Thor: The Dark World Ready For The Home Entertainment Market Place On Feb. 25

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has discovered the secret to marketing new DVD and Blu-ray releases.   Gather around and learn … you will be amazed!!!

It’s simple.  It’s eloquent.  And their stockholders must absolutely love it (along with their cheering over this year’s Razzie Award frontrunner).  The secret is: Do as little as possible … their films simply sell themselves.   They are, after all, Disney.

That’s being a little harsh, but the studio does have this tradition of believing that because they are Disney there is little that needs to be done beyond the waving of a magical wand (or would that be the Royal Wave?) when it comes to setting street dates for their products (and everything that follows after that).   

They simply slap old Walt’s name on it and their job is done.   Sales, marketing and publicity are just afterthoughts ... and they never give a whip about the competition.

The studio is in that mode right now.   Been that way for a few months.  Maybe they will wake up and snap out of it, or maybe they won’t.   So why are they sleepwalking their new product announcements right now?   The answer is simple … they are DISNEY!

The latest example in this head-in-the-clouds product launch (or, perhaps, anatomically elsewhere) is the recent theatrical hit from Marvel, Thor: The Dark World.  It is heading to the home entertainment market place as a three-SKU product offering on Feb. 25 — single-disc DVD and Blu-ray editions, plus a 3D/2D/DVD Combo Pack (which also features Digital Copy), but their PR people are giving every indication that they will not be supporting it.

For the record, the ARR is 109 days and domestic ticket sales currently stand at a hefty $202.4 million.   You would think that with that magnitude of box office success those collecting paychecks over at Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment would at least go through the motions in promoting their home entertainment releases.   

As to bonus features, in addition to a gag reel and deleted scenes, director Alan Taylor and producer Kevin Feige will be providing commentary … they are joined by cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau and actor Tom Hiddleston.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report:  DVD & Blu-ray Release Report