Even though "Oz The Great and Powerful" wasn't the enormous blockbuster that many anticipated, it heads to the home market this week with a wide audience that should make it a hit on DVD and Blu-ray. Also hitting stores this week is R-rated action-thriller "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters," Dwayne Johnson-starring flick "Snitch" and the first season of Netflix's new political series "House of Cards."
Fans of HBO's "The Newsroom" can also find the first season on DVD and Blu-ray starting this week, and there are a couple of prominent older movie titles as well, including the Criterion Collection of Ingmar Bergman masterpiece "Wild Strawberries" and a new Blu-ray set for Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon."
With the success of "Wizard of Oz" Broadway spin-off "Wicked," it was only a matter of time before another version of "Oz" made it to the big screen, making for enormous box office expectations when "Oz The Great and Powerful" hit theaters this past March. With James Franco, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz headlining the cast of a Sam Raimi film, it looked like Disney's "Oz The Great and Powerful" would be one of the biggest commercial hits of the year, leading to a strong $79 million domestic opening.
But even though it got off to a good start and had a very wide audience to appeal to, "Oz The Great and Powerful" struggled to meet its enormous international expectations, grossing a relatively slim $490 million worldwide. Though a box office intake of nearly half a billion dollars is still a solid total, even for a $215 million production, many were expecting revenue totals closer to what Disney saw with "Alice in Wonderland," which cracked $1 billion around the globe just a few years earlier. Still, "Oz The Great and Powerful" carries a family-friendly PG rating and a large built-in audience, likely translating to plenty of rentals and sales in the home market.
Aiming at a much different audience this week is "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters," an R-rated take on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairytale. Starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton, "Hansel & Gretel" struggled to find much of a domestic audience amid rough critical reviews, though it ended up a fairly big hit overseas and finished with more than $200 million worldwide - a strong total for a $50 million production launched in January. Without many other titles aimed specifically at adults this week, "Hansel & Gretel" should have a decent audience to appeal to on DVD and Blu-ray.
Also vying for audiences this week is "Snitch," a PG-13 thriller starring Dwayne Johnson as a brave father trying to save his son from federal prison. "Snitch" had some modest success in theaters back in late-February, though it still struggled to compete with "Jack the Giant Slayer" and "Dark Skies" at the time and finished with just $42 million in domestic revenue. With Johnson's popularity in the action genre, "Snitch" should find a decent audience over the next few weeks as it makes its way into the home market for distributor Lionsgate.
A few older titles getting new Blu-ray releases will also spice up the lineup this week, including a Criterion Collection edition of one of the most celebrated films from Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Known for his intricate morality tales, Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" tells the story of an aging professor looking back at his life as he approaches the end of his career, showcasing Bergman's prodigious ability to capture nostalgia. Released in 1957, "Wild Strawberries" hit theaters the same year as Bergman's enormously influential "The Seventh Seal," helping make him one of the most renowned filmmakers in the world.
Another famous movie getting released on Blu-ray this week is "Enter the Dragon," a classic martial arts film starring the ill-fated Bruce Lee. "Enter the Dragon" gave Lee an iconic role that has been imitated many times since it was first released in July of 1973, which ended up being less than a week after Lee tragically died at the age of just 32.
Those looking for something from the small screen this week are also in luck, with a couple different prominent series hitting DVD and Blu-ray.
Netflix's first original series, "House of Cards," stars Kevin Spacey as an amoral congressman marching up the ranks, providing a cynical view of shady backroom politics. "House of Cards" was generally well-liked by audiences and critics alike, which should lead to a highly anticipated release of season two sometime in 2014.
HBO's "The Newsroom" is also getting its season one launch this week about a month before season two is slated to air. Though not as popular as HBO stalwarts "Game of Thrones" and "True Blood," "The Newsroom" enjoyed mostly positive buzz for lead scribe Aaron Sorkin and star Jeff Daniels in an edgy behind-the-scenes look at the TV news process.
Next week, "Jack the Giant Slayer" will try to rebound on DVD and Blu-ray after a weak run in theaters and "Movie 43" is another title getting launched, though the star-studded comedy doesn't look to be in good shape following some of the worst reviews of the year and very modest box office numbers. "The Last Exorcism Part II" will also hit the home market starting next week, and movie buffs can pick up the Criterion Collection of Harold Lloyd's silent masterpiece "Safety Last!"
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