Walt Disney Home
Entertainment wasted little time in landing a one-two blockbuster punch in
Q1’18 with street date announcements for both the directing team of Lee Unkrich
and Adrian Molina’s animated smash, Coco, and the latest installment in
the studio’s Marvel Comics super-hero film franchise series, director Taika
Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok.
Still in the wings is Star
Wars: The Last Jedi, which is not likely to be in either late March or
early April — both Target and Best Buy are already touting Steelbook editions,
but are mums the word on the street date.
As to this current round
of hit films, Coco leads the way with a three-SKU helping of home
entertainment products on Feb. 27 (plus various Target, Best Buy, etc.
exclusive offerings). The ARR for that date
is 95 days and multiplex ticket sales currently stand at an impressive $191.9
million.
The timing of Feb. 27 is
a strong signal from Disney that it wants Coco at retail to take full
advantage of the potential Oscar-win for Best Animated Feature Film … the
Golden Globe statuette is already in the win column. It should be the odds-on favorite to capture
the gold come Mar. 4 (Oscar telecast).
As to SKU configuration,
there will be a stand-alone DVD edition and a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack selection as
well as a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack product offering.
As to bonus goodies,
writer/director Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3, Finding Nemo, Monsters,
Inc.), co-director Adrian Molina and producer Darla K. Anderson (Oscar-nominated
for Toy
Story 3) will be providing commentary.
Additionally, there are
deleted scenes and a whopping 17 production featurettes that cover everything
from the animation to the music of Coco.
Thor: Ragnarok follows one week later, Mar. 6, and is also as a
three-SKU array of home entertainment products — DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack
and 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack editions (plus Target, Best Buy, etc.
exclusive editions).
The ARR comes in at 123
days and domestic ticket sales were in the stratosphere at $312.5 million.
As to bonus nuggets for Thor:
Ragnarok, actor-turned-director Taika Waititi (aka: Taika Cohen — What
We Do in the Shadows, Boy) will be providing commentary and an
introduction to the film. There are
also deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, there’s a short film titled Team
Darryl, and seven production featurettes, including one titled “Marvel
Studios: The First Ten Years.”
Chris Hemsworth will
return as Thor in Avengers: Infinity War on May 4 (so the wait for the next
Marvel production will not be that far off) … Brothers Russo (Anthony and Joe
— Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War)
will be handling the direction.
Expect it to be the
kick-off theatrical blockbuster of the summer, which currently features Deadpool
2 on May 18, Solo: A Star Wars Story on May 25
(seems awful fast for another Star Wars adventure), The
Incredibles 2 hits theatres on June 8 and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
follows on June 22. Lots of film
franchise entries to kick-off the summer season.
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