Lionsgate Opens Q1'13 Release Campaign

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Lionsgate Home Entertainment has been busy of late in filling in its Q1’13 release calendar with a series of new product announcements for recent theatrical releases making their transition to the DVD and Blu-ray arena.

First up on Jan. 8 is the remake of the Stallone sci-fi comic book film adaptation from 1995, Judge Dredd, which has been shortened for the remake to just Dredd.

This vision of a hellish future arrives as both DVD and Blu-ray product SKUs — the Blu-ray version showcases both 3D and 2D versions of the film — that are complete with UltraViolet Digital Copy download option.  

The ARR for this January date works out to 109 days and the box office take was on the light side with just $13.4 million in ticket sales.

Bonus features common to both the DVD and Blu-ray release editions include five production featurettes, including one titled “Mega-City Masters: 35 Years of Judge Dredd.”

 Already announced and in place on Jan. 15 are DVD and Blu-ray SKUs for director Ole Bornedal’s outstanding horror chiller, The Possession.  For the record, the ARR came in at 137 days and the domestic box office was a tasty $49.1 million.

The Possession is the only theatrical release from the pre-Labor Day period grossing in excess of $25 million to be held over to Q1’13 … all others made the Christmas cut.  This was probably a smart move on the part of Lionsgate to sit on it since it is a genre flick that doesn’t really fit into the Christmas period.   

Despite the solid box gross, it is neither a blockbuster theatrical hit or for does the horror subject matter have any real significance for the holidays (Jan. 15 works just fine … nothing gained or missed by waiting a few weeks).

Perks of Being a Wallflower on Feb. 12

 The other announcement this week is the Feb. 12 DVD and Blu-ray launch of the Summit Entertainment-produced film adaptation of Stephen Chbosky’s 1999 first-person narrative novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower.   Chbosky, who is probably best known for producing and writing the apocalyptic Jericho television series, delivered the screen adaptation for his novel and also directed the film.

The ARR comes in at 144 days and the box office tally — despite solid reviews — was just so-so at $14.6 million.

Both the DVD and Blu-ray editions will include the UltraViolet Digital Copy download option.  Other bonus features include two separate commentary options — one with Stephen Chobsky going solo and the other with Chobsky and members of the cast — plus there is the featurette titled “Best Summer Ever” and deleted scenes (with optional commentary).

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report: http://www.dvdreleasereport.com/