It is always an amusement
— the German’s even have a special word for it, Schadenfreude — when a commercial filmmaker, with the track record
of Tyler Perry, seems to get so little respect from the studio that he has help
build with his numerous successful film productions.
Without any fanfare,
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has picked June 26 as the street date for DVD and
Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack editions of his latest hit film, Tyler Perry’s Acrimony,
starring Taraji P. Henson (Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her
performance as Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
as a woman who slowly becomes unhinged … homicidal!
The ARR is just 88 days
and box office receipts currently stand at a healthy $42.2 million.
The only bonus goodie included
with Tyler
Perry’s Acrimony is the featurette title “Unleashing Acrimony.”
The Schadenfreude continues with the home entertainment distribution
effort being put into the Roadside Attractions’ production of the Erwin
Brothers’ (Andrew and Jon) faith-based monster, I Can Only Imagine. Again, without any excitement or fanfare,
June 12 will be the street date for both DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack
editions.
The ARR is, like Tyler
Perry’s Acrimony, just 88 days — which could be a major factor in the
seeming lack of enthusiasm that accompanies release announcements these days from
Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Perhaps
they just can’t get all those ducks lined up in so short a window.
In any case, I Can
Only Imagine flew in under the radar theatrically with only a projected
modest opening in the $2 million to $4 million range, but when the opening
weekend dust settled over $17 million in ticket sales had been recorded. Current box office receipts stand at $81.1
million.
That level of word-of-mouth
and a non-traditional audience flocking to theatres to enjoy the story behind
Bart Miller and MercyMe’s all-time best-selling Christian hit single, “I Can
Only Imagine,” makes it all the more puzzling that so little effort is being
put behind the home entertainment launch.
There is an audience out there waiting to snap up DVD and Blu-ray copies
on June 12 and Lionsgate Home Entertainment should be out beating the
promotional drum on this one.
Indeed, as the sun went
down on Friday, May 4, Lionsgate Home Entertainment had yet to post press
releases and cover art files at the company’s online PR site for either Tyler
Perry’s Acrimony or I Can Only Imagine … titles like Spinning
Man, Frat Pack and Paws P.I. were up there. Nothing for Tyler Perry’s film and nothing
for the Roadside Attractions’ production of I Can Only Imagine.
As to bonus goodies, filmmakers
Jon and Andrew Erwin (October Baby, Woodlawn, Mom’s Night Out,
etc.) provide commentary, plus there are deleted scenes and seven featurettes —
“MercyMe: The Early Days,” “Imagine Forgiveness with Bart Millard,” “Casting I
Can Only Imagine,” “The Power of the Song,” “Creating Imagine,” “The Music of
Imagine” and “Dennis Quaid: On My Way to Heaven.”
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