Tag: Digital Downloads

Movies Anywhere Tallies More Than 10 Million Registered Users

Celebrating its three-year anniversary this October, digital locker service Movies Anywhere has surpassed 10 million registered users, with more than 280 million movies collected to date.

GM Karin Gilford attributes the growth of the platform to a dramatic shift in consumer preference towards digital movies.

“Movie lovers want a way to quickly and easily access their film collection,” Gilford said in a statement. “In addition to bringing movie fans’ collections together in one convenient app, our recently-added features like Screen Pass and co-viewing allow our users to share their love of movies with friends and family, even while apart.”

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The service has found Movies Anywhere users like to watch movies on big screens, with the number of users utilizing the service on their TV growing 68% over the past three years, with 104% growth in hours watched. Average hours watched per person on TVs increased 11% with the biggest lifts seen on TVOS and Android TV.

Also, the service has found “mega-purchasers” (those who purchased 24-plus movies in the past 12 months) are on the rise, growing 37% in the last three years. Among these mega-purchasers, average movie hours watched in-app has grown significantly, with 94% more hours watched on average in 2020 versus 2017.

The service has also observed trends among Movies Anywhere users leading up to Halloween (based on digital spooky movie purchases and time spent viewing Oct. 12, 2017-Oct. 31, 2017 and Sept. 13, 2020-Oct. 2, 2020):

  • As Halloween gets closer, users prefer to purchase horror and suspense films over spooky family films. Only one out of these top 10 purchased spooky films were family-friendly in 2020, with only two out of the top 10 being family-friendly in 2017.
  • But as far as top-watched films go, family-friendly films Hotel Transylvania and Hotel Transylvania 2 hit the top 10 most-hours-watched both in 2020 and in 2017.
  • Three Stephen King films — It: Chapter Two, The Shining and Doctor Sleep — were among the top purchased spooky films in 2020, compared to 2017 when the author’s Stephen King’s It and The Shining were on the top-purchased list.
  • In 2020, three classics made the top 10 with the most purchases on Movies Anywhere: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Psycho and The Shining. In 2017, A Nightmare on Elm Street was in the top 10.
  • On Halloween day in 2017, Annabelle Creation saw the most purchases and Hotel Transylvania was the most-watched movie.

 

Top 10 purchased spooky films for the 2020 period (Sept. 13, 2020-Oct. 2, 2020):

  1. Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
  2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
  3. The Invisible Man (2020)
  4. Psycho
  5. IT: Chapter Two
  6. Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island
  7. You Should Have Left
  8. Halloween (2018)
  9. The Shining
  10. Doctor Sleep

 

Top 10 most-hours-watched spooky films for the 2020 period (Sept. 13, 2020-Oct. 2, 2020):

  1. Hotel Transylvania 3
  2. Hotel Transylvania 2
  3. Hotel Transylvania
  4. IT Chapter Two
  5. IT
  6. Zombieland: Double Tap
  7. Halloween (2018)
  8. The Invisible Man (2020)
  9. Alien: Covenant
  10. Doctor Sleep

 

Top 10 purchased spooky films for the 2017 period (Oct. 12, 2017-Oct. 31, 2017):

  1. Annabelle: Creation
  2. Alien Covenant
  3. Stephen King’s IT
  4. Get Out
  5. Hotel Transylvania
  6. A Nightmare on Elm Street
  7. Hotel Transylvania 2
  8. Annabelle
  9. Zombieland
  10. Underworld: Blood Wars

 

Top 10 most-hours-watched spooky films for the 2017 period (Oct. 12, 2017-Oct. 31, 2017):

  1. Hotel Transylvania
  2. Hotel Transylvania 2
  3. Annabelle: Creation
  4. Alien: Covenant
  5. ParaNorman
  6. Stephen King’s IT
  7. Get Out
  8. Dark Shadows
  9. Zombieland
  10. Underworld: Blood Wars

‘Antebellum’ Tops Vudu, FandangoNow Charts

The premium VOD release Antebellum led both the Vudu and FandangoNow charts for the week ended Sept. 20.

Both are transactional video-on-demand services owned by Fandango.

From Lionsgate and QC Entertainment — the producer of Get Out and Us — Antebellum stars Janelle Monáe in a thriller about a successful author who finds herself trapped on a 19th century slave plantation.

Another Lionsgate title, The Secret: Dare to Dream, which became available for digital sale Sept. 15 after a PVOD run, took the No. 2 spot on the Vudu chart and landed at No. 3 on the FandangoNow chart. The dramatic romance stars Katie Holmes and Josh Lucas and is based on the best-selling book The Secret.

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Meanwhile, Bill & Ted Face the Music, the third installment in the iconic comedy series starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, took the bronze on the Vudu chart and the silver on the FandangoNow chart after remaining at No. 1 on both for three consecutive weeks.

Vudu’s top 10 titles for the week ended Sept. 20, in terms of revenue, were:

  1. Antebellum
  2. The Secret: Dare to Dream
  3. Bill & Ted Face the Music
  4. Cats and Dogs 3: Paws Unite
  5. Alone
  6. The Tax Collector
  7. Trolls World Tour
  8. Beetlejuice
  9. The Owners
  10. The Silencing

FandangoNow’s top 10 titles for the week ended Sept. 20, in terms of revenue, were:

  1. Antebellum
  2. Bill & Ted Face the Music
  3. The Secret: Dare to Dream
  4. Alone
  5. The Tax Collector
  6. The King of Staten Island
  7. Fatima
  8. Blackbird
  9. Trolls World Tour
  10. The Grizzlies

Jim Henson Company Launches Kids’ Series for Download on iTunes and Google Play

The Jim Henson Company, in partnership with Premiere Digital Services, has launched several of its children’s series on iTunes and Google Play for download in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

Content includes seasons one and two of the language acquisition series “Word Party,” (U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia); season one of the animated series “Dot.,” created by Randi Zuckerberg (U.S. and U.K.); and the puppet series “Pajanimals,” “Jim Henson’s Mother Goose Stories” and “The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss” (U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia). The classic Henson fantasy series “The Storyteller” and “The Storyteller: Greek Myths” are available for download in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia.

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“Partnering with Premiere Digital Services has allowed more beloved Jim Henson Company titles to be available to our fans than ever before,” said Jim Henson VP of global distribution Anna Moorefield. “Consumers can expect additional favorites as we continue to make our productions available to established and new audiences wherever and whenever they want to watch.”

“We are thrilled to partner with The Jim Henson Company and expand the reach of their timeless and iconic catalog in the transactional VOD space,” said head of Premiere business development Jeff Goldman. “Working together with The Jim Henson Company and our platform partners, we have the experience and relationships to bring these amazing shows starring some of the best-loved characters to fans of all ages around the world.”

Paramount’s ‘Bumblebee’ Shoots to Top of FandangoNow Chart

Paramount’s Bumblebee fought its way to No. 1 on FandangoNow’s chart of top movies for digital rental and purchase for the week ended March 24.

FandangoNow is movie site Fandango’s transactional VOD service.

The “Transformers” franchise reboot, which earned $127.2 million in theaters, stars Hailee Steinfeld in an origin story about the Autobot warrior Bumblebee. It debuted on digital March 19.

Warner took the second spot on the FandangoNow chart with another new digital release, the Clint Eastwood starrer The Mule, about a broke man in his 80s who unwittingly signs on as a drug courier.

The studio also managed a third-place finish with Aquaman, which sank two spots after two weeks at No. 1. The DC Comics superhero feature earned $334.8 million at the box office.

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Sony’s Best Animated Feature Oscar winner Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse hung in at No. 4 for another week, while Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns, which stars Emily Blunt, remained in the fifth spot.

The top films to purchase and/or rent on FandangoNow for the week ended March 24 were:

  1. Bumblebee — Paramount
  2. The Mule — Warner
  3. Aquaman — Warner
  4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — Sony
  5. Mary Poppins Returns — Disney
  6. A Star Is Born (2018) — Warner
  7. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald — Warner
  8. Green Book — Universal
  9. Instant Family — Paramount
  10. Creed II — Warner

 

Fandango is celebrating the upcoming April 2 digital release of Glass by hosting an exclusive clip featuring scenes from the film and an interview with the film’s star James McAvoy and director M. Night Shyamalan across its various channels.

Google Play Offering Deals on Past Oscar Winners, Featuring This Year’s Nominees

To celebrate the 91st Academy Awards Feb. 24, Google Play Feb. 15-28 is offering deals on some of the past Oscar-winning movies and featuring a collection of this year’s Oscar-nominated films.

Titles on sale include Thelma & Louise, Gone with the Wind, Rain Man, Dirty Dancing, The Wizard of Oz, La La Land, Moulin Rouge, Walk the Line, Juno, Little Miss Sunshine, Lady Bird, The Blind Side, Moneyball, Million Dollar Baby, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, I,Tonya, American Sniper, RBG, Darkest Hour, The Shape of Water, 12 Years a Slave, Birdman and Moonlight.

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Google Play is also featuring apps and games inspired by this year’s Best Picture nominees.

A complete list of Oscars content on Google Play is on its Oscars Hub.

Oscar Nominees Surge on FandangoNow

Oscar-nominated films announced Jan. 22 accounted for 30% of all sales on FandangoNow, Fandango’s VOD service, Jan. 22-24, according to the service.

Music-based nominees in the Oscar Best Picture category, Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star Is Born, were among the service’s top-selling titles during the period.

FandangoNow’s top-selling movies Jan. 22-24 were:

  1. Bohemian Rhapsody
  2. A Star is Born
  3. The Grinch
  4. Hunter Killer
  5. First Man

 

FandangoNow’s top-rented movies Jan. 22-24 were:

  1. Halloween (2018)
  2. Split
  3. Venom
  4. Once Upon a Deadpool
  5. Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween

 

FandangoNow is offering gift cards to watch this year’s Academy Award nominees.

Fans can watch scenes from all of this year’s Best Picture nominees on the Fandango Movieclips YouTube channel here. 

‘Searching’ Top Rental, ‘House With a Clock in Its Walls’ Top Seller at Digital Service FandangoNow This Week

Sony’s Searching and Universal’s The House With a Clock in Its Walls topped the rental and sales charts, respectively, at FandangoNow, Fandango’s digital content service, from Nov. 27-29.

Searching, the story of a father’s quest to find clues in the laptop of his 16-year-old daughter after she goes missing, was followed on the rental chart by Warner’s romantic comedy hit Crazy Rich Asians at No. 2 and The Meg at No. 3.

On FandangoNow’s sales chart, The House With a Clock in Its Walls, director Eli Roth’s adaptation of the children’s book starring Jack Black, was followed by Fox’s remake The Predator at No. 2 and Paramount’s Mission Impossible — Fallout at No. 3.

Top-Selling New Titles to Rent:

  1. Searching (Sony)
  2. Crazy Rich Asians (Warner)
  3. The Meg (Warner)
  4. Mile 22 (Universal)
  5. Incredibles 2 (Disney)

Top-Selling New Titles to Own:

  1. The House With A Clock In Its Walls (Universal)
  2. The Predator (Fox)
  3. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Paramount)
  4. Peppermint (Universal)
  5. The Equalizer 2 (Sony)

‘My Dinner With Hervé’ Available on Digital From HBO

My Dinner With Hervé is available now on digital from HBO Home Entertainment.

The film explores the unlikely friendship between struggling journalist Danny Tate (Jamie Dornan) and Hervé Villechaize (Peter Dinklage), the world’s most famous French dwarf actor.

The story unfolds over one wild night in Los Angeles — an encounter that has life-changing consequences for both men.

My Dinner with Hervé also stars Golden Globe nominee Mireille Enos (The Killing), David Strathairn (Lincoln), Andy García (Ocean’s Eleven), Harriet Walter (Succession) and Oona Chaplin (“Game of Thrones”).

Movies Anywhere Celebrates First Birthday With 6 Million Users and 150 Million Movies Collected

Movies Anywhere, the cloud-based digital movie library service backed by most of the major studios, is celebrating its first birthday with 6 million registered users, 150 million movies collected and more than 1 billion minutes viewed.

To mark its first year, for a limited period, fans who sync for the first time with one digital retailer will receive a copy of Happy Feet. Those who sync for the first time with two digital retailers also receive The Martian and The Fate of the Furious.

“This has been a very exciting first year of growth and immersive engagement for Movies Anywhere,” said Karin Gilford, GM, Movies Anywhere. “Our users are among the most passionate and engaged movie fans, so it’s been incredibly rewarding to see them embrace and value our product in such a positive way.  We look forward to further evolving and enhancing the Movies Anywhere experience in the upcoming year.”

The service, which allows consumers to access their digital movie purchases in one place with one password, is backed by five Hollywood studios and six digital retailers. Studios include Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film, Universal Pictures (including Focus Features, DreamWorks and Illumination Entertainment), The Walt Disney Studios (including Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm) and Warner Bros. Participating digital retailers are iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play, Microsoft Movies & TV and FandangoNow.

Other first-year milestones for the service include:

  • Fans have streamed more than 35 million movies on more than 100 different devices;
  • 95 percent of users reported high levels of satisfaction with the app, according to an August 2018 Futuresource report; and
  • The service was nominated for “Fan Favorite App” in the Google Play Best of 2018 Awards.

 

The digital movie sales and rights-locker storage service launched last October with support from five of the six major studios, four of the biggest online retailers, and an opening library of more than 7,300 movies. Over the past year the service has grown to more than 7,500 movies and has added FandangoNow and Microsoft Movies & TV to its digital retailer lineup. Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate are not part of the service, which also does not feature television programming.

Digital purchases of movies, TV shows and other filmed content, known in the industry as “electronic sellthrough,” or EST, rose 18% in the third quarter compared with the same quarter in the year prior, a significant uptick from the single-digit gains posted in prior years, according to DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group. Industry observers attribute at least some of the gain to the rising popularity of Movies Anywhere platform.

 

‘Flight of the Conchords: Live in London’ Coming on Digital Nov. 12 From HBO

Flight of the Conchords: Live in London, featuring musical comedians Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, will come out on digital download Nov. 12 from HBO Home Entertainment.

Filmed at the Eventim Apollo in London, the show features the two performing never-before-televised songs from their recent “Flight of the Conchords Sing Flight of the Conchords Tour,” as well as some of their classics.

New Zealanders McKenzie and Clement appeared on the HBO series “Flight of the Conchords” starting in 2007. The series following fictionalized versions of their lives in New York City and earned 10 Emmy nominations over its two-season run. Their album “The Distant Future” won Best Comedy Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards.