Home Market Releases for December 8th, 2015
December 7, 2015
It is both a good week and a bad week on the home market. The top two releases are Ant-Man and Minions, which made more than $500 million and $1 billion globally, respectively. It's rare you get a one-two punch like that on top. However, the competition for those two films is much, much weaker. The third best-selling release, according to Amazon.com, is the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two Box Set. It looks amazing, which is why it led this years Holiday Gift Guide, but I'm not sure there are a lot of people who will be willing to spend $200 on a box set when they likely own all or most of the movies. Beyond that, there's mostly TV on DVD releases. The competition for Pick of the Week is also not very deep with Ant-Man coming out on top.
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Complete Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Ant-Man and Minions
Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon: Another Christmas Kiss and My Dad is Scrooge
Doc Martin: Series 7 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Family Guy: Season 13 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Hannibal: Season 3 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Jellyfish Eyes: Criterion Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Knock Knock - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
MLB: 2015 World Series Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Speedy: Criterion Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Transporter Refueled - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
TV on DVD Full Series Megasets - Buy from Amazon: Barnaby Jones, Ken Burns: The Civil War, The Wild Thornberrys, and The X-Files
Under the Dome: Season 3 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon: The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young , The Inter, Jumbo Wild, L.A. Slasher, Lucky, One and Two, One-Eyed Girl, War Room, and Xenia
X-Files: The Collector's Set - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Ant-Man - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 3D Combo Pack
Video on Demand
The latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There hasn't been a single installment of this franchise that I didn't at least like and I've loved most of them. Furthermore, this film is a heist movie, which is one of my favorite genres. Can you make a heist movie within the MCU? Or did something go wrong? Check out our review for my opinion.
Kinji Fukasaku is the Godfather of Yakuza movies and this 13-disc box set includes his five-film masterpiece that started the genre. It is expensive, but you get a lot.
Two monster 3D releases this week. It is rare that that happens.
Just the two Christmas releases this week. On a side note, Another Christmas Kiss stars Elisabeth Harnois, whom I recognized from a kids show she starred in in the 1990s. I have no idea why Adventures in Wonderland stuck in my head.
Martin Clunes stars as the titular Doc Martin, a well-regarded surgeon who developed a phobia of blood. He became a GP in a small town, but his bedside manner alienated his new patients. Throughout the show's seven-year run, it has earned excellent reviews. It is expensive on a price-per-minute basis, but that's true of all imports. Also coming out this week is the previous box set, but only on DVD. Strange.
I've reviewed a number of seasons of this show, but the hit to miss ratio wasn't enough for me to keep reviewing it.
Widely regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. However, it is so bad it has developed a cult following. Even so, I'm surprised it got a Blu-ray release.
This show wasn't a big hit during its first season and by season three it had lost more than half of its viewership. It is no surprise there won't be a season four.
Video on Demand
Why? Why did this get a Criterion Collection release?
Video on Demand
This release is selling better than I would have expected, given its reviews and its box office numbers. However, given its reviews, a rental on VOD is probably enough.
This is what fans want. Full games and not just highlights.
Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
A six-movie, 13-disc Blu-ray box set with every film from the second phase of the MCU. The weakest movie in this set, according to Rotten Tomatoes, is Thor: The Dark World, which still managed 66% positive reviews and, personally, I liked it a lot more than the average critic. That said, it is still $200 for six films and a bonus disc of extras. Worse still, I'm sure the people this is aimed at have at least three of those movies and many only need Ant-Man to complete their collection.
Video on Demand
This was the fourth film released this year that hit $1 billion worldwide. It won't be the last. I've seen all of the others. How does this one compare? Does it live up to the Despicable Me name? Read our review to find out.
The last silent film starring Harold Lloyd. That makes it historically significant, while Criterion are known for putting out top-notch releases.
This is a terrible movie that bombed domestically, but there will likely be another installment in the Transporter franchise, because of how well it did internationally.
The X-Files is the biggest Full Series Megaset this week, but the individual seasons are cheaper. I list them below.
Video on Demand
This show started as a mini-series and it likely would have been just fine in that format. However, the ratings were better than expected and the network wanted its story stretched out and that's where problems began. By the second half of the first season, it was clear something was wrong with the storytelling and it never recovered.
Of the VOD films on this week's list, The Intern is the one I'm most interested in seeing.
All nine seasons in a 55-disc Blu-ray set. Or you can buy the seasons separately and save almost $100.
You Can't Take It With You - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
A film by Frank Capra starring James Stewart, among others. It's schmaltzy, but Frank Capra knew how to do this better than perhaps anyone else.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Ant-Man, Minions, The Transporter Refueled, Knock Knock, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, Transporter, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Despicable Me, James Stewart, Frank Capra, Martin Clunes, Elisabeth Harnois