particularly for family films, flexibility remains at the core of our distribution decisions as we prioritize delivering the unparalleled content of The Walt Disney Company to audiences around the world.”
Also announced over the past seven days was the third series of arguably one of Amazon Prime Video’s finest outings, comic book adaptation The Boys. The third season of the programme will air from June 3 in the summer, with three episodes appearing on that date, with weekly instalments for the eight-part series following until the finale on July 8. It was announced this eek on the digital video series based in the world of the superhero adventure, Vought News Network (VNN). You can see it here… https://youtu.be/9UYF5FCMw8E
AT THE MOVIES
It certainly didn’t have the glitz or glamour normally associated with awards season in Hollywood, as stars eschewed the Golden Globes and controversy over the Hollywood foreign press organisation that hosts the annual event meant it was more restrained than previous years, as results were unveiled on social media. Biut the big winners will still take heart from their gongs – Netflix’s Jane Campion-helmed Western The Power Of The Dog was one of the big winners, alongside Steven Spielberg’s new take on West Side Story, with each winning three awards on the night. Succession was the big TV winner, and you can see the full results here https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees
And there, just like an unexpected sausage interrupting a school lunch to everyone’s surprise, news has emerged that Grange Hill is returning. The notorious British school drama for kids, which tackled subjects previously unheard of in a kids show, is set for a comeback, with original creator Phil Redmond back in the hot seat. The series will become a film, due in 2023, and will again focus on real issues. Redmond said: “You just go out as honestly as you can and try to reflect society as it is, try to be as truthful as you can within the bounds of fiction and do the research properly. One of the things I've always done is work with great young teams to actually deliver the vision. So we'll just take a look at the way Britain is now, and not the way policymakers would like us to think it is. We will take a realistic view of what education is like now and what that means to kids going through it."
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun…
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
This looks loads of fun…
The Fraggles are back…
Due on Disney+…
Highly recommended home ent release due from Picturehouse on January 17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbCF6Z35-W8
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
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