Studios mine horror archives in time for Halloween season - Video & DVD - MGM Home Entertainment plans to market horror classics for Halloween promotion - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

DSN Retailing Today, July 29, 2002 by Doug Desjardins

Halloween, which has become a cash cow for retailers, generated an estimated $6.9 billion in sales in 2001 (according to the National Retail Federation) and is likely to eclipse that total this year. And though the bulk of those sales will come from products like candy, costumes and decorations, movie studios are looking to increase their share of the take with the release of classic horror films, pseudo-spooky children's videos and new releases with a sci-fi or horror theme.

MGM Home Entertainment is mining its library of horror titles for a Halloween promotion that will start in late August. On Aug. 27, the studio will release eight horror classics on DVD for the first time, including "Last House on the Left," "The Fog" and "Return of the Living Dead" at $14.95.

"Halloween is one of MGM's strongest holidays for video sales," said marketing manager Sarah Draper. "The studio has a huge library of horror titles and we use the holiday to showcase them."

MGM also will leverage the Nov. 4 theatrical release of "The Silence of the Lambs" prequel, "Red Dragon," to promote a special two-pack edition of "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Hannibal," which will retail at $39.99 on DVD. TV ads will support the two-pack release, while print ads will promote the collection of older titles debuting on DVD.

Artisan Home Entertainment will dip into its rich reserve of horror titles with a slate of more than 30 releases on Aug. 20. They include a repriced release of "Soul Survivors" at $19.98; a DVD two-pack of "The Blair Witch Project" and its sequel, "Book of Shadows," for $19.98; and all installments of the popular "Wishmaster" series in a three-pack for $24.98.

"We happen to have a very strong catalog of horror titles, so Halloween is a huge retail period for us," said Hosea Belcher, senior vp of marketing for Artisan. The studio will support the Halloween promotion with extensive print advertising and a radio campaign in 30 major markets.

The Wesley Snipes vampire thriller "Blade 2" will headline New Line Home Entertainment's slate of Halloween releases. The $90 million box office hit will be released as a two-disc set on Sept. 3 for $29.95. New Line also will delve into its library of horror titles and release the entire "Nightmare on Elm Street" series at a new lower price of $14.94 on VHS and $19.98 on DVD.

"The 'Nightmare' series has always done well for us at Halloween," said Justine Brody, vp of marketing for New Line.

Universal Studios Home Video set a record for DVD sales last October when "The Mummy Returns" sold more than 2 million copies in its first week of release. The studio is hoping to repeat that success with the release of "The Scorpion King" on Oct. 1 at $14.95 on VHS and $19.95 on DVD.

Other studios getting into the spirit of the season include Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, which will release horror classics, such as "Return of the Vampire" and "Revenge of Frankenstein," for the first time on DVD for $19.95. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has "The Legend of Hell House" and the three films in "The Omen" series on tap for Sept. 3 for $9.98 on VHS and $19.98 on DVD.

Dream Works Home Entertainment will release "The Haunting" and "In Dreams" on Aug. 27 for $9.99 on VHS and $19.98 on DVD. Lion's Gate Home Entertainment will bow its supernatural thriller "Frailty" on Sept. 17 for $24.99 on DVD. Pioneer Entertainment will release a collector's edition of the cult classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" on Sept. 10 for $29.98 on DVD.

But horror titles are only part of the mix. Some studios are moving away from the gore and are focusing on children's fare.

Slated to begin Aug. 20, Warner Home Video has 25 family-friendly titles in its Halloween promotion, including the new "Scooby-Doo Meets Batman" at $14.98 on DVD and $9.94 on VHS; the "Nightmare Room" video from "Goosebumps" creator R.L. Stine; and the DVD debut of "Gremlins 2: The New Batch."

The all-new "Mickey's House of Villains" will debut on Sept. 3 for Buena Vista Home Entertainment, with support from a massive TV, radio and print ad campaign. Buena Vista also will serve up "Winnie the Pooh: Spookable Pooh" on Aug. 27 and has its huge animated hit "Monsters Inc." scheduled for release Sept. 17 at $24.99 on VHS and $29.99 for a two-disc special-edition DVD.

Classic Media will get an early jump on the competition with the July 30 release of "Casper & Wendy's Ghostly Adventures" and "Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters" for $9.98 on VHS and $12.98 on DVD. "Casper & Wendy" will feature episodes from the classic 1960s animated series and will be supported with a mail-in coupon inside packages of General Mills' Pillsbury Shape Refrigerated cookies.

"We hope to generate a lot of impressions with the promotion with General Mills and Pillsbury," said Classic Media president Robert Mayo. "And the episodes are very family friendly and lend themselves to the retro trend."

Paramount Home Entertainment will bow seven horror classics on Sept. 3 for $24.99 on DVD, but its marquis title will be "SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob Halloween." This collection of Halloween-themed episodes will debut Aug. 27 for $12.95 on VHS and $19.99 on DVD.