20th Century Fox launches early digital release of 'Prometheus'

September 18, 2012|By Dawn C. Chmielewski

A scene from the 20th Century Fox film "Prometheus, in which David,… (AP Photo/20th Century Fox,…)

20th Century Fox launched an initiative designed to spur digital sales, offering its sci-fi thriller "Prometheus" for sale through several major online retailers three weeks ahead of the movie's release on DVD and Blu-ray disc.

The Ridley Scott film is one of 600 titles to be sold digitally in high-definition for less than $15 -- a discount from the typical retail price of $20.

The movies are available online through Amazon, Apple Inc.'s iTunes store, BestBuy's CinemaNow, Google Play, YouTube and Wal-Mart's Vudu, as well as through entertainment stores connected to the Sony PlayStation and Xbox game consoles.

"With almost 800 million broadband-connected devices, and millions of people accessing entertainment on these devices, we feel the medium's time has come," said Mike Dunn, president of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Fox isn't the first studio to offer digital sales ahead of a movie's availability on DVD or Blu-ray, or through on-demand services. However, the studio, through a program it's calling Digital HD, has committed to do so with hundreds of titles, including "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and "Black Swan."

This marks the sixth major studio to sell and rent new movie releases and past seasons of television shows through YouTube and to Android devices through the Google Play store.

"This new partnership expands our movies and TV shows catalog and, most importantly, gives consumers the opportunity to rent or own some of the best new releases and classic films ever made," a Google spokeswoman said in a statement.

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