Universal Pictures Unveils Blu-ray Plans

LONDON,
April 17: Universal Pictures International Entertainment (UPIE) plans to
release 29 titles on Blu-ray for the first time, beginning August 26 with the
second season of Heroes.

Season
one of the hit NBC drama will be released in Blu-ray at the same time.
Universal’s Blu-ray schedule comes some two months since Toshiba announced it
was axing the HD DVD standard, which the studio had initially backed.

Universal’s
Blu-ray international lineup rolls out from the end of this year in the U.K.,
Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and
Japan.

Five
of Universal Pictures’ big 2008 features will be released on Blu-ray later in
the year. These are The Incredible Hulk, Wanted, Hellboy II: The
Golden Army, Mamma Mia! and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. UPIE will also release
key catalogue titles, such as The Mummy, Gladiator, American Gangster, Miami Vice, Casino and The Thing in the next-generation
high-definition format.

A
similar rollout strategy was unveiled by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
in the U.S. today. While the global rollout kicks off with Heroes in August, the first
wave of Universal Blu-ray releases hits U.S. stores on July 22 with The
Mummy
franchise. Meanwhile, Doomsday hits Blu-ray this summer day and date with its
standard DVD launch.

—By
Mansha Daswani