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Tag: Sony Pictures

  • Bond shakes up the Indian box-office with nearly Rs 150 mn take

    Bond shakes up the Indian box-office with nearly Rs 150 mn take

    MUMBAI: Shaken but not stirred! Casino Royale the new bond film made Rs. 149 million in the first three days of release.

    The film opened across 452 screens on 427 prints. Sony pictures releasing of India says that this marks the best opening weekend performance for a foreign film in India surpassing Spider-Man 2 which had made Rs. 78 million. On the first day alone Casino Royale made Rs. 47 million. It has also been the fastest foreign film to cross the Rs. 100 million mark.

    Sony Pictures Releasing India MD Uday Singh, says, “Casino Royale has exceeded our expectations at the box-office. This unprecedented opening is the largest for a foreign film in India. Backed by a 360 degree marketing campaign, synergy partnerships from the Sony Group Companies and our brand alliances, we took this franchise to a wider audience base. Critical acclaim from the media further helped in building the buzz”.

  • Sony Pictures to distribute Peace Arch’s TV show ‘The Tudors’ globally

    Sony Pictures to distribute Peace Arch’s TV show ‘The Tudors’ globally

    MUMBAI: Canadian firm Peace Arch Entertainment has announced that Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired the distribution rights outside the US for DVD, television, mobile and new media for the 10-part television series The Tudors.

    Showtime Networks holds the US distribution rights to The Tudors scheduled to premiere in the US next year.

    The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will broadcast the show in Canada, where Peace Arch Home Entertainment will distribute on DVD.

    The show tells the tale of the young, powerful, seductive King Henry VIII, focusing on the tumultuous early years of the ambitious King’s nearly 40-year reign of England. Bold and passionate about his country and his women, Henry’s obsession with ensuring his legacy led to beheadings of friend and foe, waging war, and challenging the almighty Catholic Church of England, forever changing the soul of the British Empire.

    The Tudors stars Golden Globewinning actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers Match Point, Bend It Like Beckham as the young, sexy and ruthless King Henry VIII; Sam Neill Jurassic Park plays Cardinal Thomas Wolsey – a minister who possessed great power until he failed his King; Henry Czerny Mission Impossible plays The Duke of Norfolk who learned that the only thing that mattered was winning and keeping the favor of the King.

    Jeremy Northam Gosford Park plays Sir Thomas More – a man whose principles sent him to the chopping block; Gabrielle Anwar Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead plays Princess Margaret, Henry’s spoiled sister who was married off to become Queen of Scotland.

  • Sony Pictures looking to release TV titles on DVD, VCD

    Sony Pictures looking to release TV titles on DVD, VCD

    MUMBAI: A little over a year has gone by since Sony Pictures Releasing of India set up its home video unit.

    The company has put out around 200 films so far. It also has dubbed 80 films into Hindi for VCDs (the highest amongst any of the Hollywood players the company says) and 18 VCD Tamil titles.
    Speaking to indiantelevision.com on the company’s plans Sony Pictures Releasing of India Home Entertainment country head N Muthuram says, “We are currently launching some titles in Telugu and Bengali and exploring if there is a possibility to expand our business in these markets. We are also looking to release titles from the world of television.

    ” We are considering this option seriously. We are presently working on the operational aspects of this and will soon have some releases of our catalogue of TV shows. This should happen sometime next year. Our aim was to establish our film products first which we have been able to do.” 

    Muthuram adds that each month Sony releases about 10 -12 titles and this generally amounts to about 25 SKU’s. “The major titles coming up are Open Season for family and Kids, Monster House, Click – Adam Sandlers most successful film. Next year Casino Royale, Ghost Rider with Nicholas Cage will be released. We also release titles that go straight to video. They bypass the theatres. We have Robert Ludlum’s Hades Factor, Final Fantasy VI as well as action titles with Steven Segal, Cuba Gooding Jr, Wisley Snipes and Van Damme. Of course for a few premium theatrical titles like The White Countess we only release the DVD.”

    When asked as to whether classics also sell or if the demand is mainly for oven fresh titles he points out that India is a great catalogue market and classics sell well here for all studios. “In our case Makenna’s Gold, Bridge on the River Kwai, Guns of Navarone etc do very well and these are steady sellers. Fresh titles do contribute to the business in a big way. But the key is to work on the catalogue and push sales in this category.”

    He reiterates the point that dubbed products are an important part of the business. Hindi is a mainstay now. “We have actually dubbed titles in Hindi that were not done theatrically and met with good sales. And we have also dubbed products like Fun with Dick and Jane and released in Hindi.

    “The other focus dubbed markets are Tamil and we are working on cracking the Telugu market. More languages are being considered and we will explore possibilities from a business point of view. As a studio we will continue to focus on the dubbed market and expand the business.”

    When asked as to whether Sony is also talking to other film companies both from India and abroad to distribute their products in India he says that having had a good first year there are plans of expanding and growing the business. “We are looking at various options to do so.”

    In terms of manufacturing the products he says that Sony has had its manufacturing plant for a while in India. They operate as a separate company and replicate audio CD’s, VCDs and for the last year DVD’s also. This plant is in the same class as the world wide Sony manufacturing plants.

    “We are the only studio who replicate all our DVD titles and most of the titles are locally authored. By this we customise the product to suit our markets and a lot of our titles on DVD have the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu dubs on the DVD (not sub titles but language dubs).”

    Distribution and marketing: Distribution of course is the key to this business. Sony has a strategic tie up with Sony BMG to use their supply chain infrastructure and systems. This gives a nation wide network with warehouses across 12 locations. Muthuram says that Sony has a focussed sales team that work out of the metros and service the regions to ensure supply and sales from the regions. “We also do ties ups with the likes of planet M, Crossroads. However we do not plan to set up our own retail outlets. This is not a core business area for us. The logistics are very different.”

    One area that Sony has worked hard on to push its DVDs and VCDs has been in marketing. Sony Pictures Releasing of India Home Entertainment marketing head Anupam Sengupta says that the firm has aimed at setting benchmarks in marketing video products.

    ” For starters we have been able to differentiate our packaging from the competition. The colours , the genre bands , the graphic icons all contribute to excellent visibility at the retail level. Secondly we have been aggressive in visual merchandising and have given it a new dimension, which our competitors now follow.

    ” We have done inovations like the 500+ product standee at landmark or Lama standees for The Da Vinci Code, Flex vinyls , Translites , Sunpack mini stands, innovative counter tops etc,. window displays at Music world Delhi , Music Land Delhi , Landmark Bangalore and Chennai. All these are now being copied by our competitors.”

    He goes on to add that Sony does not use television blindly to push home entertainment products. Television gives great reach but the effective reach may not be that good for home entertainment which is more niche compared to theatrical releases.

    He elaborates further saying, “Contrary to TV advertising our focussed advertising approach has yielded better deliveries in our media spends. Full Page Press advertising across key publications like Mumbai Mirror, Hindustan Times, Deccan Chronicle, Internet buys, localised radio campaigns on stations like Power Fm, Radio One and focussed outdoor campaigns like having a presence in multiplexes and mall branding are new trends set by us.”

    He goes on to add that at a time when piracy is a serious threat it is important to give the consumer a solid reason to buy a product that will cost more. For instance it offered a bonus disk with The Da vinci Code. It also offers merchandise, price benefits on the catalogue. “This way there is always a compelling reason to purchase a so called ‘second hand product’. We had The Da Vinci code bonus disk of never-before-seen features , Spiderman Animated series came with the Stuart Little 3 DVD, Kate Beckinsale Pin-Up posters came with with Underworld DVD/VCD” he adds.

    Sony also ties up with different parties to push products. “On our local dubbed products we innovate in packaging so as to suit local tastes and local media like Navbharat Times, Punjab kesri, Daily thanthi etc are used to drive awareness and media weights” says Sengupta.

    Television is used is when kids/family films have to be pushed. Ads are done on kids channels. Radio spots on the other hand give parents a reason why the product is good for their children. Ads are also carried in kids specific medias like Tinkle, Champak,Chutti Vikatan along with packaging and merchandise. 

    The internet is used a lot. Sony has done tie ups with MSN, Yahoo! and Sify. For instance for The Da Vinci Code Sony had given an exclusive bonus video feature to MSN to use as a platform to push the home video release of the film. With Yahoo! it did a contest for the film. Content is also given to these sites like interviews. It also did an initiative with Cafe Coffee Day where visitors could see posters of trhe film. The net result is that Planet M alone has sold 2500 DVD copies of The Da Vinci Code in two weeks he says.

    It also helps that Sony goes a step further by positioning films differently for the home video release. For instance for The Da Vinci Code it used ‘ Get inside the code’ as a strategic positioning stmt rather than unlock the code. The aim was to get the message across that the DVD is offereing more dope about the film. Then for the Jim Carrey comedy Fun with Dick and Jane Sony gave it a local spin with the tagline ‘ Move over Bunty and Babli’,

    Sony also has its website which Sengupta says logs more than 5000 hits per day. “We create exciting rich media content, sweepstakes, trivia to drive traffic and plug our url www.sonypictures.in in all possible advertising.”

  • Sony Pictures gets ready for a new sensation

    Sony Pictures gets ready for a new sensation

    MUMBAI: “40 per cent for you, 60 per cent for me. While others promise the world we deliver the earth. Your support has been great and we look forward top continuing this relationship”.

    These words were spoken by Sony Pictures Releasing of India MD Uday Singh at a trade gathering with film exhibitors and distributors. SPR unveiled its lineup till October 2007 and the message to the trade fraternity was clear – “Get Ready For a new sensation”.

    After all with competition in the market it is important for the firm to reinvent itself. The tagline has been influenced by an INXS song. The Sony lineup culminates with the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saavariya next Diwali. This marks Sony’s first co-production effort in India. Singh says that while the company is exploring other possibilities but nothing else has been firmed up as of now.

    Singh says that Sony Pictures is looking at a 70 per cent revenue growth. This marks a strong comeback for the company after 2005 which he concedes was a weak year. Compared to 2004 when Sony had Spiderman 2 this year’s revenues are expected to be at least 20 per cent more. This year in each quarter Sony has had at least one big film. It started with The Chronicles of Narnia.

    Then the controversy around The DaVinci Code ensured that perople watched the film some of whom wanted to see what the fuss what all about. Then thanks to its distribution deal with Disney in India Sony reaped the benefits of Cars and the second Pirates of The Carribean film. Now the big one for thia quarter is Bond. Daniel Craig dons the mantle of the superspy in Casino Royale which opens in India next month. The trailer which drew the anticipation of the industry gathering sees Bond as cool and yet ruthless. Next year Sony Pictures has three huge tentpole properties. These are Spiderman 3, Pirates of The Carribean 3 and The Chronicles of Narnia 2. Spiderman 3’s trailer shows that perhaps the superhero is being corrupted by the evil that he fights.

    There are also other big films lined up for next year including Déjà Vu. This has the potentially explosive teaming of producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Tony Scott and actor Denzel Washington. There is also National Treasure 2 with Nicholas Cage returning.

    Before that though Cage stars in another big film Ghost Riders which Sony hopes will do well in the first quarter of next year. One film it is hoping will get the families into cinema halls is The Pursuit of Happyness with the ever dependable Will Smith. Heer Smith plays a A struggling salesman who takes custody of his son (played by his son in real life Jaden Smith) as he’s poised to begin a life-changing professional endeavor.

    The animation segment is also looking strong. This year Sony releases Open Season and Monster House. Open Season features Boog, a domesticated Grizzly bear who finds himself stranded in the woods three days before Open Season. Forced to rely on Elliot, a fast-talking mule deer, the two form an unlikely friendship and must quickly rally other forest animals if they are to form a rag-tag army against the hunters.

    Next year Sony releases Ratatouille which has been directed by Brad Bird who made The Incredibles. Ratatouille is all about a rat who dreams of eating gourmet French food. It is not just about blockbusters though. Singh takes pains to point out that Sony Pictures looks at itself as a full media services firm. This means that it shows a wide ranjge from blockbuster action films to animated films to serious films. It is to push serious films better that it started a new unit a few months ago.

    The first two films that will be pushed are All The Kings Men and Marie Antoinette. All the Kings Men has a top notch cast including Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Sir Anthony Hopkins. It is a remake of an Oscar winning film from 1949. The other film comes from Oscar winner Sofia Coppola and stars Kirsten Dunst who readers might remember plays Spiderman’s love interest. In this film Dunst plays the famous French queen. Through this unit Sony Pictures is also looking to push niche films of other firms that might otherwise fall beneath the radar. The target is the crème de la crème viewer. It is also looking at the possibility of bringing in foreign language films for distribution into the country.

    While it is a challenge to convince exhibitors to show these kinds of films Sony is counting on the strong relationships that have been built over the years to help its cause. Singh adds that 10 years ago India was 72 out of 76 global markets for the parent firm on the film front. Today India is close to being a top 10 market. In total by the end of this year Sony would have released around 36 films. 20 would have come from the Sony stable, 10 from Disney and the rest are from other firms.

    Another area where Sony has picked up the pace has been in the home entertainment arena. This division was launched a year back. Now it has 200 DVD titles and 225 VCD titles. It released The Da Vinci Code last evening. Other new titles include Click with Adam Sandler as a man who with a remoter control can fast forward his life and Friends With Money with Jennifer Aniston and is about how wealth affects friendship between women. The firm points out that older titles like Mackennas Gold still sell and sometimes do better than the new releases.

    Sony also has released the Hindi versions of 80 titles including the Jim Carrey comedy Fun With Dick And Jane. It will release Lawrence of Arabia in Hindi. It also has 20 Tamil dubbed titles. It is looking to expand into the Telugu and Bengali languages with dubbed versions. One key area for Sony here are the direct to video releases. These include sequels that were not released in theatres like Stuart Little 3 and I Always Know What You Did Last Summer. Then it has deals with action stars like Steven Seagal and Wesley Snipes. They make films that go straight to video. Sony has its own manufacturing plant for this.

  • UTV announces slate of international co-productions with Fox, Will Smith’s Overbrook and Sony Pictures for a total commitment of $37 mn.

    UTV announces slate of international co-productions with Fox, Will Smith’s Overbrook and Sony Pictures for a total commitment of $37 mn.

    LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK and MUMBAI August 20, 2006 – UTV, India’s leading media and entertainment company, today announced an unprecedented slate of co-productions with leading Hollywood Studios, with a total value across projects of USD 37 million – the largest such commitment by any South Asian media major.

    UTV and Fox Searchlight announced a co-production deal on the film I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE, starring Chris Rock. Ronnie Screwvala, CEO of UTV Motion Pictures and Peter Rice, CEO of Fox Searchlight announced this in Los Angeles on Friday. Principal photography has been completed in New York; Fox Searchlight plans to release the film in the U.S. on February 9, 2007. The USD 14 million production is UTV’s second venture with Fox after THE NAMESAKE, directed by Mira Nair, which will be released in March 2007.

    Peter Rice, CEO of Fox Searchlight says, “We are very eager to be partnering with UTV, a dynamic force in South Asian Media. Ronnie’s innovative vision parallels Searchlight’s and after working together on THE NAMESAKE we jumped at the chance to collaborate again on our highly anticipated Chris Rock comedy I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE.”

    The second deal UTV announced is a USD 30 million co-production agreement with Actor/producer Will Smith and his production company Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, for films to be created and distributed worldwide. This was announced in New York on Saturday by Ronnie Screwvala, Will Smith, James Lassiter, Smith’s partner at Overbrook Entertainment and Amy Pascal, Chairman of the Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.

    The two-picture deal emerged from a Sony arranged visit Smith and Lassiter took to India in February 2006 to explore co-production possibilities, when they met with media titans and key members of the creative community. As a result of the co-production agreement, UTV and Overbrook will develop films that will have a global reach and appeal. The first two projects will be a live-action film valued at USD 10 million and a CG animated motion picture at USD 20 million.

    Sony Pictures Entertainment has a first look deal for the two productions. According to the terms of the agreement, while UTV and Overbrook will co-produce the movies, SPE will distribute the movies worldwide, excluding India.

    “India is one of the most remarkable places on Earth and its motion picture industry has always fascinated me”, said Will Smith.

    “This unique agreement is the future of our business”, said Pascal. “Sony has been involved with local language initiatives for many years and this deal accentuates the way our industry is becoming more borderless and more global every day.”

    “We are particularly excited to have an animation project as part of this agreement”, said Lassiter, “since India is emerging as the next big destination for animation content and UTV is on the cutting-edge of animation development.”

    Ronnie Screwvala, Chief Executive Officer of UTV states: “UTV is focused on collaborating with like-minded partners like Fox, Sony and Will Smith to produce entertainment for global audiences. For UTV, these projects are a big step in reaching key North American markets and expanding our presence globally. UTV has made the biggest commitment by any South Asian media major to international co-productions and we will continue to lead the way in this regard.”

    About UTV: UTV is a leading integrated media and entertainment company based in South Asia, with international subsidiaries in the U.S., UK and South East Asia. Publicly listed on the Indian Stock Exchange last year, it is a leader in TV content in Asia, with a large Animation and SFX facility; has one of the first fully integrated studio models in movies and occupies a dominant space in the kids programming and broadcasting space in South Asia.

    About Fox Searchlight: Fox Searchlight Pictures is a specialty film company that both produces and acquires motion pictures. It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and its films are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox. Fox Searchlight Pictures is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group.

    About Sony Pictures Entertainment: Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPEs global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com <http://www.sonypictures.com> .

    About Overbrook Entertainment: Overbrook Entertainment is a film and television production company owned by James Lassiter and Will Smith. Overbrook’s film productions include the hit romantic comedy Hitch, the sci-fi thriller I, Robot, the bio-pic Ali, and the upcoming drama The Pursuit of Happyness, all starring Smith. In addition Overbrook produced Saving Face starring Joan Chen, Showtime starring Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy and ATL starring platinum-selling recording artist T.I. For television, Overbrook produces the current CW network hit All Of Us. Overbrook also produced the soundtracks for such films as Wild, Wild West and Men In Black, both of which won the American Music Award for favorite soundtracks.

  • ABC cancels Gibson’s proposed show on the holocaust

    ABC cancels Gibson’s proposed show on the holocaust

    MUMBAI: Looks like Oscar winning actor Mel Gibson’s tirade against the Jews after being arrested for drunk driving is starting to cost him big time.

    US broadcaster ABC has announced that it has pulled out of the deal with the star for a show on the holocaust.

    ABC though says that the project has been in the pipeline for the past couple of years and they have not yet seen a script. Gibson was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving last week. He launched into a tirade against Jews, asking the arresting officer if he was a Jew and blaming the Jews for starting all wars.

    The actor is a strong conservative Catholic. His father, media reports indicate, is a Holocaust denier. At the time of the release of Passion Of the Christ Gibson’s father said that reports on the Holocaust were exaggerated. The next day after his arrest Gibson apologised for his remarks and has entered a rehabilitation programme to treat alcoholism.

    On the film front though Disney will go ahead with its plans to release Mel Gibson’s film Apocalypto on 8 December 2006. Hollywood has a strong Jewish presence. That includes Sony Pictures chairwoman Amy Pascal and Laura Ziskin.

  • ION Media Networks & Sony Pictures Television ink TV programming deal

    ION Media Networks & Sony Pictures Television ink TV programming deal

    MUMBAI: US-based ION Media Networks, Inc. and Sony Pictures Television have announced a programming agreement that provides ION with the rights to broadcast dozens of classic television series and a large selection of award-winning feature films from the Sony library on the i television network, reaching over 90 million homes. 

    “This agreement reflects our strategy of strengthening our i network’s programming schedule with popular series and theatrical hits with proven audience appeal,” says ION Media Networks CEO Brandon Burgess. “We look forward to working with Sony on developing a compelling entertainment line-up that continues to appeal to our current audience, while attracting new viewers to the network.”

    “The i network and its stations will benefit from a wide variety of titles from our extensive library of television series and feature films, which have proven to deliver audiences,” adds Sony Pictures Television president distribution John Weiser. “We are pleased to be in partnership with ION, helping them grow and making them a destination for great programming.”Under the terms of the agreement, ION will have access to many of SPT’s most popular TV series from the last three decades, including Charlie’s Angels, Starsky & Hutch, The Partridge Family, The Monkees and Silver Spoons, among others.

    In addition, titles from Sony’s extensive library of theatrical films will be available to ION, including A River Runs Through It, Oliver!, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Short Circuit and many more.

    “We are pleased to have access to Sony’s diverse collection of movies and classic TV shows,” says ION SVP of programming and strategic planning Stacey Nagel Galper. “We will begin scheduling the Sony movies on the i network this month, with plans to launch the television series in August.”

  • Comcast, Sony Pictures to thrill audiences with new horror network

    Comcast, Sony Pictures to thrill audiences with new horror network

    MUMBAI: Comcast and Sony Pictures Entertainment unveiled plans to premiere a new Horror and Thriller multi-platform network on Halloween, 31 October, 2006.

    Plans for the new advertising-supported network were unveiled by Comcast president emerging networks Diane Robina and Sony Pictures Television president Steve Mosko.
    The network will captivate fear seekers and fans of the horror film genre – one of the fastest-growing genres at the box office. It will debut on video on demand and the internet at launch, and will add a wireless platform in the future. The channel is the first multi-platform network that leverages the combined assets of the Sony and MGM libraries, which make up the largest collection of its kind in the world. Comcast and Sony announced their intent to create new distribution platforms for this content when the companies and other investors purchased the MGM library last year.
    Horror and thriller films have emerged on the mainstream film scene in the last several years with box office numbers skyrocketing. Twenty per cent of the feature films released by major studios in 2005 were in this category, and one in three of those debuted at number one at the box office. The genre, which now features top Hollywood stars and grosses more than $1 billion a year, has a growing fan base in the sought-after 18-34 demographic.

    “Horror fans not only like this genre, they are passionate about it. This is the first channel of its kind devoted solely to serving this expanding audience and a great advertising opportunity to reach this demographic. The number of horror fans is growing exponentially, and they are hungry for this kind of multimedia experience. This is the perfect time and the ideal platform to introduce a dedicated horror experience,” said Robina.

    “We are excited to be launching the first of our joint channels with our partners at Comcast. More and more people are looking to a variety of sources for their entertainment, and this new channel will be available on multiple platforms simultaneously, redefining the idea of what a network is,” said Mosko.

    The network will feature film and TV contemporary thrillers, suspense dramas, horror titles and more on Comcast’s On Demand service on 31 October and will launch its multimedia fan website the same day.

    “The depth of offerings available from the Sony and MGM libraries is unparalleled. We have hundreds of titles at our disposal to satisfy every thrill seeker,” added Robina.

    Horror movie fans will get the online experience they want through a video-rich, multimedia online environment that will become the horror destination for the fan community, and will include: exclusive horror outtakes, music downloads, a scream fest, original animation and behind-the- scenes footage. The network will add a wireless component that will feature horror ringtones, sound effects and other features designed specifically for the mobile experience.

    The companies will announce the new network’s name and additional details about the multimedia content in the coming months.

  • Sony Pictures Home Entertainment launches digital sell-through biz

    Sony Pictures Home Entertainment launches digital sell-through biz

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) today announced that the studio will launch its digital sell-through business on 3 April. Partnering with Movielink and CinemaNow, the service will allow broadband internet users in the US the opportunity to download-to-own for the very first time a wide range of entertainment content from the SPHE and MGM collective libraries.

    The announcement was made by Worldwide Home Entertainment digital distribution and acquisitions president Benjamin S Feingold.

    “This is a landmark development in the evolution of home entertainment. Allowing consumers to download and own movies digitally via their broadband internet connections gives them more power to be entertained when and how they choose,” said Feingold.

    SPHE’s digital sell-through business will commence with an initial slate of 75 titles that will include such films as Memoirs of a Geisha, Spider-Man 2, Taxi Driver, Barbershop, and Hitch. Dirty will be SPHE’s first day-and-date title when it debuts on 4 April. The hit comedy Fun With Dick and Jane will release day-and-date on 11 April.

    In addition to offering new release titles day-and-date with DVD, SPHE will release additional titles from SPHE and MGM’s library monthly. The combined Sony Pictures and MGM libraries of more than 7,500 titles are believed to be the largest, most digitized collection in the business.

    Feingold added, “We at Sony Pictures have been a leader in providing entertainment to the public on the most cutting-edge digital delivery platforms including DVDs, UMDs, Digital Media Cards for mobile phones and digital distribution over the Internet. And we will soon be delivering movies to people on high definition Blu-ray Discs.”

    “Our goal is to continue to provide engaging entertainment content in the most innovative, convenient and secure manner possible. This partnership with Movielink and CinemaNow is just the first step in a bright future for digital delivery that will only serve to complement our packaged media sales business,” Feingold said.

    “We are pleased to offer consumers a new option in movie ownership. Together with day-and-date release along with DVDs, digital delivery provides the convenience, flexibility and quality that movie fans have been asking for. Movielink has carved out a position in the broadband market of being the place to come for high quality long form entertainment, and this new consumer option continues to differentiate our service from other forms of VOD,” said Movielink CEO Jim Ramo.

    “Launching our download-to-own business with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment marks the tipping point which we’ve been waiting for. CinemaNow has always believed that the ability to sell studio movies at the same time they are released for home video would be the catalyst for explosive growth in our industry. Now our customers can download and own the movies they want, when they want, with the convenience of on-demand access,” said CinemaNow CEO Curt Marvis.