Latest in Blu-ray

Lionsgate and Redbox have firmed up a new multi-year agreement spanning disc and digital titles that will continue to be available at Redbox kiosks and via Redbox On Demand. "This new deal allows Redbox to lean further into Lionsgate content in a more impactful way across our physical and digital offerings,” Redbox…

Technicolor has confirmed it has held merger discussions but maintains that the talks are routine and at a “preliminary stage.” After Reuters, citing unidentified sources, reported the France-based digital company was in merger talks, the company issued a statement responding to “press reports and market rumors.” The…

Bluebirds of happiness were alighting at distributor Fox and creator Blue Sky Studios this week, as Rio 2 flew to the No. 1 spot in Rentrak’s weekly DVD and Blu-Ray sales charts in its home-entertainment debut. The sequel’s capering birds were followed at the top by two other animated hits beloved by kids and…

You can thank Netflix for helping the home entertainment industry to report the coulda-been-worse numbers for video sales and rentals in Q3. Total consumer spending, at $3.97B, was up 0.05% vs the period last year — even though, The Digital Entertainment Group notes, theatrical revenues for the releases were down 6.4%…

Effective this month, Hollywood studios will package digital film and television content under the standard “Digital” or “Digital HD” brand, trade org Digital Entertainment Group announced today. The distinction applies to non-physical filmed media with the “Digital” or “Digital HD” branding to appear on DVD and Blu-ra…

Here’s yet another indication that movie theater owners are making peace with the idea that their customers also want to spend time being entertained at home. This weekend 24 Cinemark theaters in five markets — San Francisco, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Chicago, and Cleveland — will charge $5 a ticket for matinee showings…

The continuing decline in DVD sales, and disc rentals at bricks-and-mortar stores and subscription services led by Netflix, continued to weigh the business down according to data out today from DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group. It reports that consumers spent $5.66B in Q4, a 1.5% drop vs the period last year. That…

Spending for DVDs and Blu-ray discs is falling so fast that 2012 likely will be first year when consumers will pay more to buy and rent movies via the Internet, according to a report today from IHS Screen Digest Video Intelligence Service. The research firm says that the average household will spend $123.50 to buy and…

LOS ANGELES, May 31, 2012 — The two billion-dollar box office phenomenon and winner of 11 Academy Awards®, TITANIC, makes its highly anticipated debut on Blu-ray 2D and 3D on September 14, 2012 from Paramount Home Media Distribution and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Available in high definition for the…

Tech news reports I saw this weekend drop this bombshell on Hollywood as well as PC consumers: the next-generation Windows 8 operating system won’t automatically play DVDs and Blu-ray – even if your laptop has a DVD or Blu-ray drive. Instead Windows 8 will require you to fork over cash. Expect from greedy Microsoft an…

BEIJING (April 24, 2012) – In the wake of China's record-breaking box-office opening of TITANIC 3D, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (FOX) AND SONY have announced an exclusive, large-scale bundling partnership for the film's Blu-ray 3D release this fall. Marking the industry's biggest bundling and promotional…

Moguls will need a stiff drink nearby when they read Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne’s bracing report today about the state of the home video business — and Hollywood studios. He says that film operations at Universal, Disney, Paramount, Fox, and Warner Bros are worth about $19.3B, down from $40.2B in 2007…