Major Studios Report First Blu-ray Release Slates

Four major studios today (Jan. 4) revealed their product slates in support of the next-generation Blu-ray DVD format.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have announced 20-title release slates, while Lionsgate and Paramount Home Entertainment each have 10 Blu-ray titles coming to market.

Though the Blu-ray consortium have not officially scheduled a release date for their first players, the hardware is expected at retail late in the first quarter. Exact street dates for the software releases have not been set.

Sony's Blu-ray slate is expected to include "Legends of the Fall," "Robocop" and "XXX." Fox titles will include "Fantastic Four," "Ice Age" and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."

The Lionsgate releases include "The Punisher," "Reservoir Dogs" and "T2: Judgement Day." Paramount's slate features "Aeon Flux," "Four Brothers" and "U2: Rattle and Hum."

The competing next-generation format, HD DVD, will also be supported by Paramount. The studio also revealed today a slate of 10 HD DVD titles, which exactly mirror its Blu-ray release slate.

Like Blu-ray, it it still unknown when HD DVD players will be available for sale.

The HD DVD next-generation group, led by Toshiba, is demonstrating the format today at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Sony-led Blu-ray group will present its own product demonstration at CES tomorrow (Jan. 5).

More software announcements are expected this week.

A number of major studios including Paramount, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video last year revealed at CES a software slate in support of HD DVD at a time when that format was expected to debut in 2005's fourth quarter. Product expectations changed after HD DVD's launch was postponed.