Coming off of an exceptional box office run earlier in the year, romantic drama "The Vow" should have no problem scooping up its target demographic in the home market as well this week as it gets launched on DVD and Blu-ray. "Underworld: Awakening" and "Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie" are among the other top releases this week, with new Blu-ray versions of the original "Thomas Crown Affair" and "The Big Heat" also hitting stores for film buffs.
Opening in time for Valentine's Day this year, "The Vow" took the box office by storm. With Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams heading the cast, Sony/Screen Gems had no problem finding date audiences, leading to an enormous $124 million domestic intake. With a production budget of just $30 million, "The Vow" is the only 2012 release that cost less than $40 million and broke the $100 million mark, making it one of the most profitable movies of the year so far.
Taking on a few familiar themes, "The Vow" tells the story of a husband (Tatum) trying to overcome a major injury to his wife (McAdams), who is just recovering from a coma. Though it was mostly ripped by critics, "The Vow" would stay in the box office top ten for five consecutive weekends and even made a dent overseas, something very hard to do for a non-action movie.
While couples scan Redbox for "The Vow," vampire lovers can turn to "Underworld: Awakening," the fourth in the popular series that started all the way back in 2003. With Kate Beckinsale returning to the head of the cast after skipping "Rise of the Lycans" in 2009, audiences responded with much more fervor, making "Awakening" another steady hit for Sony/Screen Gems.
This time around, warrior Selene (Beckinsale) leads the battle against humans, who threaten to wipe out all the vampires. With an R-rating and dark subject matter, "Awakening" will mostly only appeal to younger adults and older teens, but a steady niche audience has helped prop up the "Underworld" franchise over the last decade. Now that Beckinsale is back on board, "Underworld" could keep on going as long as vampires remain popular.
Those looking for something a little off-beat might turn to "Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie," an R-rated comedy about two ordinary guys handed the keys to making a billion-dollar movie. With "The Avengers" crushing box office records, "Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie" seems as relevant as ever, though poor audience and critical marks will make it a tough sell in the home market. Even with appearances by popular actors like Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, "Billion Dollar Movie" barely got a release back in March and should only have a small audience to appeal to in the home market.
Aimed at another niche audience will be the Blu-ray version of the original "The Thomas Crown Affair," the 1968 thriller starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. Winner of an Oscar for Best Music, "The Thomas Crown Affair" tells the tale of a slick thief who thinks that he's just made the steal of a lifetime, only to run into a sultry insurance investigator (Dunaway) who threatens to expose him. "The Thomas Crown Affair" was a hit when it reached theaters in the late 1960s and was remade in 1999, with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo taking over for McQueen and Dunaway.
Also hitting stores on Blu-ray this week will be famed director Fritz Lang's much-loved crime-thriller "The Big Heat." Though Lang is mostly known for his sci-fi masterpiece "Metropolis," "The Big Heat" is regarded as one of the best crime pictures of old Hollywood, complete with a lauded performance from Glenn Ford as a tough cop taking on a powerful criminal organization. Released in 1953, "The Big Heat" was noted for its dark complexity and brutality, which are commonplace today but were shocking to audiences in the pre-ratings era.
Next week, an interesting set of new releases is slated to reach stores, hitting a variety of different demographics in the process. Liam Neeson's latest tough guy action-thriller "The Grey" follows up a solid box office run and sci-fi film "Chronicle" gets launched on DVD and Blu-ray after becoming somewhat of a phenomenon earlier in the year. The Woody Harrelson-starring cop-thriller "Rampart" will also reach stores for indie film lovers and "Albert Nobbs" should also attract a few people looking to see Glenn Close's latest Oscar nominated role.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.