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“CUSTOMERS ARE RETURNING TO PHYSICAL PRODUCTS”
PHYSICAL MARKET “IMPROVING” SAY US EXPERTS
WWE SELL OFF PERIOD ENDS, FAREWELL TO WRESTLING
OLD GOLD KEEPS THE WOLVES FROM THE DOOR
"BLACK" DAY FOR RETAIL
THE EAGLE HAS LANDED
STOPMOTION MOVES IN
LIONSGATE’S KILL: A HELL OF A RIDE…
…AS COMPANY BULKS UP FOR LOVE LIES BLEEDING
BFI UNVEILS LATE SUMMER TITLES…
…POWELL’S EARLY STUFF ON THE WAY
INDICATOR GOES BACK TO GOLDEN AGE FOR SEPTEMBER
88 FILMS GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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It was a good week for… Sequels, as Inside Out 2 is now the year's biggest theatrical release, while Dune: Part Two is still topping the Official Film Chart…
It was a bad week for… Anyone wanting to buy wrestling on physical media…
We have been watching… The thrill ride that is Kill, due from Lionsgate on July 5, almost certainly the most violent film of 2024…
Physical media is dead. Long live physical media. And, it seems, the rumours of the impending death of discs has been greatly exaggerated, at least according to this excellent feature in US trade publication Media Play News. The feature starts by noting how book retailer Barnes & Noble, which boasts 600 stores in the US, is growing its range, and performing strongly, adding that other retail deals, with game and grocery retailers, as well as the likes of Walmart upping its range, mean that Best Buy pulling out of disc and Target scaling back is not damaging business as much as originally anticipated. As Barnes & Noble’s Bill Castle said: “Barnes & Noble is first and foremost a physical retailer. We are constantly reviewing our media footprint to present a selection appropriate to each store’s size and needs. We invest in our store teams and have thousands of knowledgeable booksellers who assist shoppers, take orders and locate their next favourite album or movie. So, while some studios eliminate SKUs, reduce staff and limit specific formats to select retailers, we will continue to offer a broad assortment across our more than 620 locations and online.” His colleague Crissi Bariatti added: “We have seen growth in 4K and Steelbooks and are looking to expand our assortments of both in our stores, with a full selection online.Just like with vinyl and CD. Customers are returning to physical products. Fans want to own their favourite movies or TV series and share their ‘hauls’ online and with their friends.”
And while the feature noted that SVOD services now make up 90 per cent of home entertainment spending, and disc sales are less than a tenth of what they were during the 2006 peak year, there are still signs of recovery and physical media in the shape of films and TV on disc, is potentially on course to enjoy its vinyl revival moment. The whole feature is well worth reading, but we’ll leave the final word to Eddie Cunningham, former Universal home entertainment chief in first the UK then the US, who now oversees Studio Distribution Services, the joint venture that looks after Universal and Warner’s home ent business in the US. In the feature he said: “Despite Best Buy’s premature exit from the category and Target pulling back, we remain incredibly excited about the longevity of the business. It is never a good thing to lose retail space, but both Walmart and Amazon are hugely leaning into the category and seeing even more areas of opportunity. Despite the increasing, and competing, pressures for consumers’ eyeballs with the proliferation of SVOD options, the advent of premium VOD and the general move toward digital consumption, the physical market trajectory is improving considerably, with year-over-year declines softening to around only five per cent over the past three months. Dedicated consumers are extremely aware of the many benefits of owning physical content and remain highly committed to the category. The business is solid and still has a very long runway.”
It’s not all rosy for physical media though, as, after a sell-off period, one former major player in the special interest arena has exited this week. So, farewell to the WWE on video and also to Fremantle’s home entertainment arm, as the wrestling organisation pulling out of physical media, after signing on the dotted line with Netflix, has meant the shuttering of the latter. And as well as losing a mainstay of sports on video category, which has been dominated by the WWE for many a year, it also means farewell – for the time being at least – to an industry stalwart, and close pal of The Raygun’s, Ken Law. He has overseen the WWE’s releases for 12 years, as part of a long career in the home ent. business that takes in VCI, Metrodome and more. He has spent this year overseeing the sell-off of stock and closure of the WWE’s physical media business as well as the winding down of Fremantle’s operations in this arena, which spanned feature film, TV, sport and special interest. Law said: “It truly is the end of an era. The impact of a huge global streaming deal with Netflix has brought about the premature end to physical WWE home entertainment releasing after almost 40 years. It’s very sad that it’s all over, particularly when WWE DVD and Blu-ray sales have been bucking the market trend by exhibiting growth in recent years, but it has been such a great ride with WWE these last 12 years and I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved at Fremantle. There was much more life left in the physical home entertainment sector for WWE but, sadly, it’s not to be. Times have changed, streaming is now king, but I still believe in the value of quality physical releases going forward and the continued consumer appetite for them.” Ken Law is currently weighing up opportunities for the late summer and autumn and you can contact him on 07770 380605 or via LinkedIn.
Another former Fremantle executive, Pete Kalhan, who before that was head of video at hmv, exited the home ent arm, which he oversaw, some months ago when the media giant moved to close the division. He has, as noted here recently, launched his own operation, Old Gold Media (named after his beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers’ colours). And Monday July 1, sees the label dropping another batch of classic titles via Spirit, including everything from Benny Hill to Quatermass and Men Behaving Badly to the Tomorrow People. We caught up with Kalhan to see how the new venture was going, he said: “Old Gold Media is slowly but surely getting there. There are some more great classics to come out on Monday, including Hazell Complete, Man About the House Complete, Robin’s Nest Complete, Pie in the Sky Complete, Benny Hill, Men Behaving Badly Complete and many more. With further titles to come throughout July, we’ll be up to over 60 releases by the end of next month. And there’s still loads more scheduled for the coming months. We’re aiming to have released all the key titles before the end of the year and we can then develop and build through new acquisitions next year.”
Monday July 1's biggest release is Studiocanal’s Back To Black, as the Amy Winehouse biopic lands in stores. Given the singer’s legacy, this should prove to be a must-have purchase for her army of fans, especially those who’ve lapped up vinyl editions of the same-titled album from the late chanteuse. Comment came from Studiocanal’s Will Fraser, who said: “Following a successful Home Premiere, we’re delighted that Back To Black will be releasing on physical formats on July 1. We are giving the film the release it deserves, releasing on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD, as well as offering two limited edition products for the collector’s market.”
At the opposite end of the scale, and presaging what will be a busy month for its classic catalogue titles, Studiocanal is also releasing Night Of The Eagle on Monday July 1. It’s a classic slice of homegrown horror fare, starring screen legend Peter Wyngarde as a sceptic who ends up on the wrong side of the forces of darkness after his wife attempts to use witchcraft to further his career. It’s available across Blu-ray, DVD and digital, with the former boasting art cards and a wealth of extras and additional material. Studiocanal’s Piers Slade said: “We’re very excited to be releasing this British horror gem. The brand new 4K restoration looks incredible and it’s a fantastic addition to our Cult Classics range.” Night Of The Eagle kicks off a busy month for Studiocanal’s classic arm, with July 15 seeing the eagerly awaited new restoration of Francis Ford Coppola classic The Conversation, which is returning to cinemas ahead of that date, as well as Soldier Blue, released under the Cult Classics banner. And that duo will be followed a week later by the newly announced Vintage Classic release Three Men In A Boat.
Also in stores on Monday July 1 is the latest from Acorn, with another addition to its burgeoning range of genre fare, in the shape of Stopmotion. The title is a blend of live action and stop motion and, as Acorn noted, “weaves together a unique, psychological-horror with unbelievable visuals”. The company’s Helen Squire said: “Robert Morgan won Best Director at Fantastic Fest for Stopmotion. It’s original, terrifying and his first full length movie. He’s supporting our launch with press interviews galore and we’re confident that horror fans will be snapping this one up when it launches on Monday.”
To the giant Cineworld in Leicester Square in London for a special preview screening of Lionsgate’s forthcoming release Kill – due at cinemas on July 5 – and rarely have we seen a response to a film as raucous as this. The film, slated to have the widest release ever for a Hindi film in the US, from Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, is a prime slice of action fare that recalls some of the finest of its ilk of recent years – everything from Bullet Train to The Raid by way of Train to Busan and John Wick. And given the reaction to the film from assorted influencers, tastemakers and opinion formers at the event, with whooping, hollering, cheers and applause greeting the ultraviolent action, it’s going to go down a storm at cinemas and will pick up an incredible amount of strong word of mouth on the way to its eventual home entertainment release. Moreover, it’s a very smart acquisition on the back of Lionsgate’s John Wick success and follows on the back of the success of Bollywood fare such as RRR on Netflix. As its producers Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta from Dharma Productions, and Monga and Achin Jain from Sikhya Entertainment, said in a joint statement: “It is a huge leap and moment for us to be joining hands with Lionsgate for our US and UK theatrical releases... This is a historic moment in Indian cinema and we’re elated to be creating a new milestone with our commercial Indian action thriller Kill, a never-before-seen genre film in India.” firstshowing.net noted: “This film completely blew me away, leaving me high on the adrenaline of this extraordinary battle set entirely inside a moving train. It is a whole new landmark in action cinema.”
Talking of Lionsgate, one of the the company’s more recent theatrical outings (it really is on a roll at the minute), Love Lies Bleeding, has this week had its physical media release. The title will land on DVD and Blu-ray on July 22 and, just a reminder, as we covered it here on its original theatrical release, it really is one of the year’s best and this comment from Wendy Idea review in the Observer highlights its home entertainment potential: “This is a movie that will find its people. And once it does, cult status is more or less assured.” And as former video trade press journalist Mark Kermode noted: “If Saint Maude was a slow burn portrait of loneliness and obsession with a killer's sting on its tail, this is a brilliantly visceral sucker punch of a film.” Comment on the release came from Lionsgate’s Sophie Fawcett who said: “Love Lies Bleeding releases on digital platforms on Tuesday July 2, and will release on packaged on Monday July 22. Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian, and Ed Harris star in this electric new film story which The Telegraph calls ‘hot, nasty and mouth-wateringly disreputable.” The film will be available in both DVD and BluRay formats, supported by a media campaign across Amazon and VOD.
As ever, there’s been a clutch of independents, boutique labels and more unveiling forthcoming product announcements over the past week or so (and we’ve not even got room for all of them – more next week). Chief among them was the BFI, which has announced a trio of titles due in August and September. First on the shelves will be the August release of Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru, on Blu-ray for the first time, followed in September by Michael Powell: Early Works, a two-disc set looking at the early outings from the British film legend, and the 49th release on its Flipside imprint, The Outcasts, a previously unavailable slice of Irish folk horror. On Ikiru, the BFI’s John Ramchandani, who said: “The BFI first released Ikiru on DVD back in 2003 and a Blu-ray upgrade has been much requested over the years. Recently newly restored in Japan, it’s with great pleasure that we are finally able to re-release Akira’s Kurosawa’s classic tale of a dying man’s search for meaning in his life. The film will be released as a limited edition two-disc set with stunning new artwork by Matt Needle, and featuring new and archive extras.”
Comment on the two BFI titles due in September came from the organisation’s Ben Stoddart, who said; “A new addition to the BFI's beloved Flipside label is Robert Wynne-Simmons' folk horror, The Outcasts, recently remastered by the Irish Film Institute. Completed in 1982, it was the first Irish feature film to be produced in 50 years and was soon heralded as launching a revival of the Irish film industry. We are thrilled to bring cult favourite The Outcasts back to audiences throughout UK and Ireland in October. Following our major retrospective of the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger in 2023, the BFI is delighted to be able to bring some of Powell’s earliest surviving films to Blu-ray for the first time. Released on September 16, the two-disc set will feature five films, rarely seen archive material and two newly made documentaries which will explore Michael Powell’s early work and his unmade films. The release will finally give audiences a chance to discover the formative works of a true filmmaking icon.”
Powerhouse has announced its September releases for its Indicator imprint, with a raft of four feature films from the Golden Age of Hollywood, all featuring a raft of big names on both sides of the camera, taking in Fritz Lang directing You And Me; When Tomorrow Comes, starring Love Affair’s Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer in a James M Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice) adaptation; Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth in You’ll Never Get Rich and Marlene Dietrich and Fred MacMurray in The Lady Is Willing. Comment came from the company’s Sam Dunn who said “"It's always a pleasure to return to the ravishing films, brilliant filmmakers and legendary stars of the Classic Hollywood era, and our latest editions boast a veritable who's who of such celebrated cinematic talent, including directors Fritz Lang, John M Stahl, and Mitchell Leisen, and actors Sylvia Sidney, George Raft, Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich, and Fred MacMurray. In addition to the films themselves – each of which is a truly unmissable delight, and, judging by customer reactions, we're far from alone in thinking that – these limited editions contain hugely informative, newly commissioned commentaries, insightful appreciations, an array of rare and fascinating archival extras, and extensive, fully illustrated booklets. Simply put – this is the stuff of dreams for fans of great Hollywood cinema!"
Meanwhile, further September announcements came from 88 Films, which continues to add titles to its ever-expanding catalogue as well as further moving into the world of 4K UHD. Its slate for the month of September includes some prime 70s Eurosleaze from France in the shape of Libido: The Urge to Love – its French title is Je Suis Un Nymphomane, which is a good indication of its content – due on both DVD and Blu-ray; the legend that is Jet Li in martial arts biffer The Tai Chi Master (Blu-ray and 4K); 80s schlock with Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna collaborating alongside scream queen Barbara Crampton in HP Lovecraft adaptation From Beyond (DVD. Bl-ray and 4K); and a trio of Hong Kong titles, each on Blu-ray, in the shape of The Shadow Boxing, To Kill A Mastermind and The Golden Lotus – all due on September 9. Two weeks later, there’s Cat III sauce from Hong Kong in a three film set of Erotic Ghost Story (both DVD and Blu-ray) and a first for Magnificent Bodyguards, with the Jackie Chan title due in a deluxe limited edition set complete with Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray versions. These will be followed in October by Hong Kong Cat III title Sex And Zen, available on DVD and in a Blu-ray deluxe collector’s edition.
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
This looks ace…
More goodness from A24…
“A list containing the identity of every US spy…”
This with a long memory, will recall there used to be a label in the VHS era devoted almost entirely to Jilly Cooper adaptations…
On the way from Dazzler…
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