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"Ice Age" to hit DVD in time for Thanksgiving

Posted on: Tuesday, 11 July 2006, 21:17 CDT

By Thomas K. Arnold

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The fourth-quarter DVD derby is officially off and running.

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has reserved the lucrative November 21 date for "Ice Age: The Meltdown," the year's No. 4 movie, with $193.4 million in domestic boxoffice receipts.

The release date falls on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, which means "Meltdown" likely will be the most potent new release in stores on Black Friday, the day after the holiday that traditionally is the year's top shopping date.

"We had tremendous success four years ago with a similar release date for the original 'Ice Age,"' said Steve Feldstein, senior vp marketing communications for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. That DVD also hit stores the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and has sold more than 14 million units, Fox reports.

The "Meltdown" DVD includes a computer-animated short, "No Time for Nuts," created exclusively for the DVD. It features additional antics by the Scrat character, voiced by original "Ice Age" director Chris Wedge.

Other extras on the "Meltdown" DVD include commentaries by director Carlos Saldanha, producer Lori Forte and the production team; three short films, "Crash & Eddie Stunts"; introductions to new characters Ellie, Crash and Eddie; a sound effects lab; bloopers involving Crash and Eddie; a featurette on John Leguizamo's voice characterization of Sid; four set-top games; and clips of Scrat's appearance on "Family Guy" and Sid hosting the Fox Animation Domination lineup.

Fox is promising a huge marketing campaign in support of the "Meltdown" DVD, including promotional partnerships with Tootsie Roll, Carl Buddig, Malt-O-Meal, Hasbro, the National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Assn. and others.

So far, no other fourth-quarter releases have been confirmed, though industry sources expect most of the big spring and summer movies to roll out in the weeks leading up to Christmas, including "X-Men: The Last Stand," "The Da Vinci Code" and "Cars."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Source: REUTERS

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