When the movie Marley & Me hits stores today, consumers will be able to buy the family comedy as a standard DVD, a Blu-ray Disc and a digital copy — all rolled into one package.
It’s 20th Century Fox’s first “triple play” release, a practice Hollywood insiders predict will become increasingly common as studios seek to ease the transition to the high-definition Blu-ray format and at the same time keep people from simply downloading movies to their PCs.
“We’re giving people the option to enjoy the movie in three different ways,” says 20th Century Fox’s Mary Daily. “The digital copy can go to the kids, so they can watch it on their iPods. Then you’ve got the Blu-ray Disc, which you can watch on your big home theater, and the DVD (for) the car or the bedroom.”
The concept, Daily says, is “to make it flexible and portable and fit in with their lifestyles.”
Disney pioneered the three-formats-in-one-package approach earlier this year with High School Musical 3 and has two more such “Combopacks,” Bolt, which is new in stores, and Bedtime Stories, due April 7. “We want to be a one-stop source for all current and future programming needs for the entire family,” says Disney’s Bob Chapek.