MVD Entertainment Group Loves Dec. 10 As The Street Date For Both DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Director Jeff Werner’s Cheerleaders’ Wild Weekend

MVD Entertainment Group looks to have some fun on Dec. 10 with the release news this week that director Jeff Werner’s 1979 sexploitation comedy flick, Cheerleaders’ Wild Weekend — teaming Alice in Wonderland’s Kristine DeBell with Flesh Gordon’s Jason Williams — will be available as both DVD and Blu-ray editions.

What do all three of these films have in common?   Tick tock.  Tick tock.  The answer is producer Bill Osco.   He scored with his two softcore hits — combining right-up-to-the edge sex action with standard film storytelling (borrowing from the Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless classic serials and Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

With these two hits, it seemed like a natural to team Jason Williams with Kristine DeBell and that’s exactly what Osco did.   The finished film had a limited theatrical release in September of 1978 as The Great American Girl Robbery (mainly because the film distribution company was running short on cash) and that might have been the end of it.

But when you have “Flesh Gordon” and “Alice” (who had re-shot hardcore scenes and was seeing a second round of action) as your stars, you just don’t throw in the towel.   Especially when you have a string of “cheerleader” movies in the ‘70s that clicked — The Swinging Cheerleaders, Revenge of the Cheerleaders, The Pom Pom Girls, Satan’s Cheerleaders, Cheerleader’s Beach Party, etc.

So The Great American Girl Robbery was re-titled and re-released as Cheerleaders’ Wild Weekend … a far superior title to be sure!

As to bonus goodies, there are two commentary options — the first with Kristine DeBell and second teaming director Jeff Werner with actor Marilyn Joi (aka: Tracy King … as “LaSalle”) and editor Gregory McClatchy.

There are also four extended video sessions with DeBell, Joi, Willams and Leon Isaac Kennedy.

Arrow Video Looks To Nov. 12 As The Street Date For A 4K Ultra HD Edition Of Director James Signorelli’s Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark

Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has tabbed Nov. 12 as the street date for the 4K Ultra HD debut of director James Signorelli’s Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, starring Cassandra Peterson as the legendary late night horror hostess in first film adventure.

Elvira is in a bind and things for her look bleak … she’s quit her horror hostess job at KSFB when the new station owner, Earl Hooter (Lee McLaughlin), starts hitting on her and her big chance to star in a Las Vegas show is about to fall through unless she can come up with $50,000 to finance the production.   Poor, poor Elvira!

But wait, her great aunt Morgana has just died and Elvira is the will.   This could be a game-changer, so off she goes to Fallwell, Massachusetts to hear the reading of the will and claim her inheritance.   Simple, right?   

If it were simple, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark would be a very short movie.   Instead, our heroine discovers that she had inherited a rundown mansion, a poodle by the name of Algonquin and little more, save an old “recipe” book that Morgana’s brother, Vincent (played by William Morgan Sheppard) — who was cut out of the will — is willing to buy for sentimental reasons.   Elvira!  Wake-up, don’t believe him … it’s a book of spells and it is the only thing between him and turning you into lord knows what!

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is great fun as a film vehicle that gives Cassandra Peterson a free reign to let her Elvira persona have fun with her natural sex appeal and in the process deliver truck loads of double entendre mischief.   Over time Elvira has become a legend … and this film fits right in with that.   Enjoy!

Bonus nuggets include an intro to the film by Signorelli, plus three vintage commentary options — one with Signorelli and Fangoria’s Tony Timpone, a second with Patterson Lunquist (webmaster of elviramistressofthedark.com) and a third teaming Cassandra Peterson with actor Edie McClurg (as Chastity Pariah) and writer John Paragon.

Also included with this 4K Ultra HD release of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is the 2018 feature-length documentary Too Macabre: The Making of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and the featurette titled “Recipe for Terror: The Creation of the Pot Monster.”

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Circles Dec. 3 On Its Physical Media Release Calendar For The 4K Ultra HD Debut Of Writer/Director Edgar Wright's Shaun Of The Dead

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has a newly-minted 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack edition of writer/director Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead — a twentieth anniversary edition at that — ready for delivery on Dec. 3.

Bonus delights begin with four — yes, count’em four — commentary options!   The first features writer/director Edgar Wright and actor/co-writer Simon Pegg, the second option is with cast members Simon Pegg (as Shaun), Nick Frost (Ed), Kate Ashfield (Liz), Lucy Davis (Dianne) and Dylan Moran (David), the next option features cast members Bill Nighy (as Philip) and Penelope Wilton (“Barbara”) and finally, the fourth commentary is by “Zombies.”

Additional bonuses include an extensive collection of outtakes and deleted scenes, the newly prepared featurette titled “Shaun of the Dead: 20 Bloody Years!,” a collection on on-set video diaries, casting tapes, make-up tests and more!!

In other release news, stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray edition, plus a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack purchasing option of the animation directing team of Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage’s Despicable Me 4 has been dropped into the Sept. 24 release slot.

The ARR works out to 81 days and the domestic box office take was a most-excellent $358 million.   The premium VOD window was launched on Aug. 6, which gave the all-too-eager “Helper” community seven full weeks to distribute their own DVD and Blu-ray editions of the film.

Bonus goodies included deleted, extended and alternate scenes, two animated short films — Benny’s Birthday and Game Over and Over — the “how to draw” tutelage and five featurettes — “The Making of Despicable Me 4,” “Despicable Dialogue,” “Meet the Cast,” “Mega Minion Mayhem” and “Rogues Gallery.”
    

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment Tabs Nov. 5 For The Distribution Of DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Director Zoë Kravtiz’s Blink Twice

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment will be guiding the Amazon MGM Studios production of actor turned filmmaker Zoë Kravtiz’s Blink Twice to the physical media marketplace on Nov. 5.

Planned for release are stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray purchasing options.

The ARR clocks in at 74 days … the domestic box office take currently stands at $22.9 million.   The premium VOD window opened on Sept. 17, which has given the “Helper” community a seven-week window to peddle their own DVD and Blu-ray editions of the film.

This devilishly clever thriller (sorry, no spoilers … but hint, think: Epstein and “Paradise Island”) arrives on DVD and Blu-ray without any bonus features … movie-only, sorry.

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Locks Into Oct.22 For The Full Spread Physical Media Launch Of Writer/Director Eli Roth's Borderlands

Lionsgate Home Entertainment will be delivering a full spread physical media package on Oct. 22 for writer/director Eli Roth’s mixed genre (sci-fi, comedy … you name it, it is here) film adaptation of the Gearbox video game franchise, Borderlands, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart and Adriana Greenblatt, with Edgar Ramirez as Atlas … and Jamie Lee Curtis.

The ARR is a relatively quick 74 days and the domestic box office take was light at just     $15.5 million.

There will be Combo Pack editions for both the 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) and Blu-ray (with DVD) formats, plus a stand-alone DVD buying option.

Bonuses include seven production featurettes — “Borderlands – From Game to Screen,” “Meet the Team,” “All Aboard the Death Choochoo,” “Bringing Borderlands to the Screen,” “Badonkadonk Time,” “Fashion and Action on Pandora” and “High Tech Hellscapes.”

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Moves Director Carlos Saldanha's Harold And The Purple Crayon From Theatrical Venues To The Physical Media Marketplace In Just 67 Days

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, when not guiding the product of a rival studio — Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment — to market, actually has a physical media release slate that belongs to them. 

To that point, both DVD and Blu-ray editions (both stand-alone) of director Carlos Saldanha’s film adaptation of Crockett Johnson’s 1955 children’s classic, Harold and the Purple Crayon, will be available on Oct. 8.

The ARR is a quick-to-market 67 days and the domestic box office take currently stands at $17.6 million.

Bonus features included on the DVD and Blu-ray editions of Harold and the Purple Crayon (which had a thirty-year odyssey from rights acquisition to the screen) are deleted and extended scenes, the Boots Ottestad and Jordy Searcy “Colors” sing-along and two featurettes — “How to Draw Harold, Porcupine and Moose” and “How Do You Spell Imagination?”

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Tabs Oct. 22 For The Full Spread Physical Media Launch Of Deadpool & Wolverine • Dec. 3 For Alien: Romulus

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, with rival studio Sony Pictures Home Entertainment handling sales and distribution, for the full-spread physical media launch of two highly collectible film franchise entries.

First up is the Oct. 22 release of director Shawn Levy’s blockbuster action/comedy Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

The ARR works out to 88 days and the domestic box office haul currently stands at an impressive $628.6 million.

Both the DVD and Blu-ray format product offerings will be stand-alone SKUs, while the 4K Ultra HD purchasing selection will be a Combo Pack release (with Blu-ray).

A premium VOD window opens up on Oct. 1, which gives the “Helper” community just 21 days to move their own Blu-ray copies of Deadpool & Wolverine to unsuspecting consumers.

Bonus goodies kickoff with commentary from director Shawn Levy (Free Guy, Night at the Museum, Date Night) and Ryan Reynolds.  There are also deleted scenes, a gag reel, some mock PSAs and four featurettes — “Finding Madonna: Making the Oner,” “Practical Approach: Celebrating the Art of Ray Chan,” “Loose Ends: The Legacy of Heroes” and “Wolverine.”

The next film franchise entry arrives on Dec. 3 and this would be writer/director Fede Alvarez’s throwback entry into the Alien sci-fi series, Alien: Romulus.

The Dec. 3 full-spread physical media launch date yields an ARR of 109 days.   Domestic box office receipts currently stand at $104.2 million (against a reported production budget of $80 million). 

Planned for distribution are stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray editions, plus a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack purchasing option.

The big negative in the rollout of Alien: Romulus is the premium VOD window that opens up on Oct. 15.   This affords the “Helper” community a full seven weeks to peddle their own Blu-ray editions of the film to unsuspecting (or those that simply don’t care) collectors.

Alien: Romulus, according to trade and event interviews with Alvarez, takes place between the original Alien film and Ripley’s 57-year out-of-action sleep cycle that is broken in the opening sequences of Aliens.

While the film (with overseas ticket action … plus other revenue streams) will be very profitable, it is hard to imagine how this entry in the series has anywhere to go with a follow-on sequel — until Ripley gave her version of the events that unfolded on the Nostromo, “modern day” authorities had no idea that Ripley’s alien creatures even existed.  

Who Rain is (played by Cailee Spaeney — Civil War, Priscilla, Pacific Rim Uprising, etc.), who her “father” was and her possible relationship with Andy (David Jonsson) could be the subject of a sequel, but don’t count on it.   If you were to take bets on the next entry … think another Alien/Predator stand-alone. 

As to bonus goodies, there are alternate and extended scenes, the four-part making of presentation titled “Return to Horror: Crafting Alien: Romulus” and two additional featurettes — “Inside the Xenomorph Showdown” and “Alien: A Conversation.”