It has been a relatively light week for Blu-ray announcements as studio marketing and PR teams wind down for a little holiday R&R. Next week is guaranteed to be even lighter with holiday called Christmas falling on Thursday so we wanted to pass along a couple juicy rumors to help pass the time.
First up is a correction, or more along the lines of an adjustment. A few days ago in the previous rumor report we suggested Australia starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman might arrive on Blu-ray February 24. It now looks like that date has been pushed back into some time in March.
DVDEmpire.com has begun taking pre-orders for the cult classic Ichi the Killer, coming stateside courtesy of Tokyo Shock. The release date listed is March 31 which likely will pan out to be the final date, prompting us to add the title to our Blu-ray Future Releases section.
Disney is working on a sharp Blu-ray release for the CGI-animated adventure Bolt. Look for this one in late March with, we’re hoping, four sets of 3-D glasses packed in.
Speaking of Disney, a post at The Pixar Blog suggested a publicist informed him A Bug’s Life is coming to Blu-ray this Spring. The post was then retracted with the following explanation, “Without going into too much detail, the publicist who responded to my request for verification that the Blu-ray release of ‘Bugs’ would be coming next spring has taken issue with my use of the word “confirmation” in describing his statement that the “official announce[ment] is currently scheduled for mid-February”. Also, my comment that a mid-February announcement would ‘put the release date in March’ has been deemed to be incorrect.”
We haven’t heard anything about A Bug’s Life coming to Blu-ray in 2009. At the same time, Pixar’s Up is due in theaters early in the summer of ’09 which would be an ideal time to cross-promote a catalog Pixar title. Maybe one of those “buy the Bug’s Life on Blu-ray, get a voucher for a free ticket to see Up” kind of promotions will appear. A Bug’s Life should look fantastic on Blu-ray so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.
For now, keep your eyes fixed at TheHDRoom’s Blu-ray portal for official studio Blu-ray title announcements and rumors.
