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.
-0-
*T
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.
*T
Blu-ray Disc is a next generation optical disc format developed
for high-definition video and high-capacity software applications. A
single-layer Blu-ray Disc holds up to 25 gigabytes of data and a
dual-layer Blu-ray Disc holds up to 50 gigabytes of data. This greater
storage capacity enables the Blu-ray Disc to store over six times the
amount of content than is possible with current DVDs, and is
particularly well-suited for high definition feature films with
extended levels of additional bonus and interactive material. Blu-ray
also features the most advanced copy protection, player backward
compatibility with the current DVD format, connectivity and advanced
interactivity.
Fox takes advantage of the next generation format's high
definition technology and advanced functionality to present its titles
with the highest quality audiovisual elements. Showcasing picture
quality with six times the resolution of DVD and theater quality
"uncompressed" audio for the purest digital sound, the cutting-edge
discs also feature enhanced and integrated menus, games,
high-definition bonus materials and Java-encoding for more dynamic and
sophisticated interactivity.
The Studio's commitment to emerging technologies is dedicated to
enhancing the consumer experience of its products and providing for
backward compatibility with their existing home entertainment
libraries while also aggressively protecting its intellectual property
from piracy. The Blu-ray companies fully embrace the Studio's
steadfast commitment to the fight against piracy and the preservation
of the integrity of its properties. Twentieth Century Fox is a member
of the Board of Directors of the Blu- ray Disc Association.
A recognized global industry leader, Twentieth Century Fox Home
Entertainment LLC (TCFHE) is the worldwide marketing, sales and
distribution company for all Fox film and television programming on
VHS, DVD and Blu-ray Disc (BD) as well as acquisitions and original
productions. The company also releases all products around the globe
for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new
and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets --
from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and
e-commerce - throughout the world. Twentieth Century Fox Home
Entertainment LLC is a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film
Corporation, a News Corporation company.
