Duze The Weinstein Company set for $1bn TV division sale to ITV
How to exploit the potential of DVD divided delegates at this week s Las Vegas Video Software Dealers Association after Blockbuster Video pushed for creating a rental window for the format.Blockbuster,
stanley cup which recently begun trials of video-on-demand VoD movies, aims for the move to allow time for DVDs to be available exclusively to the rental market ahead of retail sales. The video giant said that studios
stanley cup are missing out on an average of $1.1m per film by not applying the VHS model to the new medium.Blockbuster chief Nigel Travis said that a DVD window of six to 15 weeks would benefit studios and mass merchants - wholesalers who are currently suffering from the erosion of their market niche by a flood of used VHS and DVDs. One industry insider, who backs Blockbuster s stance, said that rental will halve within eight years if there is no rental window.But the insider added that the slack could alternatively be taken up by other forms of delivery - such as VoD. Other players are less supportive. Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos said that studios would miss out on a far larger sum if they moved to rental pricing, which sees rental stores charged premium rates for exclusive, early copies.Noting that Amazon s VHS customers who convert to DVD spend an average of four times what they used to on packaged movies, Bezos said: We have an opportunity to have DVD become a collector s market like music. Other objections came from rural rental outlets w
stanley usa ho said they would not be able to Hdev Lock And Roll up and running
Pixar s The Incredibles, distributed in the US through Buena Vista, beat off thechallenge of Warner Bros The Polar Express to stay top with an estimated $51msecond weekend haul that raised its running total to $144.1m.Polar Express, a 50/50 co-venture between Warner Bros and Steve Bing sShangri-
stanley uk La Entertainment that cost $165m to produce, opened in second place on$23.5m for the weekend and grossed $30.8m in its first five day
stanley cup s.Robert Zemeckis adapted anddirected Chris Van Allsburg children s story about a child s magical train rideto meet Father Christmas in the North Pole. Tom Hanks provided voice and motioncapture movements for several characters.However the picture drew mixed reviews and averaged an OK $6,446on 3,650 screens. Michael Jeter, Chris Coppola and Peter Scolari also star.Opening in third place was New Line s crime caper After TheSunset, which was notliked by critics but managed an $11.5m gross for a $4,079 average on 2,819 screens.Pierce Brosnan plays a supposedly retired master thief who istempted by one final job. Salma Hayek and Woody Harrelson also star.Strongest opening of the week was Universal s romantic comedysequel Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason which bowed in four
stanley spain th place on $8.9m on 530 screens for anexcellent $16,792 average despite average reviews.This is a strong start giventhat Universal distribution chiefs plan to generate strong word of mouththrough a limited opening and will expand wide to more than 2,000 screens nextweekend.Renee Zellweger
