DVD DEJA-VIEW COMPANIES CAPITALIZE ON SUCCESS OF SEQUELS BY REMARKETING ORIGINALS.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer As box office phenomena ``The Matrix Reloaded'' and ``X2: X-Men United'' kick off a sequel-filled summer, movie studios are simultaneously capitalizing on the 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. boom by repackaging and marketing the predecessors to those and other sequels for retail. It's a formula that is clearly working. The new DVD version of 1999's ``The Matrix'' has shot back up to the top of home video sales charts even though the sci-fi thriller has already sold more than 30 million DVD and 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. copies and has been on video store shelves for several years. ``It's kind of wild because you'd think everyone would have bought it already,'' said Brad Hackley, director of research for the Video Software Dealers Association. ``For a title that is 3 years old, this is remarkable. All the commercials, ad campaigns and marketing behind 'Reloaded' is definitely reinvigorating the original Matrix.'' The same kind of new DVD life is being enjoyed by the original ``X-Men'' film and is expected for several other titles this summer as sequels to ``Charlie's Angels,'' ``The Terminator (1) A character that ends a string of alphanumeric characters. (2) A hardware component that is connected to the last peripheral device in a series or the last node in a network. ,'' ``Legally Blonde,'' ``Bad Boys'' ``Dumb and Dumber'' (a prequel pre·quel n. A literary, dramatic, or cinematic work whose narrative takes place before that of a preexisting work or a sequel. [pre- + (se)quel.] ), ``Lara Croft CROFT, obsolete. A little close adjoining to a dwelling-house, and enclosed for pasture or arable, or any particular use. Jacob's Law Dict. Tomb Raider,'' ``Spy Kids,'' ``American Pie'' and ``The Fast and the Furious'' hit theaters. The home video divisions of the major studios are now busy pulling out all of the promotional stops to spotlight the originals. The goal is to entice the more than 40 million households in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. that now have DVD players A stand-alone device that plays DVDs. It contains a DVD drive and the electronics to decode the digital video. The device may play only manufactured DVDs, or it may be able to play DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs. DVD players are cabled to a TV or home theater system for display. and might not have been interested in buying DVDs when the films first went to video. ``What you are seeing is the studios becoming more crafty in their marketing,'' said Rob Cummings, a senior buyer for the Best Buy chain, one of the nation's top sellers of DVDs. ``They will do things to stimulate sales like maybe release a different version on DVD with extra content. You also see some studios put promotion on the DVD like movie cash.'' ``Movie cash'' is one of the fastest-growing trends when promoting an original movie on DVD in connection with its sequel. It consists of a voucher A receipt or release which provides evidence of payment or other discharge of a debt, often for purposes of reimbursement, or attests to the accuracy of the accounts. for a free admission to the sequel that must be mailed in or, in some cases, can be redeemed directly at the box office. ``You will be seeing that more in the future,'' Cummings said. ``It's a good way to drive people into the theater and to stimulate sales of that title too.'' Movie cash will be a key element of the DVD campaigns for both ``Charlie's Angels'' and ``Bad Boys'' in the coming months as ``Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' and ``Bad Boys II'' are released theatrically by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Sony first used the movie cash promotion last summer when it released ``Stuart Little 2'' in theaters and re-released ``Stuart Little'' on DVD. ``What better way to entice them to buy your movie?'' said Suzanne White, vice president of marketing for Sony's Columbia TriStar Home Video division. ```Bad Boys' came out so long ago, a lot of people out there who didn't have DVD players could buy it now. There could be a whole new audience out there once they see advertising for the sequel.'' In the case of the ``Charlie's Angels'' DVD, several extras have also been added for a new ``deluxe'' two-disc edition including scenes from the upcoming sequel, Superbit wide-screen presentation and several new DVD-ROM DVD-ROM: see digital versatile disc. A read-only DVD disc used to permanently store data files. DVD-ROM discs are widely used to distribute large software applications that exceed the capacity of a CD-ROM disc. links. ``It's fabulous awareness for the original,'' White said. ``It's been 2 1/2 years since the original was in theaters. With DVD, we have a whole new fan base: people seeing the original for the first time or who didn't buy it earlier because DVD penetration was so much smaller.'' This type of promotional offer was successfully used by Disney last fall in connection with the release of its ``The Santa Clause 2'' movie. The original Tim Allen film ``The Santa Clause'' was re-released on DVD along with a movie pass for the sequel. In a similar vein, MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. will cross-promote two of its video properties with the July releases of ``Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde'' and ``Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.'' When a moviegoer mov·ie·go·er n. One who goes to see movies. mov  ie·go ing adj. buys a ticket to either film during opening weekend,
they will receive a coupon for a discount to purchase the DVD of the
prequels.
``Generally, you will see all of the studios doing different programs,'' said Amy Zwagerman, MGM's director of marketing for catalog catalog, descriptive list, on cards or in a book, of the contents of a library. Assurbanipal's library at Nineveh was cataloged on shelves of slate. The first known subject catalog was compiled by Callimachus at the Alexandrian Library in the 3d cent. B.C. titles. ``The awareness of any franchise is at its highest when there's a sequel, especially if a lot of time has passed between the movies.'' Major industry players like Wal-Mart and Blockbuster block·bust·er n. 1. Something, such as a film or book, that sustains widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales. 2. A high-explosive bomb used for demolition purposes. 3. are quickly keying into the newfound new·found adj. Recently discovered: a newfound pastime. Adj. 1. newfound - newly discovered; "his newfound aggressiveness"; "Hudson pointed his ship down the coast of the newfound sea" life a sequel brings to an older title. ``When 'The Santa Clause 2' came out, we featured a large display to make it easier for our customers to find the first movie,'' said Karen Burke Born in Brantford, Ontario, Karen Burke entered McMaster University's Honours music programme in 1979 and there developed an interest in choral conducting. During her time there, Karen received the Louise E. , a spokeswoman for the Wal-Mart chain, one of the market-share leaders in DVD-video. ``When a sequel comes out in the theaters, we do see increased popularity in the original movie in addition to movies that feature the same actor or actress.'' This summer, Blockbuster is devoting prominent displays on its ``new release'' walls to films that have sequels out and has also increased ordering on those titles. ``We have 'The Terminator,' 'Legally Blonde,' and 'Dumb and Dumber' featured to give people who may not have seen them the opportunity to see it before the new movie comes out,'' said Blockbuster spokesman Randy Hargrove. ``And certainly with 'The Matrix' and 'X-Men' we have seen increases in their rentals.'' Blockbuster, which has increased its emphasis on DVD sales in the past year, said both ``The Matrix'' and ``X-Men'' are currently among their top five best-selling best·sell·er also best seller n. A product, such as a book, that is among those sold in the largest numbers. best titles. With DVD players selling at a record clip, shipments of DVD titles rose to 685 million units last year, a leap from 5.5 million units just six years ago. Even when a free movie ticket offer or other marketing tie-in isn't involved, a sequel in the marketplace usually results in a sales push for the predecessors in the series. ```Silence of the Lambs' moved up 150 percent from the previous week when 'Red Dragon' hit the streets,'' Hackley said. ``The sequels definitely trigger the excitement around the original film on video and a lot of it is the DVD phenomenon.'' Greg Hernandez, (818) 713-3758 greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) The sequel-filled summer ahead has reinvigorated re·in·vig·o·rate tr.v. re·in·vig·o·rat·ed, re·in·vig·o·rat·ing, re·in·vig·o·rates To give new life or energy to. re interest in the original film hits, and movie studios are cashing in on the phenomenon by re-releasing them on DVD. Michael Tou and Jantzen Nieva, above, check out ``The Matrix'' at Best Buy in Canoga Park, which has added a special display, below, for the 1999 film. (3) Michael Tou and Jantzen Nieva check out ``The Matrix'' at Best Buy in Canoga Park. Movie studios are cashing in on a revived interest in older films that have spawned sequels by re-releasing the DVDs, many with special promotional tie-ins like ``movie cash.'' Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer |
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