HD DVD and Blu-ray releases on July 10th, 2007
July, the month of catalog titles continues for both formats. This week, HD DVD continues to make up loss ground on Blu-ray with four new titles to Blu-ray's nada. This is the first in some time that Blu-ray hasn't even bothered to release even one catalog title, they are making it even easier for HD DVD to catch up. Looking ahead, July pretty much keeps up this theme, as we all wait for 300 to come at the end of the month.HD DVD 245 vs Blu-ray 260.
Blu-ray
- Zilch
- Billy Madison (Universal)
- Dante's Peak (Universal)
- The War (Universal)
- The Wedding Date (Universal)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
digason @ Jul 9th 2007 11:13AM
Those Blu-Ray titles look strangely like next week's releases.
jason @ Jul 9th 2007 11:15AM
Those Blu-Ray titles look strangely like next week's releases.
zombieflanders @ Jul 9th 2007 11:18AM
Jason's right. Blu-ray has no releases this week, HD DVD has none next week.
Ben @ Jul 9th 2007 11:22AM
Yeah, I really messed it up, sorry. Thanks for the correction.
Vidikron @ Jul 9th 2007 12:46PM
I hate this damn format war. So f'ing stupid.
Dominic @ Jul 9th 2007 1:03PM
@Kris:
Well, I will admit for any consumer to guess which way the war will fold is like guessing the weather, I still favor Blu-ray. Here's the thing about Universal...................... it's ONE corporation. I highly doubt it would come close to "killing" BD 1st quarter.
Btw, price-cut on PS3, $499 60 GB version. Ouch to HD-DVD on that blow.
Liqwid @ Jul 9th 2007 1:31PM
That's not even a price cut. The 20gb was $499... and wasn't really missing that many features that the 60gb has. Grow some common sense. Not a price cut. Plus, would you pay $699 for 20gb more and a game? I think not. That's the only reason the prices were lowered. Oh, what's that I hear? Money? Leaking out of Sony's wallet like a huge, streaming waterfall?
Liqwid @ Jul 9th 2007 1:28PM
Just wait for The Jetsons Movie to come out on HD DVD. It's Universal.
"To this day, there is no DVD release scheduled, yet, the film aired for the first time in HD and widescreen since it's theatrical release on Universal HD on February 2, 2007." Wikipedia.org
Dominic @ Jul 9th 2007 1:55PM
@Liqwid: $100 in my book is a price cut even if you are comparing it to a discontinued product as the 20gb version. by going from $599-$499 puts you in one notch lower in the market bracket...Thus being A PRICE CUT.
I grew a pair of common sense a long time ago, thanks for trying not to be intelligent/constructive about it. Just a small note of error (you probably caught this after post). you get 20 gb and a game for $599 (not 699)
Gaming console + media center (wired/wifi) + BD player + storage for $499. that's pretty effing competitive. Although I will admit Sony is paying more out of pocket right now, HD-DVD has been taking a lot of hits via PR...you won't see those dollar effects in the short-term.
Terry @ Jul 9th 2007 1:42PM
Transformers is Paramount.
borland502 @ Jul 9th 2007 1:48PM
@Kris: "Evan Almighty"
My God, if I had known that title was HD-DVD exclusive I would never have purchased my PS3! Please, please tell me that the Paris Hilton flicks "House of Wax" and "Bottoms Up" aren't also exclusives. And Gigli? Nooooooooooo....
Kumar @ Jul 9th 2007 1:51PM
What's this Zilch movie all about? I checked the IMDB and found nothing ;)
Mike @ Jul 9th 2007 4:08PM
probably some foreign flick, sounds boring! :P
Dave @ Jul 9th 2007 1:58PM
Here is some very, very interesting information about what is going on...
http://blog.pixelperfectproductions.com/?p=54
Godfa7h3r @ Jul 9th 2007 3:06PM
Yes Anthony,
I'm surprised that sale hasn't made the front page yet! Best Buy has five different HD DVD titles on sale this week at $15 each.
V for Vendetta
Troy
Goodfellas
Phantom of the Opera
Last Samurai
I picked up all of them except phantom. Killer deal! Get it on the front page!!
Bull @ Jul 9th 2007 3:55PM
It doesn't matter if HD-DVD beats them 10 weeks in a row; all it takes is one week for Blu-ray to completely annihilate HD-DVD with a flurry of substandard, c-rated catalog titles.
Mr_Fizzlepop @ Jul 9th 2007 7:58PM
Dave, that was good info that not everyone will go to, so I cut an pasted all but the pie charts--> http://blog.pixelperfectproductions.com/?p=54
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For 2007, up to June 28th (I started doing the analysis on June 29th), the top 100 films have grossed a total of $3,693,457,524. Of that, 52.65% of the dollar value gross, or $1,944,471,566 is from studios exclusive to Blu-Ray. 10.07%, or $372,099,319 is exclusive to HD DVD, and 37.28% or $1,376,886,639 is dual-format. The remaining 1.18% ($43,400,114) has not chosen a side.
Of the top 100 2007 (YTD) films, 47 are from Blu-Ray exclusive studios, 14 are HD DVD exclusive studios, 29 are dual-format studios and 10 are not supporting either format currently.
Looking back at 2006, the top 100 films grossed a total of $7,868,951,746. Of that, 60.01%, or $4,722,185,762 was from Blu-Ray exclusive studios. 10.07%, or $792,188,570 was from HD DVD exclusive studios, and 29.92% ($2,354,577,414) was from dual-format studios.
Of the films, 53 were from Blu-Ray exclusive studios, 14 from HD DVD exclusive studios and 33 from dual-format studios. There were no films in the 2006 top 100 from studios that had not declared a format preference.
OK, so when it comes to new releases, things are weighted pretty heavily toward Blu-Ray. Of the top 300 films released from January 1 2005 to present, 147 of them are from studios that are exclusively supporting Blu-Ray currently, and they represent 53.60% of the total grosses. Add in the numbers from the studios that currently support both formats, and you have 248 out of the top 300 films coming out at some point on Blu-Ray, and they represent 89.07% of the total theatrical grosses.
On the HD DVD front, only 42 films are exclusives to the format, representing 10.71% of the total grosses. Add in the dual-format studios, and HD DVD has 143 films, with 46.18% of the total grosses represented. This is the biggest hurdle HD DVD has to overcome, and given that the studios that are Blu-Ray exclusive are steadfastly so, I dont see how they can (Sony, Fox and Disney are the three biggest Blu-Ray exclusive backers. Sony because they have a vested interest in the technology, and Fox and Disney because they are proponents of heavy copy protection and Blu-Ray has an extra layer of protection (BD+) that HD DVD does not - none of these three studios has a compelling reason to support HD DVD).
New releases represent the overwhelming majority of home video sales, and this is why Universal has been so aggressive in getting newer movies out on HD DVD. This holiday season, however, things will shift even more in Blu-Rays favor as many of this summers biggest movies like Spider-Man 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Ratatouille hit Blu-Ray and not HD DVD. Of the summers big releases that will be on HD DVD, the vast majority will also be available on Blu-Ray. In fact, of the top 20 movies released year-to-date only two, Knocked Up and Evan Almighty, are HD DVD exclusives.
Still, catalog titles have been huge for DVD and have the potential to do so again for the HD formats. Looking at the top 100 films of all time, 44 are from Blu-Ray exclusive studios (46.68% of total gross), 12 are from HD DVD exclusive studios (12.12% of total gross) and 42 are from dual-format studios (41.2% of gross). The remaining 2 films are from studios that dont support either format yet (those two films, if youre interested, are The Passion of the Christ and My Big Fat Greek Wedding).
If we adjust the all-time 100 for inflation, the numbers skew even more in Blu-Rays favor, with 57 being Blu-Ray exclusive studios (59.27% of adjusted gross), 11 being HD DVD exclusive (12.24% of adjusted gross) and 30 supporting both (28.49% of adjusted gross). Again, there are two films from studios supporting neither format at this time (1.59% of adjusted gross) - this time, My Big Fat Greek Wedding drops out of the top 100 and is replaced by Duel In The Sun.
All of this seems irrelevant in light of the percentage of home video sales that Blu-Ray and HD DVD represent. A giant slice of a tiny pie is still a small piece of pie. If you stop and consider that standard definition DVD sales have leveled off, and are expected to decline this year, and that the movie studios are going to need to find new revenue streams to continue the growth of the home video market, it becomes obvious that the home video market needs a new DVD to carry it into the next generation. The HD formats are the best bet for that currently. Digital downloads are not ready for prime time (there are no standardized formats, and no standardized players, and the studios have not lined up behind any formats).
In the end, the reality is that no matter what numbers you look at, Blu-Ray has the advantage. Blu-Ray is outselling HD DVD, it has more studio support, it has more consumer electronics manufacturers support and the library of movies is rapidly overtaking HD DVD. Blu-Ray also has a deeper library of catalog titles to reach into.
It is time for Universal Studios, the Weinstein Company, Toshiba and the few other HD DVD hold outs to face facts and throw their support behind Blu-Ray. The sooner this format war ends, the sooner the general populace will be able to replace those dwindling DVD revenues with a new stream, and that means more HD content for all of us. Everyone winswell, as long as you consider re-purchasing content you already own winning, but thats the price you pay for progress.
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Xyzzy @ Jul 10th 2007 8:47AM
That's all well and good, except for the fact that the BD "exclusive" studios aren't actually releasing any movies... When was the last time you saw a FOX release? Disney? The only BD exclusive company releasing movies is Sony right now. Until that changes, it's a non-issue.
Anthony @ Jul 10th 2007 6:09PM
Xyzzy, You are right, I hadn't noticed the fact that the only studio releasing movies for Blu Ray is Sony. Fox hasn't released a non new release since February (a whopping 5 months ago!). Could this be a sign that Fox is rethinking thier strategy when it comes to Blu Ray exclusivity?
Ok Blu Ray fan boys, you may proceed with your HD DVD bashings!
Anthony @ Jul 10th 2007 5:59PM
All HD DVD Owners,
Best Buy is currently selling HD DVD movies for $14.99 right now. Some of the titles are Troy and V for Vendetta. Check it out, previously Frys was selling Goodfellas and The Last Samurai for only $13.99. Time to stock up!
Homeostasis @ Jul 9th 2007 3:56PM
Sounds like an advertisement
SimbaDogg @ Jul 12th 2007 12:56PM
Uhh...no, have you ever thought they are waiting for the finalized version of BD+