With the huge push in home video sales during the holiday season, well-timed DVD releases also help refresh award voters’ memories about some of the better films released earlier in the year.
“Of course it’s always the movie first, but you can see how a spectacular DVD release timed in November or December enhances the attributes of any contender,” Steven Feldstein, senior VP of marketing and communications at 20th Century Fox, told Variety.
Films such as 2000’s Gladiator and 2001’s Moulin Rouge benefited greatly when their DVDs were released at the end of the year. This year the chances of such potential Oscar contenders as Ice Age and Spider-Man could be helped tremendously by their release on DVD.
Variety reports some studios are sending out advance copies of screeners loaded with extra material, such as Fox Searchlight’s The Good Girl and One Hour Photo which are going out before their official home video releases in February. DreamWorks will release Road to Perdition just before Oscar voting closes Feb. 25, with extras including deleted scenes and commentary.
