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The Dark Knight fastest selling Blu-ray of all time; over 25% format share
We had high hopes for The Dark Knight's Blu-ray release. But boy, we didn't expect such phenomenal results. The Dark Knight has become the fastest selling Blu-ray yet, besting the last king of the hill, Iron Man. Nearly 3 million copies of the movie were sold on Tuesday, with 600,000 units being sold on Blu-ray. That means about 25-30% of the disc sales were on Blu-ray -- an impressive feat for a relatively new format."It's encouraging," said Ron Sanders, president of Warner Home Video. "The Blu-ray sales of 'Dark Knight' were exceptionally strong and much higher than our projections." Considering The Dark Knight is an obvious addition to an HD home theater set up, we doubt their projections were much lower. Besides, all that money should make up for the Golden Globe snub, amirite?
The Dark Knight shatters sales record, moves 600,000 Blu-ray Discs on day one
The numbers are in, and they're big. Just as predicted, Warner Brothers' The Dark Knight was a huge day-one success, with consumers in the US, Canada and UK snapping up three million copies during the first 24 hours (give or take a few) that it was on sale. More germane to our conversation, however, is this 600,000 figure, which tells exactly how many Blu-ray Discs were sold. We already know that around one-sixth of those were moved in the UK, leaving us to determine that North America did some serious shopping. The studio has now projected it to sell one million BDs by Saturday, and curiously enough, current sales have been "especially strong at grocery stores, indicating that the format is broadening beyond early adopters to more mainstream buyers, notably women." Needless to say, this title took down Iron Man's record of moving 250,000 BDs on day one, which just ratchets up the bar for the next big one to take down.[Thanks, Geoff]
The Dark Knight fan commentary BD-Live feature shown on video
So, you and hundreds of thousands of others picked up your Blu-ray copy of The Dark Knight today, huh? We know you haven't had time to fiddle with the BD-Live extras just yet, but one Joe Lynch from G4 TV has. One of the most intriguing aspects of the flick's interactive feature set is the fan commentary; put simply, users hook up a USB webcam to their player (PS3 included) and then commentate as the film progresses. From there, you can upload your take(s) to the BD-Live servers for others to enjoy. Granted, we aren't too sure how you'll actually find someone bored enough to listen to you jabber on about a film they purchased, but we reckon that's beside the point. Vid's waiting after the break.
Deal: Buy PS3 80GB get Dark Knight and Resistance 2 CE free [Update]
[Update: All gone already!]Amazon is offering a free copy of The Dark Knight on Blu-ray and Resistance 2 Collector's Edition with the purchase of a PlayStation 3 80GB for $399.99 with free shipping. Just click here, add all three items to your cart, then enter the coupon code PSKNIGHT during checkout.The weird thing is, some parts of the site are claiming the deal is valid for today (December 9th) only while the official rules are stating the offer is "valid 12 AM Pacific time, December 9, 2008, through 11:59 PM. Pacific time, December 10, 2008." Our suggestion? If you are interested, take advantage of this today and not wait until tomorrow to find out if the offer is still valid. The deal is right through here.[Via Slickdeals]
107,000 The Dark Knight Blu-ray Discs sold in UK on day one
We'll warn you -- these numbers are likely very preliminary and subject to change, but Pocket-lint is reporting (via Official Charts Company data as revealed by the British Video Association) that some 513,000 copies of The Dark Knight were sold on day one in the UK (but isn't the day still ongoing?), 21% of which were Blu-ray. If our abacus is to be trusted, that's just north of 107,000 Blu-ray Discs, and it falls right in line with the apparent BD boom going on across the pond. Just for comparison, it took the white hot Casino Royale a full week in the UK to move just 10,000 BD units. Looks like the flick is off to a solid start -- we'll be keenly watching for US numbers as soon as they become available.
Blu-ray releases on December 9th 2008
This is finally the week that we've all be waiting for. It is the week that the biggest release in the history of Blu-ray hits the shelves. Now if you think this is just yet another PS3 demographic comic book movie, think again. The Dark Knight has an IMDB score of 9.1 with over 300,000 votes. This puts it at number four all time which means it has a much wider appeal than most other movies out there. But even in the off chance that you have no interest in the latest Batman flick, there are still a few others worth a look. Fox has a few catalog comedies including the hilarious Super Troopers and Dodgeball. Disney has the latest complete season of the hottest show on TV, Lost -- although we're still waiting for the first two seasons on Blu-ray. And finally, Universal has a action packed Je Li movie, Fearless. The Dark Knight (Warner) The Dark Knight Batpod Edition (Warner) Dumb & Dumber (Warner) I Am Legend Ultimate Collector's Edition (Warner) Lost: The Complete Fourth Season (Disney) The Mask (Warner) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (Fox) Super Troopers (Fox) Horton Hears a Who! (Fox) Jet Li's Fearless (Universal)
The Dark Knight Blu-ray Disc sneaks onto store shelves early
Looks like Meijer's is a little antsy to help The Dark Knight Blu-ray become the best selling BD of all time. At one particular store near Urbana, Illinois, the disc has already been spotted -- and we're not just talking about one or two, but a whole gaggle. Can't wait 'til Tuesday? No harm in taking a leisurely stroll to your nearby retailers in hopes of getting lucky. A live shot of the back is after the break.
Chat with Christopher Nolan in The Dark Knight's BD-Live chat
You may have missed the Hellboy II BD-Live chat, but we're pretty sure you're not going to want to miss this one. Christopher Nolan, director of the summer's blockbuster The Dark Knight, will be part of a Blu-ray exclusive "live community screening." The registration process for this event is a bit cumbersome, and it's also limited -- so read the instructions carefully! The two disc BD set will be available on December 9th.[Thanks, snoopytimes!]
Warner gets official with The Dark Knight BD-Live extras
Not like we haven't heard about these much anticipated features already, but it's always refreshing to get it straight from the horse's mouth. Or Warner Home Video's mouth, in this case. The Dark Knight marks the studio's very first foray into the controversial world of BD-Live, and what's apt to be the best selling BD of the year will pack quite the interactive punch. Owners with Profile 2.0 players will be able to "host their own Live Community Screenings with friends, record and post user-generated commentaries over the film using My WB Commentary, access more The Dark Knight content exclusive to Warner Bros. BD-Live, get sneak peeks and trailers of upcoming Warner Bros. films, create an online library of Blu-ray movies, manage a wish list for upcoming releases and connect to the WB store." As we've already seen in a number of instances, there's also a hint of a BD-Live-assisted interview with director Christopher Nolan "during a special Live Community Screening." For the full spill, give that read link a gentle tap.
The Dark Knight Blu-ray Disc review roundup
To (mis)quote the infamous Dennis Green: "It was what we thought it'd be." In other words, Warner Brothers' The Dark Knight truly is as mesmerizing and awesome on Blu-ray as it was in theaters. Some very early (and very thorough) reviews have already hit the 'net days before the film's sure-to-be-monumental release, and we've found nothing but praise across the board. Sure, varying critics had varying levels of appreciation for the plot, but when it comes to visual and auditory quality, the Blu-ray transfer delivers. Utterances of "wow," "stunning," and "spectacle" were peppered throughout each and every review, dashing any fears one may have had that the BD would fall short of the hype. For those who really want to dig deep, we've linked thousands of words below. But truthfully, they all come to the same conclusion: The Dark Knight is a must-own Blu-ray Disc.Read - Big Picture Big SoundRead - The HD RoomRead - Rope Of SiliconRead - Home Cinema ChoiceRead - HighDefDigest
Video service expands: Dark Knight, Hancock, Indiana Jones coming
The PlayStation Network video service has been rapidly growing with a plethora of HD and SD downloads and rentals. This holiday will see the service expand to over 1,000 movies and 2,500 television shows. "The consumer demand we've seen for our PlayStation Network video delivery service is phenomenal, and we expect continued momentum this holiday season with a line-up of blockbuster movies that offer something for everyone," said Susan Panico, Senior Director of PlayStation Network. "Complementing this demand for high-definition downloadable content, the new 160GB PS3 bundle enables customers to download and store even more movies, TV shows, games, music and photos, making the PS3 the ultimate entertainment center and holiday gift."Some of the movies planned for the holiday include: The Dark Knight (12/9) Fred Claus (11/25) Hancock – rated and unrated(11/25) Horton Hears a Who (12/9) Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (11/26) Step Brothers – unrated(12/2) X-Files: I Want To Believe (12/2)
Best Buy to sell exclusive Joker mask figurine with The Dark Knight
Just when you had your buying plans for December 9th all sealed up, in flies this to totally shake 'em up. As if there won't be enough options out there for snapping up The Dark Knight early next month, Best Buy has announced that it will sell an exclusive Collector's Edition DVD and Blu-ray packaged with a Joker mask figurine. From what we can tell, everything else (movie wise, anyway) will be the same, but an expected price premium has yet to be disclosed. Aw, did we just cause you to cancel an existing pre-order? Why so serious?[Thanks, Anthony]%Gallery-37844%
The Dark Knight Blu-ray disc leaking out, complaints already rolling in
Don't let that December 9 street date fool you, it seems like many are taking our advice and getting their hands on The Dark Knight Blu-ray disc as soon as possible. Reports have popped up on more than one forum over the last weekend of people ordering -- and receiving -- copies from retailers with 7-11-style views of release date tyranny, or for the less scrupulous, downloading ripped copies. Even worse the biggest Blu-ray debut to date is being met with criticism before it even (officially) goes on the shelf, with complaints about edge enhancement, compression and director Chris Nolan's aspect ratio choices in relation to IMAX / non-IMAX footage. Need to check it out for yourself? A bit of poking around should earn a copy sooner rather than later, no mail-ins necessary.Read - AVSForumRead - Blu-ray.com
Denon rewards buyers of its pricey Blu-ray decks with free Batman BDs
It's one thing for Amazon to toss a few free Blu-ray Discs in with the purchase of a PlayStation 3, but we'd expect a little something extra from Denon. After all, when the least expensive Blu-ray deck you make rings up at $749 (MSRP), we'd say a free universal remote or weekend at the lake would be a more appropriate gift. At any rate, Denon and Warner Home Video have linked up to provide buyers of Denon Blu-ray players (the DVD-1800BD, DVD-3800BDCI and DVD-2500BTCI) with a BD copy of The Dark Knight and Batman Begins. The promotion is set to run from November 23rd to January 10, but you've still got to deal with that whole "mail in with the proof of purchase" rigmarole to get your money back. Groan.
The Dark Knight features BD-Live chat with Chris Nolan for first 100,000 -- Bat Growl not included
Clearly unwilling to be seen as anything other than the premiere Blu-ray release of the year, The Dark Knight will follow Hellboy II in featuring a BD-Live chat session with director Chris Nolan -- but apparently only for the first 100,000 registered purchasers (regular or Bat-Pod edition). As TheHDRoom points out, with over one million copies headed to shelves for the launch, you may want to grab yours early. Also coming to the Bat-Channel is video commentary sharing, while details like how to submit questions and exactly when the viewing party will take place are still unclear, fans have plenty to look forward to December 9th.
Dark Knight Blu-ray set to break shipping records, sales records next?
Hopefully Iron Man isn't getting too cozy in the #1 Blu-ray spot, with over a million copies of The Dark Knight headed to store shelves on December 9. Iron Man set a first week mark of over 500,000 sold on an unknown quantity shipped, but it's probably a bigger question whether Warner can keep it's BD-Live servers working than whether it can take the top spot. VideoBusiness points out the old days of March '07 when Casino Royale shipped 100,000 units, or 300's 250k combined high definition disc launch last year. Number watchers will also be keeping an eye out for Blu-ray's share of first week sales; last year Transformers set records with 190,000 HD DVDs compared to 8.3 million DVDs, with Iron Man averaging around 10% how many will chose Batman the way it was meant to be seen?
Ask A Beta Tester: Spirit, AoE, and raid loot
I'm going to start off this AABT by stealing a question that Alex actually took last time, mostly because I started laughing when I read it yesterday. I have, oh, conservatively, billions of Wrath screenshots on my hard drive at this point, but there's one I remember all too well.Marathan asks... Some time ago, there was a talk about new player character models for Wrath - and even some bugged pictures. So the question is, are they going live? Are we finally going to get improved graphics on our characters?As Alex wrote, Blizzard used one beta build to test the ease of implementing new skins and some of them...didn't turn out too well. Imagine you're me and you get a beta key. Budget a few hours of anticipatory excitement while your main copies over. She's a 70 Tauren Druid who has been with you since day one, your sole 70, and you think she's the most beautiful thing in the game even if to everyone else she's an ungainly 8-foot heifer. Now imagine booting up the Wrath beta for the first time and being horrified to see your beloved character with a Glasgow smile, like the developers had seen the Joker in The Dark Knight and thought, "Hey! We could make that work!"Holy water did nothing. Neither did crucifixes, garlic, a wooden stake, waving the Bible in the direction of the laptop, or sobbing quietly in a corner.On the plus side, here was finally something in the game to which Tauren cat form was an actual graphical improvement.
The Dark Knight Blu-ray Bat-Pod display case gets pictured
Back in September, we heard that a limited edition The Dark Knight box set would be motoring onto the scene this December 9th, and now, we're being assured of that. The HD Room has acquired a number of images detailing the Bat-Pod package, which will include an exclusive display case, Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene, Batman Tech: The Incredible Gadgets and Tools (in HD), Batman Unmakes: The Psychology of the Dark Knight (also in HD), a few other bonus features and the feature film in 1080p with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1-channel audio track. Worth $64.99 (MSRP)? Check the rest of the images in the read link to make that determination.
The Dark Knight storming onto Blu-ray on December 9th
You knew there was no way Warner Home Video was letting its crown jewel release of 2008 slip until after the holiday season, right? As expected, the studio has just revealed that the latest tale in Batman's life on the silver screen will be outed on BD this December 9th. It's also expected that the film will be available in a standard edition and two-disc limited edition box that comes with a Bat-Pod display case. The film in each set will be presented in 1080p with a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack, and a few swank HD extras should be wrapped in as well. No price is given just yet, but c'mon, you're buying this.
Warner delivering Academy screeners on Blu-ray, starting with Batman
Confirming earlier indications The Dark Knight's IMAX sequences would remain largely intact -- full widescreen with the rest of the movie letterboxed --on Blu-ray, director Christopher Nolan pushed for Academy members to receive that version as a screener (why not give them a guided tour via BD-Live?), prompting Warner to mail them ahead of time offering the option of Blu-ray or DVD. The Hollywood Reporter mentions other studios are thinking about making the switch -- notably Sony regarding Will smith's upcoming Seven Pounds -- but haven't done anything yet, with concerns about cost and piracy. We wouldn't be surprised to see watermarking systems like the one Fox recently adopted come into widespread use, as much as studios want to avoid leaks they still want their productions seen in the absolute highest quality, right? Still, the first hurdle is making sure people can actually watch them, the report ends mentioning several members tossed the letter since they don't own a Blu-ray player yet.[Via MovieWeb]
