Top 20 Disc Sellers

Source: Circana VideoScan (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

*Units Sold Compared to No. 1 Title

**Re-entered the Top 200

† Percentage of Overall Disc Sales in a 3D format; 3D is considered a Blu-ray version and is also part of the BD Share for each title.

†† Percentage of Overall Disc Sales in a UHD BD format; UHD is considered a Blu-ray version and is also part of the BD Share for each title.

Top 20 Selling Blu-ray Discs

1. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
2. Dune: Part Two
3. Chinatown/The Two Jakes
4. RoboCop 2
5. The Beekeeper
6. House of the Dragon: The Complete First Season
7. Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning
8. Oppenheimer
9. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
10. Bound
11. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
12. American Fiction
13. The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy
14. Migration
15. Star Wars: Andor - The Complete First Season
16. Wonka (tie)
17. John Wick: Chapter 4 (tie)
18. Imaginary
19. RoboCop (2014)
20. The Iron Claw

Source: Circana VideoScan (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

Top 20 Selling 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs

1. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
2. Chinatown/The Two Jakes
3. RoboCop 2
4. Dune: Part Two
5. Bound
6. Oppenheimer
7. RoboCop (2014)
8. House of the Dragon: The Complete First Season
9. The Karate Kid
10. Bad Lieutenant
11. American Gigolo
12. Star Wars: Andor - The Complete First Season
13. Killer Klowns from Outer Space
14. Saving Private Ryan
15. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Complete First Season
16. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
17. True Lies
18. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
19. The Crow
20. Black Hawk Down

Source: Circana VideoScan (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

Further reading:

• "Godzilla x Kong" Remains No. 1 on Weekly Disc Sales Charts
• Top 20 Disc Sellers for Week Ended 2024-06-22
• Top 20 Selling Blu-ray and 4K Discs for Week Ended 2024-06-22
• Top HD Formats Disc Share Per Title for Week Ended 2024-06-22

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/13989416

This year's 50% off B&N Summer sale runs through July 28.

I missed Criterion's flash sale earlier this year so I'll probably stock up on this one sometime next week.

STUDIOCANAL announce a fantastic new 4K restoration of ORCA, THE KILLER WHALE, as part of the Cult Classics Collection. Terror is just below the surface in this ferocious action adventure of mythical proportions from legendary producer Dino Di Laurentiis (King Kong, Conan), starring screen legends Richard Harris (Oscar-nominated for This Sporting Life) and Charlotte Rampling (Oscar nominated for 45 Years). As well as a collectable 4K UHD SteelBook, the film is available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.

From Academy Award nominated director Michael Anderson (Around The World In Eighty Days) and screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni (The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly) comes a gripping and terrifying tale of man versus beast. Described by Scream Magazine as ‘Jaws with heart’, ORCA, THE KILLER WHALE features a marvellous lead performance from Harris as a sea captain targeted by a vengeful killer whale, and also stars Will Sampson, famous for his performance as in Chief Bromden One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Bo Derek (“10”), and Robert Carradine (The Long Riders).

With a magnificent, stirring score by Ennio Moricone (Oscar-winner for The Hateful Eight), and cinematography by Ted Moore (Oscar winner for A Man for All Seasons), you’ll have a whale of a time with this handsomely mounted and tremendously exciting adventure thriller, restored to its original glory in this beautiful restoration.

Arrow Announces and Details September 2024 4K UHD and Blu-ray Titles

Arrow Video's September 2024 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray lineup includes

• The Chronicles of Riddick (4K & Blu-ray)
• The Threat on Blu-ray
• Torso on 4K UHD Blu-ray with an Arrow store exclusive slipcover version
• Friday the 13th (2009) on 4K UHD Blu-ray
• (UK only) Love, Death & Apocalypse: Three Films by Álex de la Iglesia in 4K UHD & Blu-ray.

Did you hope to save some cash in September? Well, the bad news is you might want to check the couch cushions because Arrow is making sure we need to scrounge up all the spare change we can find! 

I tried posting all the details, but it was too much for Lemmy. Find all the details here.

Eureka! has announced its September 2024 line-up. Featured amongst this line-up four crime epics that have had an immeasurable impact on popular culture around the globe; a couple of crazy kung-fu extravaganzas from the first family of Hong Kong martial arts; a kung-fu soccer comedy starring Yuen Biao; plus re-issues of G. W. Pabst’s sordid melodrama Pandora’s Box, and Orson Welles’ film noir masterpiece, Touch of Evil.

Tech specs at Blu-ray.com

Top 20 Selling Blu-ray Discs

1. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
2. Dune: Part Two
3. Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning
4. The Beekeeper
5. Oppenheimer
6. Immaculate
7. La Femme Nikita
8. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
9. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
10. Star Wars: Andor — The Complete First Season
11. Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy
13. Migration
14. Superman and Lois: The Complete Third Season
15. John Wick: Chapter 4
16. House of the Dragon: The Complete First Season
17. Wonka
18. Imaginary
19. The Iron Claw
20. Dune: Part One

Source: Circana VideoScan (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

Top 20 Selling 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs

1. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
2. Dune: Part Two
3. La Femme Nikita
4. Oppenheimer
5. Species II
6. Star Wars: Andor — The Complete First Season
7. Shrek 4-Movie Collection
8. Bad Lieutenant
9. Shrek Forever After
10. Killer Klowns from Outer Space
11. House of the Dragon: The Complete First Season
12. Mute Witness
13. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
14. True Lies
15. The Crow
16. Lawrence of Arabia
17. Dune 2-Film Collection
18. The Last Kumite
19. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
20. Dune: Part One

Source: Circana VideoScan (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

https://www.mediaplaynews.com/research/top-20-selling-blu-ray-and-4k-discs-for-week-ended-6-15-24/

Now then... we’ve got a pretty significant piece of industry news to share with you today. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has completed an “umbrella” distribution deal with Studio Distribution Services (SDS) that covers not only their own Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD product, but also titles from Lionsgate and Disney (along with 20th Century Studios, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, and the other Disney-owned labels), which Sony produces for those studios. We first broke the news of this for our Patreon subscribers over the weekend.

The reason this deal is important is that it guarantees Sony, Disney, 20th Century Studios, and Lionsgate a direct and stable distribution channel for their physical media product into Walmart stores. And as we’ve reported previously, Walmart is the biggest disc retailer in North America with a whopping 45% share of the disc sales market (as of earlier this year—that number may have grown a bit with the recent exit of Best Buy, which had approximately 4% of the business).

This deal goes a long way in terms of giving studio executives the confidence to dig more deeply into their film vaults for new catalog remastering efforts and ultimately to release new catalog 4K titles on disc. All of this sets the stage for a very exciting slate of catalog 4K UHD titles from these studios and others in the next 12 to 24 months and beyond. In fact, I’m now more confident than ever that 2025 is going to be a big year for 4K disc fans! As always, I’ll share more on all this as it comes in from our sources in the weeks and months ahead... and as I’m able to reveal the details without disrupting any developing plans.

I got an Elgato capture card and a VCR off of EBay and have already digitized three tapes I've found at garage sales.

Any advice for cleaning up the image and audio? I recall there were VCR cleaners but never was confident of their efficacy.

Director Martin Scorsese’s gripping and fiery masterpiece Bringing Out the Dead celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and Paramount Home Entertainment is marking the occasion by releasing the newly remastered film for the first time ever on both 4K Ultra HD™ and Blu-ray™ on September 17, 2024.

Bringing Out the Dead debuted on October 22, 1999 and marked the fourth collaboration between Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull). Nicolas Cage gives a riveting performance as a Manhattan paramedic barely clinging to sanity over the course of three chaotic nights. The film also stars Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore.

Newly remastered from the original camera negative, this exceptional new release was reviewed by Scorsese, cinematographer Robert Richardson, and editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Arriving as part of the Paramount Presents line, Bringing Out the Dead is presented in a must-own two-disc set that includes the film on 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Atmos® and on Blu-ray, along with a wealth of new bonus content, including new interviews with Scorsese, Cage, Schrader, and Richardson, plus archival on-set interviews with Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Tom Sizemore, and Marc Anthony. The release also includes access to a Digital copy of the film. New and legacy bonus content included on the Blu-ray Disc™ is detailed below.

Tech specs at Blu-ray.com

FROM THE CINEMATIC WORLD OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG KNUCKLES ARRIVES SEPTEMBER 10 ON DVD, BLU-RAY™ AND LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY™ STEELBOOK®

Go Behind The Scenes With Special Features, Including An Exclusive Gag Reel and More!

LOS ANGELES – June 24, 2024 – “Ridiculously funny with a ton of heart” (Ryan Leston, IGN), the six-episode live-action event series KNUCKLES arrives on DVD, Blu-ray™ and a Limited Edition Blu-ray™ Steelbook® on September 10, 2024 from Paramount Home Entertainment. The KNUCKLES DVD and Blu-ray™ feature a never-before-seen gag reel and four featurettes, including “Meet the Cast,” “Working with Knuckles,” “This or That?” and “Cast Impressions.”

KNUCKLES will also be available on 4K Ultra HD™, manufactured on demand.

SYNOPSIS

KNUCKLES takes place between the films SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 and follows Knuckles (Idris Elba) on a hilarious and action-packed journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train Wade (Adam Pally) as his protege and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior. Featuring appearances by Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails and Tika Sumpter (Maddie), the ensemble cast also includes Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones), Rory McCann (Game of Thrones), Cary Elwes (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), and Paul Scheer (Black Monday). This collection includes every episode along with an exclusive gag reel, and more!

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Gag Reel
• “Meet the Cast” Featurette
• “Working with Knuckles” Featurette
• “This or That?” Featurette
• “Cast Impressions” Featurette

A Paramount+ Original, from Paramount Pictures and SEGA of America, KNUCKLES is the first TV series in the expanding “Cinematic World of Sonic the Hedgehog,” executive produced by Idris Elba, Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Jeff Fowler, John Whittington, Haruki Satomi, Shuji Utsumi and Toru Nakahara.

Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a unit of Paramount (NASDAQ: PARA, PARAA), a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. The PHE division oversees PPC’s home entertainment and transactional digital distribution activities worldwide. The division is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment content on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television Studios, Paramount Players, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and CBS and applicable licensing and servicing of certain DreamWorks Animation titles. PHE additionally manages global licensing of studio content and transactional distribution across worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices and emerging technologies.

Specifications:

Blu-ray™ Specifications:

• Blu-ray: 1 Disc
• Video: 1080p High Definition
• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos; English, French & German 5.1 Surround Dolby Digital AC3
• Subtitles: English SDH, French & German

DVD Specifications:

• DVD: 2 Discs
• Video: Standard Definition
• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen
• Audio: English 5.1 Surround Dolby Digital AC3
• Subtitles: English SDH

4K UHD Specifications:

• 4K UHD: 1 Disc -Audio: English Dolby Atmos; English 5.1 Surround Dolby Digital AC3 Subtitles: English SDH

U.S. Rating: Not Rated

Canadian Rating: G

Run Time: 3:00:00

Created for Television by JOHN WHITTINGTON and TOBY ASCHER

Written by JOHN WHITTINGTON (episodes 101, 102, 106)

Written by BRIAN SCHACTER (episodes 103, 105)

Written by JAMES MADEJSKI (episode 104)

Directed by JEFF FOWLER (episode 101)

Directed by GED WRIGHT (episode 102)

Directed by BRANDON TROST (episode 103)

Directed by JORMA TACCONE (episode 104)

Directed by CAROL BANKER (episodes 105 & 106)

Pre-order: Amazon

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut was animated digitally in a process that’s meant to replicate the look of traditional “done by hand” animation with physical pieces of colored construction paper (which is how the original South Park pilot was created). Upon completion, the film was scanned to 35 mm internegative stock framed at the 1.85:1 aspect ratio for its original theatrical release. For this new Ultra HD, it appears that original negative has itself been scanned in 4K to create a new Digital Intermediate, with new grading for high dynamic range in Dolby Vision. Essentially all of the detail—such as there is—that’s in that original negative is represented here on screen, including all of the line work and faux paper texturing. But there’s also a very light wash of photochemical grain that’s natural and organic looking at all times. Colors are well saturated and all of the subtle variations in hues and shading that were present in the original digital animation are visible. Beyond that, there’s not really much else to say. HDR expands the color and contrast space a little, but given the nature of this animation the improvements are very subtle. The film certainly looks great, and arguably better than it ever has before, but no one is going to mistake this for a reference quality 4K image—it’s just not that kind of film.

Likewise, the film’s English audio, which is included here in the same 5.1 Dolby TrueHD mix found on the original 2009 Blu-ray release (reviewed here at The Bits) sounds very good indeed. The soundstage is pleasingly wide, but largely front focused, with the surround channels engaged lightly for a bit of atmospherics, some occasional directional cues, and musical ambience. Clarity and fidelity are good as well, and the music sounds great from start to finish. Note that the 4K disc includes English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD and French 5.1 Dolby Digital, with optional subtitles in English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and French. The Blu-ray disc in the package also includes the English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD mix but that’s all, with subs available in English (this is Sing-a-Long text) and English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing only.

Paramount’s new Ultra HD package is a 2-disc set that includes the film in 4K as well as 1080p HD on Blu-ray. (Note that this is a newly-authored disc, with new menus and encoding, not the same BD released in 2009.) There are no extras on the 4K disc itself, but the Blu-ray adds the following special features…

• Audio Commentary with Matt Stone and Trey Parker
• What Would Brian Boitano Do? Music Video (SD – 2:44)
• Teaser Trailer (HD – :55)
• Theatrical Trailer #1 (HD – 1:32)
• Theatrical Trailer #2 (SD – 1:51)

These features are identical to those found on the 2009 Blu-ray, including the full-length audio commentary which was recorded specifically for that disc. It’s a very funny track. Trey and Matt joke, laugh, and tell great stories, then start inviting in other staffers and just about anyone who happened to be in the building at the time... whether they worked on the film or not. (“Wow, I can’t believe it’s been ten years since I didn’t work on this film!”) You get the idea. The commentary is a hoot. Also included are a trio of trailers in HD, and the original 1999 DVD’s music video. You also get a Digital Copy code on a paper insert, though it only redeems at Fandango at Home (ex Vudu).

...

To be fair, I’m not sure how much that experience really needed (or benefits from) a 4K Ultra HD upgrade, but what the hell—it’s like $23 on sale. If you really love this film, there are worse ways to spend your cash. And it makes a nice double-feature with Parker and Stone’s Team America: World Police which is also now available in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount (see our review here). Enjoy!

The Stanley Cup Finals might be over tonight, but you can catch some on-ice action this summer when Jean-Claude Van Damme's "Die Hard at a hockey game" action classic Sudden Death checks into 4K Blu-ray. Kino Lorber's two-disc set will be released on August 27.

The set will be centered around a brand-new HDR Dolby Vision master from a 16-bit 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative. It will include an all-new audio commentary by action movie historian Mike Leeder and I Am VengeanceRoss Boyask. It will also include a number of archival special features, including contemporary interviews with stars Van Damme, Powers Boothe (Tombstone), and Ross Malinger (Sleepless in Seattle), and director Peter Hyams (Outland); behind-the-scenes footage; and the film's original theatrical trailer and TV spot. The set will retail for $26.57, and can be preordered at KinoLorber.com.

Fans were quick to dub Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers this summer’s undeniable hit, circulating fan edits and memes about (spoiler!) throuples, and writing fan fiction en masse on sites like Archive of Our Own and Wattpad.

The movie’s production team invited the stans behind the scenes with a video diary series on Instagram, as well as with new featurettes about some of the more technical aspects of filming certain tennis scenes popping up on X.

But when the Challengers Blu-ray was announced on May 16, it included no bonus content—it’s not even being released in 4K.

Fans weren’t just upset, they were downright baffled. Cinephiles voiced their deep disappointment in the release—specifically citing the lack of bonus features, cast commentary, interviews, and gag reels.

The outcry makes it clear that fans want these extras to exist as more than just ephemeral fodder on social media. They want ownership over the intimate details of a movie they love. A comment on the Challengers Instagram isn’t enough; fans want the high-res film clips of the three leads being cute together behind the scenes to watch for all eternity. So why won’t these studios give that to them?

...

“It’s no longer simply about men in their basement wanting to see Iron Man,” John Rotella, SVP of sales at Shout! Studios, said. “You have to be really, really careful. You have to really do your due diligence in really capturing everything. So you have to have people on staff that are hyperdetailed and fully aware of the extras that you need.”

More and more of these labels are finding ways to pack value into their offerings, with their own teams sourcing interviews and photos, commissioning new art, and more. Some labels deal exclusively in genre films, some focus on “the classics,” some don’t have a direction at all—but they all provide a high-quality product that doesn’t exist on any of the major streaming platforms, and that is luring in even the casual collector.

Paramount Home Media Distribution will release a standard 4K Blu-ray edition of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, and Sacha Baron Cohen. The release is scheduled to arrive on the market on September 3.

Description: Johnny Depp and Tim Burton join forces again in the Oscar winning big-screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's classic musical-thriller. Depp stars in the title role as a man unjustly sent to prison who vows revenge, not only for that cruel punishment, but for the devastating consequences of what happened to his wife and daughter. He returns to reopen his barber shop, where he becomes legend as "the demon barber of Fleet Street." The supporting cast includes Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney's amorous accomplice, Alan Rickman as the evil Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall as the Judge's wicked associate Beadle Bamford and Sacha Baron Cohen as the unforgettable Signor Adolfo Pirelli.

I will always remember this film for one specific reason. At no point in any of the marketing did they reveal that this was a musical. I was young and naïve and didn't know it was an adaptation of the broadway show.

Later this year Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Black & Chrome Edition will be available, a version of the theatrical film which has the color removed in favor of a black a chrome aesthetic. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Black & Chrome Edition will feature an introduction by director George Miller.

TLDR: June 25th.

As physical media collectors well know, The Criterion Collection can be rather eclectic with their selections. Sometimes you get your true Hollywood classic. Sometimes you get a great piece of French of Japanese cinema. Occasionally you get one hell of an incredible box set. But every once in a while they stack their slate with a smorgasbord of cult classics, fan favorites, and one of the best gangster flicks to come out of England (and there are a lot of those!). So lets get into it -

• Repo Man 4k
• All of Us Strangers 4k
• The Long Good Friday 4k
• Gregg Araki's Teen Apocalypse Trilogy 4K
• Happiness 4k

Tech specs at Blu-ray.com

Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is heading straight to Prime Video in the UK with a July date now confirmed.

And if you can't wait that long, someone uploaded it to YouTube (in 720P) and it's been there for several weeks now!