Paramount pushes Panda to Sunday release
Animated blockbuster will street Nov. 9
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 9/15/2008
SEPT. 15 | Paramount Home Entertainment has slotted the DVD and Blu-ray Disc launch of Kung Fu Panda on Sunday, Nov. 9 (prebook Sept. 30), marking the first time the studio has bowed a title on this day of the week.
Hitting two days earlier than the street date the studio had previously told retailers, Kung Fu Panda will avoid getting overshadowed by this year’s presidential election outcome, as well maximize its holiday retail opportunities, believe studio executives.
The title will come with its own made-for-DVD sidekick, Secrets of the Furious Five. Created by Kung Fu Panda producer DreamWorks Animation SKG, Secrets also will street on Nov. 9 in standard-definition only.
Kung Fu Panda and Secrets will be available together as a bundle dubbed Pandamonium Double Pack, which the studio expects to sell for less than $25 at retail. A single-disc Kung Fu Panda is expected to retail for less than $20 and a Blu-ray version for less than $30.
For several weeks, the Kung Fu Panda street date has been a moving target for retailers. At first the title was expected on Nov. 18, the date that Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment took for its WALL-E, and then more recently on Nov. 11—which the studio did advertise in distributor mailers and trade ads. Stores assumed that studios like Paramount were carefully date jockeying in order to score the best real estate in what looks to be an ultra competitive fourth quarter. Six movies enjoy box-office grosses of more than $200 million. Kung Fu Panda is one of them and has pulled in $600 million worldwide.
Ultimately, Paramount picked Sunday, Nov. 9 to ensure that Kung Fu Panda advertising wouldn’t get swamped by the results of the Nov. 4 election, as well as plant a flag in what the studio considers the first official holiday shopping weekend.
“We have a huge campaign behind Kung Fu Panda, and we were thinking that during the whole prior week the nation will be focused on the election and Halloween,” said Bob Buchi, Paramount’s senior VP of brand marketing. “Having it on Sunday will help us kick off the whole gift-giving season in a big way.”
Buchi also hopes the timing will mean retailers’ traditional Sunday circulars hyping the upcoming week’s DVD releases “will be immediately actionable” for Kung Fu Panda.
“This breaks down the Tuesday norm and makes Sunday a bigger event for retailers,” he added.
Paramount has snagged many of its frequent DVD advertising partners, including Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s, Energizer and Kellogg’s, as well as such newcomers as Bank of America.
Secrets of the Furious Five will extend the story line of the feature film’s world and will be led by Po trying to teach a class of young kung fu students. It features the voices of Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman reprising their Kung Fu Panda characters, Po and Master Shifu, respectively.
Each of the two DVD titles contains multiple bonus features. Kung Fu Panda extras include filmmakers’ commentary, several featurettes and a DreamWorks Animation video jukebox.
Secrets features two demos for games based on Kung Fu Panda and upcoming theatrical Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. There also are quizzes and a ‘Learn to Draw’ feature. By itself Secrets is 24 minutes long, but combined with its bonus feautures, the disc will span multiple hours.
Exclusive Blu-ray bonus features include two BD Live Web-enabled featurettes: “A Day in the Life: A Shaolin Monk in Training” and “Po Around the World.”
