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Men In Black on DVD
Columbia Tristar looks to strike gold this year on home video sales
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Som Chivukula
With hits like Spider-Man, Men In Black 2 and XXX under its belt, Sony Pictures will finish the year as the box-office champ among the major studios. The success of these titles in theatres is often a good sign, in terms of forming expectations for home video.
First up was Spider-Man, which made it to video and DVD two weeks ago. Within the initial weekend, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (a division of Sony) sold seven million units, with 75 per cent on DVD. It seems with each new high-profile release, records are set-both in terms of the number of copies sold and revenues generated.
Similar performance is expected out of Men In Black 2, which will debut November 26. To celebrate the occasion, the company held a press conference at the New York Stock Exchange November 14. Executives also rang the closing bell at 4 pm.
"The interesting thing about DVD is that it is a global product," noted president Benjamin Feingold. "Subtitled films help us deal with customers worldwide. Sales in the video category, which includes VHS & DVD sales and rentals will grow 15 to 20 per cent [for CTHE]. Our DVD business is expected to grow 100 per cent this year from last. In unsettled markets, this is [quite] a testament to our products."
Sony Pictures and Sony Pictures Classics have an impressive slate of films for 2003, which bodes well for home video, Feingold added. "We acquired Lagaan from India and it did quite well with 40,000 units on DVD," he said. "It's a small number but it's a start."
Beginning in 1994, when CTHE began exploring the DVD format, Feingold knew it would one day be the medium of choice. "Not since a product such as cell phones, has there been a hot product such as DVD," he said. "VHS never achieved the same prominence."
Over half the households in the United States are equipped with DVD players today. The convenience aspect of the disc is just one reason many users switch to the format, Feingold said. Consumers also go gaga over the extended features tacked on to many movies.
The Men In Black 2 DVD is a two-disc set with hours of bonus features including commentary and gag reels. With MIIB being made available just in time for Thanksgiving, the expectations are sky high though Feingold said no official targets had been set.
Two weeks later, Stuart Little 2, which did not live up to the performance set by its predecessor, will debut. "They make for great stocking-stuffers," the executive said.
At a reception after the closing bell, Feingold told rediff.com that executives were indeed pleased with the worldwide performance of MIIB, grabbing almost $450 million. Media reports claimed Sony executives were not pleased with its theatrical performance, casting doubt on a third movie. The second MIB cost over $140 million, not counting several million more in marketing.
"There really is not much of a difference between $250 and $190 million," Feingold said. "Would we have liked more? Sure, but we're happy with it."
Adding to the speculation on the continuity of the series was the fact that director Barry Sonnenfeld and the film's stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones would reportedly share as much as 30 per cent of the total revenues from MIIB. "We have some targets and the director has some, but that's the way the business is," Feingold said.
Sonnenfeld, who was the reception, said he would like to direct a third film. But fans would have to wait for at least three more years, he added. "Will has two or three good ideas and I would like to come back," he said. "We may take it up down the road."