New Theatrical Release Trend Gets A Bounce • Disney Takes Massive Film And Series Write-Off

The new theatrical market got a bump this past week when Greenwich Entertainment, Fathom Events and a couple of other sources updated their release profiles (some minor films with a minimal box office presence).   These back-and-fill additions, plus the new arrivals — including the hit opening of Disney’s The Little Mermaid ($118.8 million) — boosted the annual estimate to 542 new releases (every little bit helps!!).

The top box scores ($25 million plus; $100 million plus) also moved up from 64 to 67, with both The Little Mermaid’s strong opening and the second week of Fast X ($113.5 million) contributing to the $100 million plus category.

It was a solid transitional week for films making the move from current theatrical venues to the home entertainment packaged media marketplace.  

The big one was Universal Pictures Home Entertainment making a quick move with the Super Mario Bros. Movie by jumping it into a June 13 spot at just 67 days from its theatrical rollout.   It could be an accounting thing, booking the revenue in June as opposed to the second half of the year … it’s still awfully quick.

Ditto for director Chris McKay’s Renfield, starring Nickolas Cage, which Universal turned in just 53 days.  

Also on the new theatrical release front, Sony Pictures moved filmmaker Julius Avery’s The Pope’s Exorcist in 60 days with a June 13 release date and Lionsgate Home Entertainment picked July 11 for the home entertainment packaged media launch of writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig’s delightful film adaptation of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (74 days).

While these three films — Renfield, The Pope’s Exorcist and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret — didn’t set the world on fire during their respective theatrical runs, at least Universal, Sony and Lionsgate got them into theatres and subsequently on DVD and/or Blu-ray.

The same can’t be said for the 13 films from Walt Disney Studios that were part of the package of roughly 100 film and series productions that were being written off and purged from Disney+ and Hulu.   A breathtaking $1.8 billion in red ink is being added to the next quarterly financials for the studio.

Disney Takes Massive Film And Series Write-Off

This group of films, because of the write-offs being taken, cannot be monetized going forward.   That likely means they will go into limbo and never be seen again … it’s about one step removed from actually being destroyed.   Of course, there is a side benefit, if anyone has a piece of the action and there is no action, then Disney could end up saving on residuals or points for films that no longer exist.

Will lawsuits follow?   It’s the entertainment industry, of course.

Just looking at the multi-million-dollar production budget entries, we begin with director Kenneth Branagh’s film adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s novel, Artemis Fowl.   The industry buzz is that the film cost $125 million to produce.  It never got a theatrical release and Disney never took the time to release it on DVD, Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD. 

And you wonder why the theatrical marketplace is not getting back to pre-pandemic levels!   A $125 million film goes direct to streaming … and then it is written off!!

It’s hard to say “fortunately,” but at least one “helper” has “fortunately” released Artemis Fowl on Blu-ray, which might be the only place one might be able to view the film going forward.

Another big budget film in the celluloid burning pile is director Tom McCarthy’s film adaptation of Stephan Pastis’ series of kid books, Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made.  It had a reported production budget of $42 million.   Again, no theatrical break and no home entertainment action, unless you count the various “helper” Blu-ray and DVD product offerings.

Others in the never-to-be-seen-again stack are: Better Nate Than Ever ($36 million), The Princess ($26 million), Black Beauty ($24 million), Magic Camp ($24 million), Clouds ($23 million) and both Cheaper by the Dozen and The One and Only Ivan are estimated at $25 million each (give or take).    Rosaline, Darby and the Dead and More Than Robots are sketchy on budget data and filmmaker Julia Hart, in an interview with IndieWire, says she brought her film, Stargirl, in for less than $80,000 (heavens, and Disney is writing it off).

The entire batch never saw a theatrical break, nor were they released as home entertainment packaged media product offerings by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.    This streaming business thing is one odd duck (no offense Donald).

 

 

Troma Entertainment Selects Aug. 29 For The 4K Ultra HD Debut Of The Toxic Avenger Collection

Say “Toxic Avenger” and three things leap to mind … genre film franchise, the iconic Lloyd Kaufman and Troma Entertainment.

All three are absolutely true and fans of all three — genre films, Lloyd Kaufman and Troma — will be celebrating (champagne corks popping) on Aug. 29 when the 4K Ultra HD collection titled The Toxic Avenger Collection will be hitting the streets.  

Troma Entertainment, with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has the ultimate collection of all four films in this classic series ready for fans to enjoy as a four-disc 4K Ultra HD and four-disc Blu-ray collection on Aug. 29.

It was arguably the biggest gamble in Lloyd Kaufman’s filmmaking career.  One million dollars was the production budget.  He had had success with the production of such films as Silent Night, Bloody Night, Squeeze Play and The Final Countdown, parlayed that into Mother’s Day, Waitress! and Stuck on You! 

It was now time to roll the dice and in 1983 he produced, wrote and co-directed with Michael Herz a film that would change everything … The Toxic Avenger.

By the time The Toxic Avenger finished its market-by-market theatrical rollout beginning in April of 1986 (yes, it took three years to get through post production and launch the film) the story of Melvin, “The Toxic Avenger,” had generated $15 million in ticket sales … and would go on to generate not one, but three sequels!!!

What is The Toxic Avenger Collection?   All four films — The Toxic Avenger: Unrated Director’s Cut, The Toxic Avenger Part II: Unrated Director’s Cut, The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie: Unrated Director’s Cut and Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part IV: Unrated Director’s Cut — are here, with bonus features that include multiple commentary options and numerous featurettes.

It's a TOXIC dream … mark it down, Aug. 29 from Troma Entertainment. 

 

 

 

Bayview Entertainment Looks To June 27 For The Domestic Blu-ray Debut Of Director Miguel Cruz Carretero’s Vulnerables

Bayview Entertainment has tabbed June 27 as the domestic Blu-ray debut date for Spanish filmmaker Miguel Cruz Carretero’s Vulnerables.

Starring Paula Echevarría (Velvet, Gran Reserva, Waves of Crimes) as Carla, a young woman, very pregnant, living in Madrid.   Her daughter is born premature and as a result Carla’s doctor suggests that she needs a healthier atmosphere to allow her newborn’s lungs to properly develop.   What does a single mom do?

Fortunately — and we use that with some reservations as the story unfolds — her parents still own the old farmstead in rural La Mancha where Carla has been since her youth.   Nevertheless, this could be just the ticket for her and Lucia, her newborn daughter.

Alone, save for the “handyman,” Marcial (Joaquín Perles), she tries to make a go of it, but is soon taunted or haunted by a devilish little lad … perhaps the handyman’s son!   It’s all very mysterious, made all the more sinister by having to care for a newborn with little or no help.

 

Vulnerables is presented in Spanish with English subtitles.

 

 

 

Cauldron Films Announces The Release Of A 4K Ultra HD Edition Of Director Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead On Aug. 15

Cauldron Films, with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has a new 4K film restoration of Lucio Fulci’s horror classic, City of the Living Dead, in preparation for release on Aug. 15 as a 4K Ultra HD/2 Blu-ray Combo Pack edition.

Released in Italy in 1980, following the success of Zombi 2 (aka: Zombie), City of the Living Dead didn’t arrive in the domestic market until 1983, and then it immediately ran afoul of copyright issues and the title of the film had to be changed to The Gates of Hell for its theatrical launch.

Cauldron Films has both the original Italian language track and the 1983 theatrical English-dubbed audio track included with the 4K Ultra HD presentation of the film, which is mirrored with a companion Blu-ray.   

There are four separate commentary options — the first is newly minted and features film historian Samm Deighan (Associate Editor of Diabolique Magazine), while the other three commentaries are archival and include film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson; actor Catriona MacColl (as Mary Woodhouse) moderated by Jay Slater and actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice (as “Bob”) with moderation by Calum Waddell.

Bonus features (which are included on a second Blu-ray disc), which are still a work in progress, include a vintage video session with Catriona MacColl and the featurettes titled: “Requiem for Bob” “On Stage” (a Q&A session with actor Venantino Venantini (as Mr. Ross) and the late filmmaker Ruggero Deodato), “Fabio Frizzi,” “The Meat Munching Movies of Gino De Rossi,” “Carlo of the Living Dead” and “A Trip Through Bonaventure Cemetery.”

 

 

 

Paramount Home Entertainment's 4K Ultra HD Debut Of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Arrives Aug. 01 • 1923: Season One – A Yellowstone Original Story On Aug. 08

Take a day off on Aug. 1 and join Ferris Bueller for some fun as Paramount Home Entertainment will be serving-up a 4K Ultra HD edition of writer/director John Hughes’ classic, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Filmed in and around the Chicago area in the fall of 1985, the film was completed and delivered to theatres nationwide the following summer … needless to say, it was a monster hit.   And no, the Ferrari 250 GT California was not totaled in the film (the magic of cinema)!

Join Matthew Broderick, Jennifer Grey, Jeffrey Jones, Alan Ruck and Mia Sara on Aug. 1 in stunning 4K … bonus goodies include a vintage commentary from John Hughes and five featurettes — “Getting the Class Together: The Cast of Ferris Bueller's Day Off,” “The Making of Ferris Bueller's Day Off,” “Who is Ferris Bueller?,” “The World According to Ben Stein” and “Vintage Ferris Bueller: The Lost Tapes.”

In other release news from Paramount Home Entertainment this past week, circle Aug. 8 on your viewing calendar for the DVD and Blu-ray arrival of 1923: Season One – A Yellowstone Original Story.

The post-frontier experiences of the Dutton clan, headed by Jacob (Harrison Ford) and his wife Cara (Helen Mirren) play out in this eight-episode series (and yes, a second season is in the works).   This will be a three-disc presentation for both formats.

Bonus features include a “Behind the Story” presentation for each episode, plus four featurettes — “Unstoppable Change: The Adventure of 1923,” “I Am the Land: Teonna Rainwater,” “Reflecting Humanity: The Art & Craft of Editing 1923” and “Inside the Series.”

 

 

 

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment Readies 4K Ultra HD Editions Of Rio Bravo And East Of Eden For Release On July 18

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has two new film vault 4K Ultra HD editions ready on July 18 for film buffs to upgrade their collections.

The first of these is director Howard Hawks’ spring of 1959 Western, Rio Bravo, starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan and Ricky Nelson.  

Filmed in the Tucson area, it had been a decade since Hawks and Wayne had teamed for Red River (which was filmed in nearby Elgin, Arizona), but the magic was still there … they would reunite for Hatari! (1962), El Dorado (1967, which was essentially a remake of Rio Bravo) and finally Rio Lobo would be the end of the trail for Howard Hawks in 1970.

Bonus features include a vintage commentary with filmmaker John Carpenter (who used Rio Bravo as the inspiration for his 1976 indie hit, Assault on Precinct 13), who is joined by film critic Richard Schickel.

Also making its 4K Ultra HD debut on July 18 is director Elia Kazan’s 1955 film adaptation of the John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, which marked the first starring role for James Dean — Rebel Without a Cause and Giant would follow before his untimely death on September 30, 1955 just after his final scenes in Giant were filmed.

Bonus features with East of Eden include a vintage commentary with film critic Richard Schickel.

 

 

 

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Moves The Super Mario Bros. Movie Quickly To Market On June 13 • Renfield Jumps In On June 6

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment literally came out of the blue with the announcement that the multi-director (Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc and Fabien Polack) blockbuster, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, is to be released on June 13 as three-SKU home entertainment packaged media array of products.

The ARR is a super-quick 67 days, especially for a film with a domestic box office take of $560.9 million.

Planned for distribution are Combo Pack editions for the 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) and Blu-ray (with DVD) formats, plus a stand-alone DVD edition.

Bonus goodies include the “Peaches” music video and a quartet of featurettes — “Getting to Know the Cast,” “Leveling Up: Making The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “The Super Mario Bros. Movie Field Guild” and “Leadership Lessons with Anya Taylor-Joy.”

Also getting a lightning-quick turn-around from theatrical venues to the home entertainment marketplace is director Chris McKay’s Renfield, starring Nicolas Cage (as Dracula) and Nicholas Hoult (as Renfield).  

The street date is June 6 for both DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack editions.

The ARR for Renfield is just 53 days and domestic box office receipts were $17.1 million.
Universal has packed this with bonus goodies, which kick off with commentary from producer Samantha Nisenboim (The Tomorrow War) and screenwriter Ryan Ridley (Community, Rick and Morty), deleted and extended scenes, alternate takes and a half-dozen featurettes — “Dracula UnCaged,” “Monsters & Men: Behind the Scenes of Renfield,” “Stages of Rejuvenation,” “Flesh & Blood,” “Fighting Dirty” and “The Making of a Deleted Scene: Renfield’s Dance.”