BUY LATEST BOURNE BLU-RAY DISC AT PRESALE; WATCH NOW

Time was when Best Buy lured customers into stores by offering them DVDs and Blu-ray Discs at bargain prices. But as customers’ shelves overflowed with the discs and Netflix and Redbox cut into sales, it became apparent that all that space that Best Buy was devoting to its home video inventory was hurting profits rather […]

BEST BUY KARATE CHOPS PRICES FOR STRUGGLING KUNG FU PANDA 2 VIDEO

Just two weeks after Best Buy trumpeted the release of DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 2 in ads listing the Blu-ray combo pack for $22.99, a new ad for the consumer-electronics retailer now lists the pack for $14.99, a 35 percent discount. In a note to clients BTIG Research media analyst Richard Greenfield speculated today […]

WARNER BROS. SAYS BLOCKBUSTER MUST WAIT 28 DAYS, TOO

Warner Bros., which forces Redbox and Netflix to wait 28 days before they can rent out its films, will now apply that policy to Blockbuster, which has boasted that customers can rent the discs from its brick-and-mortar locations or from its website without having to wait those four weeks. Analysts observed that Warner Bros. may […]

DVD RENTAL, SALES CHARTS PUZZLE

The principal DVD/Blu-ray sales and rental charts seemed all the more puzzling on Wednesday as Home Media magazine reported that the No. 1 rental film of the week was Sony’s The Other Guys, while the same film only ranked No. 5 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart. The explanation was that the higher-ranked […]

HOLIDAY SALES OF 3D TV SETS REMAIN SLOW

The jury is still out on whether 3D television is little more than a fleeting novelty (Best Buy said on Tuesday that sales of 3D and Internet-connected television sets have been disappointing over the holiday season), but ESPN is increasing content on its 3D network, with plans to air its first basketball game in the […]

VIDEO ON DEMAND FOR BILLIONAIRES?

During a week when “tax cuts for the rich” has been receiving considerable media attention, a proposal has been unveiled that would allow the rich to view movies on their home theaters beginning the same day that they open in theaters. Today’s (Wednesday) Wall Street Journal says the service, from Prima Cinema Inc., would require […]

WARNER BROS. TO LAUNCH PREMIUM VOD SOON

Time Warner’s Warner Bros. and New Line studios are planning to launch premium video-on-demand early next year, CEO Jeff Bewkes said Monday. Speaking at the 38th annual UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, Bewkes said he anticipated that movies would become available for one-time rental on cable and online about 30 to […]

OLDER DVD’S HIT SALES CHARTS AFTER BLACK FRIDAY

With Warner Home Video’s The Blind Side being offered for $3.99 in Best Buy’s Black Friday ads last week, the title became the second-highest seller of the week, Disney’s Toy Story 3 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart. The DVD was originally released last March. (Wal-Mart was offering similar deals, including The Dark […]

DON’T TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONES DURING “DESPICABLE ME”

In the latest attempt to bring an interactive experience to movie theaters, and at the same time quiet mobile phones in them, Universal Pictures and Best Buy are teaming up to offer a free smartphone app to fans going to see the animated Despicable Me this weekend. The Best Buy “Movie Mode” app will allow […]