Fox and MGM unveil Blu-ray exclusive worldwide releases for 2007

[Tekman]

Fox and MGM Unveil Blu-Ray Exclusive Worldwide Releases for 2007
29 Titles To Debut Packed With Soon-to-Be-Announced BD Industry ‘Firsts’ - PLUS – Fox’s First TV Title ‘PRISON BREAK’

FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER And LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD and Other Titles To Debut Day-and-Date on BD/DVD

-- Blu-ray Out-Performing HD DVD 2-to-1 At Retail in 2007 --

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (TCFHE) today unveiled an aggressive global Blu-ray Disc release strategy including 29 new release and “must-have” catalog titles that runs through the end of the 2007 calendar year. Among the many highlights of the impressive worldwide slate are six day & date BD/DVD new theatrical releases from Fox including the $241 million box-office family favorite FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER and the $335 million box-office action powerhouse LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, four day & date BD/DVD (U.S. only) new theatrical releases from MGM, 19 ‘must-have on BD’ films from the two studios’ libraries, Fox’s first-ever TV release on BD – PRISON BREAK -- and Fox’s intention to release at least one state-of-the-art title per month featuring numerous BD ‘firsts.’

The only high-definition packaged media universally supported by the film, music, gaming and computer industries, BD is the #1 selling high-definition packaged media. In fact, on a worldwide basis, BD is averaging nearly 70% market-share per week of all high definition titles sold this year and, in the U.S., it is out-performing HD DVD by a margin of 115%.

“Given that Blu-ray has consistently outsold HD DVD all year, and this is the case for any titles released by any studio in both formats, we believe that the time is right for us to accelerate our activities and help convert the nearly 60 million high definition households worldwide into Blu-ray households,” noted Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. “By the end of this calendar year there will be expansive availability of technically vibrant releases featuring never-before-seen, advanced BD-J interactivity as well as a broad offering of playback devices at attractive prices that will prove to any doubting consumers once and for all that Blu-ray is the only way.”

“And as Blu-ray continues to grows stronger, it has become survival of the fittest which is most apparent in the retail landscape where our eager and growing global Blu-ray consumer base has caused a shift that is forcing the allocation of more space to the format that is selling the best. And, in many recent instances of note, top retailers in North America are choosing to promote the Blu-ray format exclusively in their stores,” continued Dunn.

Among the BD industry ‘firsts’ from the Studios’ upcoming global release slate are picture in picture capability, enhanced viewing and surround sound modes with the ability to mix and match picture and sound, direct access to in-movie features through one of the four colored buttons on the BD remote and the most technically vibrant BD-Java interactive multi-player challenge and trivia games to date. The Studios’ slate also takes full advantage of BD-Live functionality this fourth quarter. Internet-connected consumers will enjoy unique, title specific “web-enabled” interactive features and games and “web-exclusive” downloadable content with the ability to connect and interact with other broadband BD users worldwide.

Cementing its leadership position within the industry - previous BD releases NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM and X-MEN THE LAST STAND rank in the Top 20 best-sellers - the vast majority of the Studios’ upcoming global slate will be presented on 50 GB dual-layer discs with advanced BD-J interactivity and feature numerous Blu-ray exclusive high-definition bonus materials that further realizes BD’s incredible potential. Consumers will enjoy the superior video and audio elements of AVC encoding and Lossless HD audio on many of the coming titles as well as enhanced and integrated menus, personal scene selections, search indexing, trivia and other title specific games and high-definition bonus materials.

Upcoming BD-J features exclusive to priority catalogue titles from Fox and MGM include an "Alien Scavenger Hunt" (INDEPENDENCE DAY) that challenges players to earn points by identifying the correct number of aliens in select scenes to unlock additional bonus features; a “Global Warming Trivia Track” (THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW) where users must correctly answer questions about global warming to keep the Earth’s temperature from rising and being destroyed; and a historical and geographical pop-up map (MASTER & COMMANDER) that tracks the location of Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey and his enemies.

Listed below are the upcoming Blu-ray Disc releases from Fox and MGM excluding new theatrical day & date BD/DVD releases. EXACT TITLE CONFIGURATIONS TO FOLLOW IN THE COMING WEEKS.

TITLE N.A. RELEASE INTERNATIONAL RELEASE
MASTER & COMMANDER OCT. 2 OCT.
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW OCT. 2 NOV.
FROM HELL OCT. 9 OCT.
THE FLY (1986) OCT. 9 Q1 08
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS OCT. 9 NOV.
28 DAYS LATER OCT. 9 North America Only
ROBOCOP (MGM) OCT. 9 DEC.
AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) (MGM) OCT. 9 North America Only
BATTLE OF BRITAIN (MGM) NOV. 6 Q1 08
A BRIDGE TOO FAR (MGM) NOV. 6 Q1 08
I, ROBOT NOV. 13 Q1 08
DIE HARD NOV. NOV.
DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER NOV NOV.
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE NOV. NOV.
RED DAWN (MGM) NOV. Q1 08
MR. AND MRS. SMITH DEC. 4 DEC.
INDEPENDENCE DAY DEC. 4 DEC.
CAST AWAY DEC. 4 North America Only
RONIN (MGM) DEC. 4 DEC.

[dialog_gvf]

YES!!!

29 titles. Woo hoo!

Live Free or Die Hard doesn't have a DVD release date yet, right?

[MrBogey]

oooo....

I will buy almost every one of those blu-ray discs. The Day After Tomorrow is the only one I will certainly not buy as I didn't care for the film and already own the DVD. Almost every other one is a must own though.

[Balian]

The Day HDM dies ...


So bye-bye, miss american pie ...

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
Could break that satans spell.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I saw Microsoft laughing with delight
The day the HDM died

[MasterXeus]

Originally Posted by Amel

[B]Fox and MGM Unveil Blu-Ray Exclusive Worldwide Releases for 2007
Aug 20 at 15:59


29 Titles To Debut Packed With Soon-to-Be-Announced BD Industry 'Firsts' - PLUS
- Fox's First TV Title 'PRISON BREAK' FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER
And LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD and Other Titles To Debut Day-and-Date on BD/DVD --
Blu-ray Out-Performing HD DVD 2-to-1 At Retail in 2007 --

Now that's some great news.

[Spankey]

Die Hard series
Master & Commander
ID4
I, Robot
Edward Scissorhands

More titles than i would have bought from Paramount all year. I still want transformers but this is a GREAT start!

[degas]

Originally Posted by NutsAboutPS3

I'm not convinced. If we were seeing 80:20 now, and looking at 90:10 later in the year, I'm not so sure Paramount could have made their press statement credible. But when it's only 66:34, that isn't such an overwhelming advantage.

That's my feeelings too.
There are numberes, and there are numbers.
Perhaps Paramount would have passed on the M$ dough, if the finish line were in clear sight.

Either way - Fox has clearly not helped in any way, with their "piracy"-break.

There's at least some comfort in, that Fox finally seems to have release dates set.

[Esox50]

There's my Master and Commander. October 2nd...just in time to take the place of Top Gun.

Interesting day in the HD optical disc wars.

[goku3]

finally, wonder if their prices will stay the same.

[UltimateFighter]

Thank you Paramount!!!

UNLEASH THE FLOOD GATES!

[dialog_gvf]

TITLE N.A. RELEASE INTERNATIONAL RELEASE
MASTER & COMMANDER OCT. 2 OCT.
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW OCT. 2 NOV.
FROM HELL OCT. 9 OCT.
THE FLY (1986) OCT. 9 Q1 08
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS OCT. 9 NOV.
28 DAYS LATER OCT. 9 North America Only
ROBOCOP (MGM) OCT. 9 DEC.
AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) (MGM) OCT. 9 North America Only
BATTLE OF BRITAIN (MGM) NOV. 6 Q1 08
A BRIDGE TOO FAR (MGM) NOV. 6 Q1 08
I, ROBOT NOV. 13 Q1 08
DIE HARD NOV. NOV.
DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER NOV NOV.
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE NOV. NOV.
RED DAWN (MGM) NOV. Q1 08
MR. AND MRS. SMITH DEC. 4 DEC.
INDEPENDENCE DAY DEC. 4 DEC.
CAST AWAY DEC. 4 North America Only
RONIN (MGM) DEC. 4 DEC.

WOW!

A lot of must buys there.

[dobyblue]

Swing Battah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Thank you FOX!!

[Blu-Ray Buckeye]

Originally Posted by NutsAboutPS3

I'm not convinced. If we were seeing 80:20 now, and looking at 90:10 later in the year, I'm not so sure Paramount could have made their press statement credible. But when it's only 66:34, that isn't such an overwhelming advantage.

2:1 is overwhelming regardless of the hairs you are splitting. The point is, they would have just change dthe wording to fit the situation. They took the payoff. Microsoft only took such measures because they were getting crushed.

[theknub]

wow, a lot of almost definite buys.

i wonder if disney may speed up their release schedule (especially some classics) as well

[matthewrounds]

I think I am about to go broke!

[WickyWoo]

Let's hear from the doubters now

Did we not tell you that Fox was waiting to kick ass and take names?

[Jimbo976]

VISA and Mastercard will like this I'm sure.

[Esox50]

Originally Posted by theknub

wow, a lot of almost definite buys.

i wonder if disney may speed up their release schedule (especially some classics) as well

Either that or announce titles into 2020.

Seriously though, there's no way any of the studios are going to flood the market to win this thing. Lines are being drawn for the rest of 2007 and into 2008...

[Jimbo976]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Let's hear from the doubters now

Did we not tell you that Fox was waiting to kick ass and take names?

Well Sony was probably holding a gun at their head when they were typing up this press release.

[clyon]

for me:

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW
28 DAYS LATER (hope they add 28 weeks later)
I, ROBOT
INDEPENDENCE DAY
CAST AWAY

would get Die hard:Live Free or Die Hard