Independent Canadian film distributor Lionsgate Films recently announced plans to release up to a dozen titles in the Blu-ray format to coincide with the arrival of the first players in that next-gen format on May 23, including "Crash," which received Oscars for Best Picture, Best Original Screen Play and Best Editing at the Academy Awards.
Now that the film has garnered top honors, it's highly possible it also will be distributed in the HD DVD format, as well (although there was no specific word on that yet). HD DVD players and some movie titles are set to go on sale in North America in the next couple of weeks, nearly two months prior to Blu-ray.
Price points for a disc of "Crash," which mustered lukewarm box office a few months ago in theaters, as well as a bevy of lesser-known titles such as "Lord of War" and "The Punisher," will reportedly start at about $40 per HD disc, with some additional titles like "Terminator: Judgment Day" going for MSRP $30, prior to any possible retail discounts. (By contrast, the standard widescreen DVD of "Crash" was available this week on Amazon.com for $12.)
Titles for other Blu-ray films this spring from other distributors include mostly movies that have been out in standard DVD for a while -- including "The Fifth Element," "Hitch," "House of Flying Daggers" and "A Knight's Tale," among others.
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