Fourth-quarter snapshot

Studio executives give their thoughts on Q4, high-def's role

By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 7/31/2006

JULY 31 | VB asked senior studio executives for their thoughts on the upcoming fourth quarter and the role high-definition DVD will play. Titles listed are possible fourth-quarter DVD releases.

BUENA VISTA

Cars, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Little Mermaid Platinum Edition

Lori MacPherson, senior VP of brand marketing and product management, on Q4: “Fourth-quarter 2005 turned out to be very strong. We’re particularly hopeful on our fourth quarter, because we have an extremely strong lineup.”

FOX

Ice Age: The Meltdown, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Devil Wears Prada, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, MGM’s James Bond catalog

Mike Dunn, president, on Q4: “We’re No. 1 in market share for theatrical [through June 30]. We’re really positioned well going into the fourth quarter.”

On high-def: “Quite frankly, I don’t believe there is a format war. The HD DVD camp hasn’t brought in enough consoles to form a beachhead. I don’t believe they intend to do so. We’ll see Blu-ray start to take hold this year.”

LIONSGATE

The Descent, Dirty Dancing Special Edition, Terminator Trilogy

Steve Beeks, president, on Q4: While he expects overall industry sales to be flat for the year, Beeks says Lionsgate will “definitely be up.”

On high-def: “We believe it’s going to end up being a healthy market. This is all about the fourth quarter.”

PARAMOUNT

Mission: Impossible III, DreamWorks’ Over the Hedge, Nacho Libre, World Trade Center, Barnyard

Kelley Avery, president worldwide, on Q4: “The combination of the Paramount and DreamWorks slate is one of the strongest and broadest in the industry.”

On high-def: “We’ll be perfectly aligned with the big push for both HD [DVD] and Blu-ray” in the fourth quarter.

SONY

The Da Vinci Code, Click, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Monster House

David Bishop, president, on Q4: “It’s quite exciting. We’re poised to have an embarrassment of riches.”

On high-def: “PlayStation 3 will have a meaningful impact in the marketplace. We really see that as a significant point in the market.”

UNIVERSAL

The Break-Up; The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift; You, Me and Dupree; Miami Vice

Craig Kornblau, president, on Q4: “We’ve got a terrific fourth-quarter slate. I’d be very surprised if we do not end the year up.”

On high-def: Software sales could account for somewhere in the “low single digits” as a percentage of business this year. “This is just the start up year, and it’s really about early adopters. That’s why it’s so important to do it right. Whatever we do on HD, we’ve gotta do it very well.”

WARNER

Superman Returns, Lady in the Water, Ant Bully, New Line’s Snakes On a Plane

Ron Sanders, president, on Q4: “It’s going to be very competitive in the fourth quarter, as it always is. But fortunately, we have some big titles that will help us pull along catalog.”

On high-def: Warner expects high-def sales in the “low hundreds of millions of dollars” in 2006, making it less than 1% of overall home entertainment revenue but still a “meaningful” business. “It’s a high-margin business. Plus, the early adopter is a voracious consumer of movies.”