A few exciting possibilites for late 2008 (small Paramount and Universal update)

[Thertel88]

We've been getting a lot of questions from readers over the last few weeks as to what some of the various studios are working on with regard to Blu-ray Disc, especially now that the format war is officially over. There haven't been all that many new title announcements in the last month or so, and so people are naturally wondering what's up. They're especially wondering when Paramount and Universal will finally show their BD cards.

To be able to give you a better sense of what's going on, I've been making some calls to the various studios and support companies on the subject this week. So here's a bit of what I've learned...

First up, it seems that now that the format war is over, there's a lot of 'making nice' going on in the industry, especially between the studios that had previously been on opposite sides of the format dispute. I'm also told that the BDA and its various members are working to help studios that had previously backed HD-DVD get fully up to speed with regard to Blu-ray authoring and production (in some cases even specifically making room for them in replication lines), and also to ensure that there's enough replication capacity available to meet demand for 3rd and 4th quarter titles.

Each studio is currently busy planning and preparing its BD release slate for the rest of the year. I can tell you that there are a LOT of titles in the works for Blu-ray release later this year, but also that the general sense in the industry is that the floodgates are really going to start opening up in 2009, after the Blu-ray format is able to make its holiday sales pitch to consumers unopposed for the first time. In fact, I've learned that there are some very exciting titles set to debut in the 1st quarter of 2009. Unfortunately, we can't really talk about them right now, as specific titles, schedules and features are shifting around a lot at the moment. While many 2009 releases are already in production, that's still a long ways off in terms of actual release dates.

More immediately, Warner Home Video has already given hints as to its Blu-ray plans in the year ahead, which we've reported on at some length (here and here). Image is working on titles. Genius Products has let it be known that they'll start releasing on the format in the second half of 2008 (including Weinstein Company titles). Disney and Sony are also working on lots of new titles. And I can tell you with confidence that Paramount and Universal have many titles already in the works as well. Part of the problem, particularly for Paramount, is that they're well aware that they've upset many high-def consumers in recent months. There are also, as we've said previously, some remaining contractual and financial issues being resolved with Toshiba as well. The main thing is that both studios want to make a big positive splash with their Blu-ray efforts going forward, and so they're taking their sweet time to frame their plans. Neither studio wants to start announcing titles and dates until they're completely ready to make good.

Meanwhile, what about Fox and MGM? Some of their release plans (through May and June) are already known. However, I'm told that many more catalog titles are in the works for possible release by the end of 2008, including such films as Walk the Line, the classic Batman: The Movie, The French Connection, Super Troopers, Fargo, the X-Men trilogy, the original Planet of the Apes, possibly Young Frankenstein and maybe even MGM musical titles, not to mention the expected new release films. And there are some great 2009 titles already being planned. Note that this information comes directly from studio sources, though the specific title slate and street dates are all fluctuating and are yet to be announced, so you should consider this Rumor Mill-worthy until official announcements are made.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents