New DVD releases never take a breather, and even the shortest month of the year will have plenty of popular or critically acclaimed movies that screened in theaters last year hit the retail market. Let's look at some of this month's more notable Blu-ray and DVD releases.
Feb. 4
Dallas Buyers Club and Free Birds highlight the new DVD releases hitting the market on Tuesday. Dallas Buyers Club wasn't a big hit at the box office, but after Golden Globe victories for Matthew McConaughey as best actor and Jared Leto as best supporting actor, the buzz heading into the Oscars is going to make it a popular purchase and rental.
Free Birds also didn't fare well in its theatrical run. The year's most popular animated feature raked in six times the $55.5 million that this movie -- about turkeys trying to remake the Thanksgiving menu -- raked in. But it still sold enough tickets to generate mild interest at the retail level for young families.
Feb. 11
The slate of new DVD releases for February continues next week, with Ender's Game. In a year that found Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF +0.00%) score the highest-grossing movie with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, this was another hot book property with young reader that didn't fare as well. Despite the sizable fan base of the sci-fi book series and landing Harrison Ford to be in the movie, it fell well short of making back its $110 million production budget. It should fare better as a rental.
Feb. 18
Game of Thrones has become a big hit on Time Warner's (TWX +0.00%) HBO. The bloody and salty series has captivated viewers with a book series that has proved it's not afraid to kill off major characters.
The third season rolls out on DVD later this month, setting the stage for the fourth season to make its debut on HBO a few weeks later. Watch the "Red Wedding" episode in reverse to make it less heart-wrenching.
Feb. 25
The shortest month of the year wraps up with Gravity, Nebraska, and Thor: The Dark World rolling out on DVD and Blu-ray.
Time Warner's Gravity is going to generate a lot of attention, especially on Blu-ray, where the film's stunning special effects ignite the screen. Thor: The Dark World is the latest release out of Disney's (DIS 2.46%) Marvel. It did take in more than $200 million in domestic ticket sales during last year's cinematic run, a little better than the original Thor two years earlier. That's impressive, but it;s still well short of Gravity's nearly $262 million in ticket sales. Either way, February's new DVD releases closes out with two of last year's blockbusters.
