"Star Trek" And Special Edition "Gone With The Wind" Hit Stores

(RTTNews) - After a very impressive box office run, the J.J. Abrams-directed "Star Trek" will make its way to both standard DVD and Blu-ray this week and should have a great deal of appeal for both rentals and purchases. The disappointing but still lucrative "Bruno" will also hit stores this week following a somewhat shortened theatrical release. Recently, there have been new special edition releases of classics such as "The Wizard of Oz" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," and this week, "Gone With the Wind" gets the special edition treatment.

Though its box office figures aren't among the very top titles of the year, "Star Trek" was still a very successful reboot for a dying franchise. "Star Trek" grossed $254 million domestically and $384 million worldwide, though the financial success of a franchise reboot will likely show more in the sequels, as is typically the trend. "The Dark Knight" grossed more than $1 billion in worldwide revenue last year, but it was not such a tremendous success on its own merit; three years prior, "Batman Begins" hauled in $374 million worldwide and brought fans back to the franchise that had had a series of embarrassing releases, much the same as the "Star Trek" franchise.

While it's unlikely that a future "Star Trek" release will approach $1 billion in box office revenue, such a successful reboot will ensure a plentiful budget for the next installment, which is currently slated for a summer 2011 release. Hitting standard DVD and Blu-ray, "Star Trek" will benefit greatly from the imminent holiday shopping season and will almost certainly be among the top DVD and Blu-ray sales of the season.

The second most prominent new release looks to be comedy "Bruno," which struggled to meet lofty expectations this past summer in theaters but still posted very impressive overall figures. "Bruno" brought in $137 million worldwide, though distributor Universal hoped it would earn similar totals to that of "Borat" - based on comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's other popular character. "Borat" was a smash hit in 2006, earning $261 million worldwide on a production budget of only $18 million. With a hard R-rating, "Bruno" should have substantial appeal for adult demographics and will likely do well without much similar competition.

Drama "My Sister's Keeper" also hits standard DVD this week, following up a quiet theatrical release. Starring Cameron Diaz and Alec Baldwin, "My Sister's Keeper" struggled to reach its targeted demographic over the summer, earning just $49 million domestically and $78 million in total. With a production budget of just $30 million, "My Sister's Keeper" was still somewhat of a success for distributor Warner Brothers. With its release on DVD, it will provide a solid alternative to "Star Trek" and "Bruno" in terms of rentals, though it's unlikely it will post nearly as many sales as either.

Headlining the older titles getting a new release is "Gone With the Wind," which still ranks as the most lucrative release of all-time in terms of domestic revenue. When adjusted for inflation, "Gone With the Wind" is ahead of "Star Wars," "The Sound of Music" and "E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial" with over $1 billion in domestic revenue; worldwide leader "Titanic" ranks sixth with roughly $921 million in U.S. revenue. "Gone With the Wind" will be released in a special edition five-disc set, which includes a new documentary about the filming and a variety of other featurettes for fans of the film.

Hitting Blu-ray for the first time will be "Fight Club," which is among director David Fincher's most popular films. Starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, "Fight Club" is a taut psychological drama and pitch black comedy that has become a substantial cult hit following its release a decade ago.

Also getting launched on Blu-ray is director Steven Soderbergh's first feature, "Sex, Lies and Videotape." Soderbergh ("Traffic," "Oceans 11") made a name for himself with the clever and satirical indie drama, which stars Andie MacDowell, James Spader and Peter Gallagher.

Writer/director Kevin Smith's most celebrated films, "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy," will also be launched on Blu-ray this week, as will a special edition standard DVD set that includes "Clerks," "Chasing Amy" and his lesser known release "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."

Next week, "Angels and Demons" headlines a series of releases on DVD and Blu-ray, including many with holiday themes as we move closer to Black Friday and the start of the holiday shopping season.

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