The web was ablaze with news at the end of March that Batman
V Superman: Dawn of Justice would be released with absolute certainty
on July 16.
This is how we covered it (in part) back on March 28:
Batman v Superman: Dawn of
Justice will “definitely not” be released on Blu-ray and DVD on July
16, so says a spokesperson for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Period.
Despite stinging reviews from the
major market media critics, director Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of
Justice had an eye-popping opening weekend of over $170 million. Since Superman is bulletproof, so too is any
movie that features him … so much for the critics and their opinions.
Simultaneously with the release of
the film in theatres nationwide, Mark Hughes at Forbes (Magazine) trumpeted a
home entertainment launch on July 16 that would include an “Ultimate Cut” —
meaning an “R-rated” version — of the film.
Mark Hughes has subsequently
revised his online piece.
Link here: Forbes - Mark Hughes (Forbes - Mark Hughes)
While we suspect that future
release dates for major new theatrical releases are being inadvertently
triggered these days by VOD/HD release agreements, which trigger online
retailers — such as amazon.com — to start taking orders, we suspected that
Hughes claim of a July 16 launch date was in error (while likely to be in the
ballpark).
July 16 is a Saturday. We’re not saying that he just grabbed that
particular date out of his hat — we could accept July 12, July 15 (a Friday) or
July 19 — but unless Warner Bros. Home Entertainment had some national retail
event under wraps, which they’ve denied, a Saturday launch would be news
indeed.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment finally got around this week
with an official home entertainment release announcement for Batman
V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Director
Zack Snyder’s film WILL be released on (insert drum roll) July 19.
Hughes had the story, he just had the date wrong … and
Warner Bros. was clever enough to emphatically point out that Batman
V Superman: Dawn of Justice will “definitely not” be released on July
16 without hammering Mark Hughes or Forbes.
We suspected that it would be in July — and even speculated
on July 19 as being one of the likely candidates. We’ve had to wait through all of April and
May to get right back to where we were at the end of March. Oh well.
Planned for that mid-July release date are a double-disc DVD
edition, two separate Blu-ray/DVD Combo Packs (one with a 3D viewing option)
and a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack … four SKUs in all.
The ARR is 116 days and domestic ticket sales were in the
stratosphere at $329.4 million.
The film, as it turns out, is actually just one big
promotional reel for future Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman adventures. Batman has morphed into more than just a
crime fighter with a cool car — the Batmobile — and his gadgets galore to
become something of a superhero that can stand toe-to-toe with Superman. Superman is still vulnerable to Kryptonite.
Lex Luther, the villain of the piece, has undergone some
changes as well. This “junior” version —
played by Jesse Eisenberg — is either permanently high on sugar or somehow
related to The Joker. And then there’s
the introduction of Wonder Woman (played by Gal Gadot), who is already set for
a spinoff next summer (Wonder Woman) and as a repeating character in Warner
Bros. Thanksgiving launch next year of The Justice League … their answer to
the lucrative X-Men and Captain America franchises.
As to bonus features, the DVD SKU is the theatrical release
presentation, while the Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD selections include both the
theatrical presentation and an extended cut of the film … an additional 30
minutes of mayhem.
All four SKUs
include 11 featurettes — “Uniting the World’s Finest,” “Gods and Men: A Meeting
of Giants,” “The Warrior, The Myth, The Wonder,” “Accelerating Design: The New
Batmobile,” “Superman: Complexity & Truth,” “Batman: Austerity & Rage,”
“Wonder Woman: Grace & Power,” “Batcave: Legacy of the Lair,” “The Might
and the Power of a Punch,” “The Empire of Luthor” and “Save the Bats.”
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