The clock hasn’t stopped ticking on the format, but HD DVD consumers can look forward to seeing new films on store shelves — for at least the next few months, anyway.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, one of Warner Bros.’ final HD DVD titles, a two-disc special edition of Twister, will be released May 27; meanwhile, Paramount “is expected to announce a full slate of HD DVD titles for the first quarter Thursday.”
Paramount was supposed to announce those releases at CES, but the news of Warner Bros. abandoning the format led the HD DVD Promotional Group to withdraw from the show and declare a “quiet period.” The Reporter article lists a number of expected titles, however, including Into the Wild, Things We Lost in the Fire, Bee Movie, The Kite Runner, American Gangster, and The Jack Ryan Collection, which bundles The Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games, and The Sum of All Fears.
Still, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before the last few drops of HD DVD’s market share go swirling down the drain — according to the Reporter, people have pretty much quit buying ’em:
Net HD DVD sales, according to Nielsen, constituted only 15% of hi-def disc sales last week. And the top HD DVD seller, “The Kingdom,” sold just 10% as many copies as the top Blu-ray Disc release, “3:10 to Yuma.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
