STACK Issue 151 May 2017

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12 MAY 2017
visit EXTRAS NEWS
The video rental store might
be a thing of the past but the
physical disc format is alive and
well, with new release titles and
television series driving sales of
both DVD and Blu-ray.
The physical disc market
remains one of the largest
individual categories in Australia,
generating more value than
categories such as tablets or
wearables.
AHEDA data reveals that
Australians are among the largest
purchasers of DVD and Blu-ray
discs globally. The physical disc
retail channel sold 44 million discs
in 2016, with a total value of $806
million.
While a decrease in the
purchase of older catalogue films
on DVD saw the market decline by
11% in 2016, sales of new release
titles increased by 4%, with Blu-ray
new release films up by 14% and
Blu-ray TV series sales up by 17%.
Improving shares in the
new release film and TV series
categories, both of which have
higher average prices than the
overall market, boosted Blu-ray’s
2016 share increase. Over a
quarter of all new release movies
are now purchased on Blu-ray.
The format remains highly
desirable for collectors, bolstered
by exclusive releases featuring
bonus discs and VAM, like the Blu-
ray Steelbooks and special editions
regularly offered by JB Hi-Fi.
“The physical disc market is
incredibly resilient in Australia, and
with the amazing theatrical slate in
2016 continuing into 2017, I expect
new release DVD and Blu-ray disc
sales to grow again in 2017,” said
Simon Bush, CEO of AHEDA.
Despite the advent of streaming services, DVD and Blu-ray sales
remain strong, according to figures released by the Australian Home
Entertainment Distributors Association (AHEDA).
MONSTER CLASSICS ONLY AT JB
Calling all fans of the ghoulish! Beginning in the 1920s and through to the 1950s,
Universal Studios made a series of iconic classics which helped establish the horror
genre as we know it today. Now, exclusive to JB Hi-Fi, they've been unleashed on Blu-
ray for your chilling, high-def edification. Absolute essentials are 1931's Frankenstein
as well as the even creepier 1935 follow-up, Bride of Frankenstein featuring Boris
Karloff as 'The Monster', a symbol of fear, but one that also (in the hands of underrated
director James Whale) demands our sympathy. Karloff also appears in 1932's The
Mummy; the Karl Freund-directed film captures an isolation and yearning in the central
figure that elevates the film beyond cheap thrills. TheWolf Man was released in 1941,
less than a week after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and reminded audiences
of the evil within every man – sending cinemagoers' already heightened
anxiety levels through the roof. Other Universal classics in this range include Creature from
the Black Lagoon (1954) starring Richard Carlson, and two titles featuring four-time Oscar
nominee Claude Rains: The Invisible Man (1933) and The Phantom of the Opera (1943).
This exclusive, distinctively-packaged range is complemented by latter-day monster classics
including John Carpenter's TheThing (1982), John Landis's An AmericanWerewolf in
London (1981), cult favourite Tremors (1990) and many more. Make sure you drop into JB
Hi-Fi to catch them all while stocks last!
I n this new collection of boxed
sets highlighting outstanding
actresses of contemporary and
classic cinema, you're sure to find
one that will make the perfect gift
for Mother's Day on May 14.
The Natalie Portman Collection
of Films features the indie comedy
Garden State (co-starring Scrubs
star Zach Braff), Beautiful Girls,
a comedy about unexpected
happenings at
a 10-year high
school reunion,
Love and Other
Impossible
Pursuits and
Brothers –
two stories of
loss and grief
featuring dramatic
performances by Portman. These
specially-packaged sets also
offer collections starring Scarlett
Johansson ( Girl with a Pearl
Earing, The Black Dahlia, In
Good Company and Don Jon),
Sandra Bullock (Lake House,
Miss Congeniality , Two Weeks
Notice and Practical Magic),
Nicole Kidman (Cold Mountain,
The Hours , The Others and
Trespass), Jennifer Aniston
(Rumour Has It, Management,
Friends With Money and Love
Happens), and
Kate Winslet
(Finding
Neverland , Holy
Smoke, Eternal
Sunshine of
the Spotless
Mind and Little
Children).
The Golden
Years of
Hollywood haven't been forgotten:
The Bette Davis Collection of
Films includes Kid Galahad,
Whatever Happened to Baby
Jane?, Bride Came C.O.D. and
All This and Heaven Too, and
there's no denying the classics
on offer in the Elizabeth Taylor
collection, too, with Giant,
Father of the Bride , Cat on a
Hot Tin Roof and Who's Afraid
of Virginia Woolf? .
The Top 5 combined DVD and
Blu-ray sellers in 2016 by
volume were:
1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2 Deadpool
3 Game of Thrones: Season 5
4 Zootopia
5 Spectre
Australians
love DVD &
Blu-ray
A
PERFECT
STAR FOR
ANY MUM