Theatrical Holds Steady • Has Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Put DVD, Blu-ray And 4K Ultra HD Releases On Hold?

Last week the needle moved off of the 501/502 level (where it held for a solid month) to 510 as the projected number of new theatrical releases for 2023.   This week it inched-up to 511, which is good news.

The number of top-box films ($25 million plus; $100 million plus) held at 64.

While the numbers are improvements over the past three years (pandemic-induced declines in theatrical releases), they are still well-short of the 2015-2019 averages (pre-Covid).   You would expect 750 some new theatrical rollouts with 94 hits (two top boxes).

On the theatrical front this past week, The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal Pictures) breezed to the $353 million mark and Ben Affleck’s Air (MGM, with Warner Bros. Discover handling distribution) climbed into the winner’s circle with $33.4 million in overall ticket sales during in its second week in release.

On the transition from theatres to home entertainment front, the writing/directing team of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ 65, starring Adam Driver, got a full-spread May 30 street date assignment from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment announced that July 11 will be the release date for Scream VI.

No news on the status of director James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, which remains perplexing and begs the question, what’s up with Disney these days?

With the exception of director Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania — and some repackaging of previously released material to celebrate the 100^th Anniversary of the studio — Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment seems to have put on hold all new DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD releases.  

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a Marvel Studios production, so maybe they are contractually obligated to provide home entertainment packaged media product offerings for Marvel productions … we have no way of knowing about such things.  

Consider the following things that haven’t happened.   We begin with writer/director Zach Cregger’s Barbarian, which opened theatrically on Sept. 9 of last year and pulled in $40.8 million in box office receipts.  It has yet to be released on DVD, Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD (except from “helper” sources and there have been plenty of those).   That’s unheard of … a $40 million dollar film skipped over!

And what of filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey, the latest installment in the Alien/Predator line of films?   It bypassed a summer of 2022 theatrical launch in favor of streaming.   It’s a natural for home entertainment collections and genre libraries … nothing (except “void-fillers”).

The Star War film and series franchise?   Star Wars: Mandalorian — as just one example — has three seasons under its belt, nothing from Disney.

And now delay after delay for Avatar: The Way of Water.  Domestic box office receipts of $683 million thus far and no DVD, Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD SKUs.

Of course, Disney’s Mickey Mouse “helpers” and “void-fillers” (the new terms for pirates) have feasted on this inertia by the studio … series, franchises and blockbusters all ignored or bypassed for home entertainment packaged media delivery.   Such “voids” have been filled by eager “helpers.”

Could all of this have something do with the 4,000 firings that took place on Monday, April 24 (source: Los Angeles Times)?   Maybe everything is on hold until the dust settles.  Could be.  We don’t know, but with so many important assets not being attended to, you just have to wonder … what is going on at Disney?

 

 

Mill Creek Entertainment Sets June 13 For The DVD Debut Of Writer/Director Jeffery A. Smith's Dove-Approved Southern Gospel

Mill Creek Entertainment has selected June 13 as the DVD debut date for writer/director Jeffrey A. Smith’s Dove-Approved faith-based story of hope and redemption, Southern Gospel.

The film had a limited theatrical run in March and arrives with an ARR of 95 days.  The reviews were solid and audiences responded enthusiastically, often commenting that Southern Gospel wasn’t a “cookie-cutter” faith-based tale.

Indeed, recording artist-turned-filmmaker Jeffrey A. Smith, drew heavily on his own experiences growing up — and his career in the music business — to weave his tale about Samuel Allen (Max Ehrich — four-time Emmy Award nominee for his continuing role as Fenmore Baldwin on The Young and the Restless … as Hunter May in the Under the Dome television series), the son of a widowed Pastor (played by Gary Weeks), who finds failing in the mixed messages of “organized” religion.

During the 1960s (younger version of Sam is played by Beau Hart) Sam grows up with anger, not just with what he sees as hypocrisy among the church goers and church officials, but over the blame he feels for the death of his mother.  

Without giving away too much — Southern Gospel is really a film to be seen and enjoyed — there are two critical points in the story.   First, as a teen Sam meets Julie Ledbetter (Katelyn Nacon — perhaps best known to audiences as Enid in The Walking Dead series, plus such films as Devil’s Peak, Breathing Happy), whose family life is none too pretty.

Second, Sam forms a rock band and takes to the road.   Yes, sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll all come together in a tragic accident, which proves to be something of a wake-up call for our young rebel.

These two elements will play an important part in moving the storyline along.   The production values are top-notch, the music is also an essential part of the film (soundtrack is stunning) and the message — the faith-based message — is presented with all of the blemishes and failings that are a part of life.

Be sure to put this on your must-see list in June.   On DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment on June 13.

 

 

 

Bayview Entertainment Tabs May 30 For The DVD Debut Of Breaking The Silence

Bayview Entertainment’s recent acquisition of Passion River Films will be paying its first dividend on May 30 with the DVD debut of documentary filmmakers Dara Sanandaji and Freddie Bell’s Breaking the Silence.

This intense look at the power of human brain to snap, suffer and heal … all based up the intimate life experiences of the Dara Sanandaji.   He might well be the subject, but his experiences are not unique, but rather shared by countless others.

His very personal documentary played the film festival circuit throughout 2022, with stops at such venues as the New Hope Film Festival, Awareness Film Festival, Red Rock Film Festival and other … and now makes its way to a much wider audience with the Bayview Entertainment DVD debut on May 30.

In other release news from Bayview Entertainment, writer/director Andrew Jara’s film festival award-winning sci-fi/horror thriller, The Empty Space, will be making its Blu-ray debut on May 30.

The terror and the life-defining experience lingers on for Aimee Andrews (Valerie Alene in her film debut) as she tries desperately to put her life back together after a violent home break-in and attack.   How does Aimee put it behind her when everything in her life is so claustrophobic … self-enclosed terror on a loop!!

 

 

 

 

Severin Films Preps Blu-ray Special Edition Of Alien From The Abyss For Delivery On June 27

Severin Films, with sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has tabbed June 27 as the street date for a new 4K film restoration (from the original camera negative) of director Antonio Margheriti’s 1989 sci-fi film, Alien from the Abyss (aka: Alien from the Deep).

Sure, there have been both DVD and VHS editions knocking around as early as 1990, but the source material (likely an Italian video transfer) has always been a little suspect. 

Once DVD kicked in and Margheriti’s films got the exposure they deserved — Battle of the Worlds, Castle of Blood, War of the Planets, and especially Cannibal Apocalypse (aka: Cannibals in the Streets) — it was only a matter of time before genre fans would dig deeper and discover Alien from the Abyss, his 1989 film shot in the Philippines.   Distribution in the domestic market was sketchy at best.

Severin Films has taken care of that with this new 4K transfer for this special edition Blu-ray release on June 27.

The film itself is a cousin of the Japanese kaiju creature features.   Nuclear waste or green slime or something is being dumped into a live volcano by E Chem (jeeze, what could possibly go wrong with that) and a Greenpeace team, Jane (Marina Giulia Cavalli) and her cameraman, Lee (Robert Marius), are onto them.  They are discovered and two quick things take place, Lee is able to stash the evidence and Jane is pursued into the nearby jungle by E Chem security.

She is “rescued” by a snake venom specialist by the name of Bob (Daniel Bosch).  She now has to find a way to sneak back into E Chem and get the evidence, but before she can all hell breaks loose as the slime juice has created a creature that is more or less a killing machine!   And don’t forget, that is a live volcano!!

Alien from the Abyss is great fun, and now having this new Blu-ray special edition from Severin Films makes it all the more so.   A beauty to behold.

Bonus goodies include his son’s (Edoardo Margheriti) 2013 feature-length documentary titled The Outsider: The Cinema of Antonio Margheriti, a vintage featurette titled “From the Center of the Earth” and the additional featurette titled “Son of the Outsider.”

 

 

 

 

Filmmaker Mark Polonia's Jurassic Shark 3: Seavenge On Its Way To DVD From Wild Eye Releasing On June 13

There are mega-budget theatrical blockbusters.  Those “tent pole” franchises that audiences flock to see at their local cineplex.   Mind-numbing.

Then there are those arthouse flicks that have their audiences too.  All sorts of films.  Pick your poison.

And then there are those special guilty pleasures that have absolutely no pretense about them.   Pure entertainment designed specifically for genre audiences to enjoy and have fun with … and in many ways far more enjoyable than films with twenty or thirty-times the production budget.

Such is the case with any new release from prolific filmmaker Mark Polonia.  He knows his audience and delivers the goods.

The latest, from Wild Eye Releasing — with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group — arrives on DVD this coming June 13.   This would be none other than Jurassic Shark 3: Seavenge.

Yes, the unstoppable megalodon is back and that is pretty much all you need to know.   Some might call this the third installment is a trilogy, but for Polonia fans, this is much more than that.  

He’s developed an entire sub-genre of killer-shark films … an entire film festival of mutant, flesh-munching sharks could play for a solid weekend.  Audiences might run out of popcorn before running out of shark “tales” to watch!

He started off small in 2005 with piranha, not sharks, in Razorteeth, toyed with us with his dino-flick ten years later, Jurassic Prey, and then discovered the motherlode of terror.   Sharks!!   All kinds of sharks … Sharkenstein, Land Shark, Amityville Island, Shark Encounters of the Third Kind, Virus Shark, Jurassic Shark 2: Aquapocalypse (picking up for Brett Kelly with the sequel to Jurassic Shark), Noah’s Shark, Sharkula, Doll Shark and now Jurassic Shark 3: Seavenge, with Cocaine Shark in post-production!!!

Bonus goodies include commentary from the shark master himself, writer/director Mark Polonia!

 

 

 

 

Paramount Home Entertainment Looks To July 11 For A Full Spread Home Entertainment Packaged Media Launch Of Scream VI

The directing team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are back on July 11 with the “sequel” to their 2022 successful reboot of the Scream film franchise, Scream VI.

Paramount Home Entertainment will be sending home DVD and Combo Pack editions for both the Blu-ray (with DVD) and 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) as the consumer buying options.  

The ARR is a leisurely 123 days and box office receipts were a stellar $106.8 million.   With that warm of a reception from fans, we fully expect a seventh entry in the series (not announced just yet).

The action picks up one year after the latest round of “Ghostface” killings, which saw the demise of Dewey.   This time there are dueling “Ghostface” killers, which creates all sorts of opportunities — “Ghostface” killers killing “Ghostface” killers … the mind boggles!!

As with the previous films in the franchise, Scream VI is part slasher film, part mystery.   The writing is solid and the cast member — including veterans — are fun.

Bonus goodies include commentary from the directing team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who are joined by screenwriters James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, plus an unspecified executive producer.   Also included are seven featurettes — “Death Comes to the City,” “The Faces of Death,” “More Meta than Meta,” “Bloodbath at a Bodega,” “An Apartment to Die For,” “The Night Train to Terror” and “Theater of Blood.”

 

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Fumbles May 30 Home Entertainment Packaged Media Launch Of Adam Driver's 65

Geeze, what effort does it take on the part of a studio to promote a film that they plowed over $50 million into on the production side?   The theatrical launch, as it turned out, was a ho-hum effort that didn’t achieve the opening stanza numbers projected, which means that the marketing effort wasn’t there.  

That shipped sailed, nothing you can do about it.

So, it fell to home entertainment packaged media as the next step in the process to cut into some of the red ink generated by the theatrical campaign underperforming.   After all, it is a Sam Rami-produced film, and it did manage to pull in $31.9 million in ticket sales — that creates some awareness and it has a solid pedigree, all of which is helpful.

What are we talking about?   This would be the writing and directing team of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ sci-fi thriller 65, starring Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt (In the Heights, Awake … perhaps better known as Daphne Diaz in the Stuck in the Middle sitcom series).  

We tried for confirmation twice from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, but it was just crickets.  They must be busy as the focus these days is on losing millions upon millions of dollars on streaming.   We must assume that there is little time left to push home entertainment packaged media sales (which is highly profitable).

Nevertheless, orders are being taken at multiple sites for a May 30 delivery, including confirmation (of sorts) from Ingram’s Videoeta platform.   We are going with it … a stand-alone DVD edition, plus Combo Packs for both the Blu-ray (with DVD) and 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) are being offered.

For the record, the ARR comes in at 81 days.

Bonus features appear to be limited to deleted and extended scenes, plus a trio of featurettes — “Creating the World of 65,” “Primordial Planet” and “Final Show: Concepts to Screen.”