'GREEK' VIDEO RELEASE FEB. 11.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer ``My Big Fat Greek Wedding,'' an ongoing box-office phenomenon since its release more than eight months ago, will be the focus of a multimillion-dollar promotional campaign featuring such prizes as trips to Greece when the romantic comedy finally hits video stores Feb. 11, distributor HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy Home Video said Monday. On its way to becoming the highest-grossing independent film of all time, ``Wedding'' bucked the movie industry norm as audiences grew with each passing week instead of declining. Its widespread popularity was fueled by nearly unprecedented word of mouth and multiple viewings by fans of the movie. The home video of ``Wedding'' is timed to take advantage of gift-giving on Valentine's Day Valentine's Day: see Saint Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day Lovers' holiday celebrated on February 14, the feast day of St. Valentine, one of two 3rd-century Roman martyrs of the same name. St. and to give the movie yet more time to finally wrap up its remarkable theatrical run. It was still the 13th most popular movie in U.S. theaters last weekend. ``We think this will truly be the gift that will keep on giving and will go down in video history as well,'' said Henry McGee Henry McGee (May 14, 1929 – January 28, 2006) was a British actor best known as straight man to Benny Hill for many years. McGee also served often as the announcer on Hill's TV programme, delivering the upbeat intro "Yes! It's The Benny Hill Show!" , president of HBO Home Video. ``We are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. the same long run as in theaters.'' ``Wedding'' is about a Greek-American woman (Nia Vardalos Nia Vardalos (born September 24 1962) is a Golden Globe-nominated Canadian-American actress, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and producer. Biography Personal life Vardalos, who is of Greek descent, was born Antonia Eugenia Vardalos ) who falls in love with a WASP high school teacher (John Corbett), then struggles to get her eccentric family to accept him when they decide to get married. The film was written by Vardalos and is based on a one-woman stage show she also created and starred in. Airing nationally on all major broadcast networks and some high-profile cable channels will be 30-second commercials that will begin airing prior to the video release date. HBO Home Video will also benefit from a week of wedding-themed movies airing on TNT TNT: see trinitrotoluene. TNT in full trinitrotoluene Pale yellow, solid organic compound made by adding nitrate (−NO2) groups to toluene. the week of the video release, and on the TBS network's ``Dinner and a Movie'' program, wedding-themed films will be featured along with Greek recipes. HBO, TBS and TNT are all owned by AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. Time Warner. HBO has lined up such promotional partners as Modern Bride magazine, Kay Jewelers and FTD FTD Financial Times Deutschland (German sister newspaper of the Financial Times) FTD Frontotemporal Dementia FTD Fitted FTD Federal Tax Deposit FTD Flight Training Device FTD Fastest Time of the Day .com, all of which will, among other things, offer grand prizes that include trips to Greece. For example, the April issue of Modern Bride will have an advertising spread on the film that spotlights a sweepstakes for an actual Greek wedding including a trip to Greece and tickets for up to six people in the wedding party. ``Being that it's a romantic comedy and about people falling in love, the partners suggested themselves,'' McGee said of the promotional lineup. Interest in the home-video title is already strong with online retailers, giving customers the opportunity to pre-order the film on DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. or VHS (Video Home System) A half-inch, analog videocassette recorder (VCR) format introduced by JVC in 1976 to compete with Sony's Betamax, introduced a year earlier. . With the release still more than six weeks away, ``Wedding'' was already No. 6 on Walmart.com and No. 7 on Amazon.com on Monday. Both retailers began accepting pre-orders in November. ``We expect it to be one of our biggest titles during the first quarter,'' said Walmart.com spokeswoman Cynthia Lyn. ``It's been interesting to see how strong these pre-orders have been, given that the movie doesn't hit the streets until Feb. 11 and that it's happening during the holiday season when most people go online looking for gifts.'' As of Sunday, ``Greek Wedding'' had achieved a staggering cumulative gross of $217.8 million. The movie opened in mid-April and continued to play to steady audiences through the spring, summer and fall on its way to becoming the most-popular romantic comedy ever. ``Wedding'' also holds the unusual box office record of being the highest-grossing movie to have never had a No. 1 weekend. ``We think it will be particularly successful on video due to the word of mouth,'' McGee said. ``All research indicates this is something people not only want for themselves but also want to give as a gift.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) no caption (``My Big Fat Greek Wedding'') |
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