Summit breaks its own trail

JUNE 23 | HOME MEDIA EXPO: Summit Home Entertainment is making its first appearance at Home Media Expo to position itself as the next mini-major studio, different from other independent home entertainment companies because of the mass appeal of its movies.

It's a pitch the company knows retailers have heard before.

To make its case, Summit offers its theatrical slate, which includes 3D animated family film Fly Me to the Moon; teen comedy Sex Drive, with James Marsden; and Twilight, based on author Stephenie Meyers' best-selling vampire book series for young adults.

President Steve Nickerson stressed that the theatricals will appeal to broad audiences, and not just the niche audiences that indies typically attract. Each Summit theatrical film will be marketed as a wide release and unspool across 1,500 screens.

“These are not arthouse or genre fare,” said Nickerson. “Our first priority is to make sure that in home entertainment, we are as successful as we can be with those films.”

This week at Home Media Expo, Nickerson hopes he can convey that Summit is a different kind of indie supplier, one that can go the distance. “We really want to go and talk to the attendees about who we are and what we plan on doing, and not just in the near term but also into the future,” he said.

During its first full year as a DVD unit, Summit plans to release 12 theatrical discs, including Penelope and Never Back Down on July 15 and July 29, respectively. Its first release was spring's P2, a thriller starring Wes Bentley (American Beauty).

Mixed martial arts drama Never Back Down is getting a big push at the show this week, with star Cam Gigandet hosting a Tuesday afternoon screening before accepting EMA's Rising Male Star of the Year award later in the evening.

In one difference from most prominent indies, Summit is in no hurry to acquire outside product for distribution, preferring to focus on its own theatrical titles.

“We have to be selective about what we do from a distribution standpoint, so projects are complementary and are not competitive with our own product,” said Nickerson.

In one of its first outside deals, Summit will distribute Concert Hot Spot titles on Blu-ray, spanning such catalog titles as Ozzfest and Mötley Crüe as well as not yet specified new releases. Previously, Warner Music Group serviced Concert Hot Spot titles to retail.

Summit's relatively insular approach can work in home entertainment, Nickerson said, because the company's DVD team has a voice in what its sister theatrical unit greenlights for the big screen, and the two units share a marketing department. In addition, the company will acquire select direct-to-DVD projects to fill its schedule.

At Summit, “all the divisions are equal,” said Nickerson. “We are all making the decisions about what's good for the company overall. Everybody will be present for meetings about films coming out in 2009.”