 Shout Factory/Scream Factory is releasing a new Blu-ray for King Kong 1976 on May 11, 2021. It will come with a limited edition 18 x 24 poster featuring new artwork for orders on Shout Factory.com limited to 500. New cover art by Hugh Fleming will be on the front and back with original art on the reverse side, and will come with the original theatrical release and the extended TV version. Updated set details below. Synopsis "A dazzling display of what the special-effects people can do when commissioned to construct a 40-foot-tall ape ..." – Vincent Canby, The New York Times The Petrox company's search for new oil reserves on a strange island unleashes a terror unseen by civilized man – KING KONG! The timeless story of a beauty (Jessica Lange, making her feature-film debut) and a beast comes to the screen in this ambitious production from Dino De Laurentiis. Charles Grodin is the scheming oil company shark out to exploit the giant beast to his fullest. And Jeff Bridges is the desperate hero, Jack Prescott, who attempts to wrest the beautiful heroine from King Kong's grasp. New York City trembles with each echoing footstep of the towering ape set loose in the streets! RELEASE DATE: May 11, 2021 DISCS: 2 - Collectors Edition (with Slipcase in first three months of release) RUN-TIME: 136 / 182 min ASPECT RATIO: 2.35:1 REGULAR RETAIL PRICE: $34.98 DISC 1: Theatrical Cut
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 See the origins of one of the most powerful monster myths of all when Kong: Skull Island arrives onto Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD on July 18, or early on Digital June 20 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. This compelling, original adventure from director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer) tells the story of a diverse team of scientists, soldiers and adventurers uniting to explore a mythical, uncharted island in the Pacific, as dangerous as it is beautiful. Kong: Skull Island stars Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World), Oscar nominee Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction), John Goodman (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Argo), Oscar winner Brie Larson (Best Actress winner for Room) and Oscar nominee John C. Reilly (Chicago, Guardians of the Galaxy). Vogt-Roberts directed the film from a story by John Gatins and Dan Gilroy and a screenplay by Dan Gilroy and Max Borenstein. Kong: Skull Island is produced by Thomas Tull, Mary Parent, Jon Jashni and Alex Garcia, with Eric McLeod and Edward Cheng serving as executive producers. To fully immerse audiences in the mysterious Skull Island, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and his team filmed across three continents over six months, capturing its primordial landscapes on Oahu, Hawaii, Australia’s Gold Coast and Vietnam, filming across multiple locations, some of which have never before been seen on film. Kong: Skull Island will be available on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack for $44.95, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack for $44.95, Blu-ray Combo Pack for $35.99 and DVD for $28.98. The Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack features an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the theatrical version in 4K with HDR and a Blu-ray disc also featuring the theatrical version. The Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack features the theatrical version of the film in 3D hi-definition and hi-definition; the Blu-ray Combo Pack features the theatrical version of the film in hi-definition on Blu-ray; and the DVD features the theatrical version in standard definition. The Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack and Blu-ray Combo Pack include a digital version of the movie. Fans can also own Kong: Skull Island via purchase from digital retailers beginning June 20. This compelling, original adventure tells the story of a diverse team of scientists, soldiers and adventurers uniting to explore a mythical, uncharted island in the Pacific, as dangerous as it is beautiful. Cut off from everything they know, the team ventures into the domain of the mighty Kong, igniting the ultimate battle between man and nature. As their mission of discovery becomes one of survival, they must fight to escape a primal Eden in which humanity does not belong. BLU-RAY AND DVD ELEMENTS Kong: Skull Island Ultra HD Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray and Blu-ray Combo Pack contain the following special features: · Director’s Commentary · Creating a King: Realizing an Icon · Creating a King: Summoning a God · Monarch Files 2.0 · Tom Hiddleston: The Intrepid Traveler · Through the Lens: Brie Larson’s Photography · On Location: Vietnam · Deleted Scenes Kong: Skull Island Standard Definition DVD contains the following special features: · Director’s Commentary · Creating a King: Realizing an Icon · Creating a King: Summoning a God · Monarch Files 2.0 · Tom Hiddleston: The Intrepid Traveler · Through the Lens: Brie Larson’s Photography · On Location: Vietnam · Deleted Scenes Check out our previous post on the release featuring the Best Buy Steelbook, and the King Kong (2005) 4K release here.  Best Buy Steelbook  King Kong to open on Broadway in Fall 2018 at the Broadway Theatre. Producers Global Creatures (CEO Carmen Pavlovic) and Roy Furman are pleased to announce that King Kong, will arrive on Broadway in the fall of 2018 at the Shubert Organization’s Broadway Theatre. King Kong’s first preview, press opening, and on-sale dates will be announced in the coming months. King Kong will play the Broadway Theatre following the limited engagement of Miss Saigon which as previously announced will begin its North American tour in September 2018. King Kong is written by Jack Thorne, who received the 2017 Olivier Award and the Evening Standard Award for Best Play for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and wrote the critically acclaimed play Let the Right One In. The show will be directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, an Olivier Award winner for the London production of In the Heights and an Olivier Award nominee this year for Jesus Christ Superstar. McOnie directed the U.K. premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom The Musical, and the recent London productions of The Wild Party and On the Town. The score for King Kong is composed by four-time Grammy nominee Marius de Vries (the films La La Land, Moulin Rouge, and Romeo + Juliet) with songs by Helpmann Award winner Eddie Perfect, composer and lyricist of the Broadway-bound Beetlejuice, Strictly Ballroom The Musical and Shane Warne The Musical. Pioneering creature designer Sonny Tilders developed Kong for the show, bringing together the worlds of animatronics and puppetry that has never been seen on stage before. Tilders was honored by the Helpmann Awards, Australia’s highest theatrical honor, for Outstanding Theatrical Achievement. Carmen Pavlovic said, “I’m thrilled that King Kong will be coming to Broadway next season led by Drew McOnie and Jack Thorne, who will bring a new dimension to the telling of Kong’s story. Drew’s physical world will allow Kong to live in ways we never thought possible, propelled by Jack’s text and the score and songs written by Marius de Vries and Eddie Perfect.” Producer Roy Furman said, “King Kong is a quintessential New York story and I’m proud to be involved in this historic production. Our team is creating a theatrical experience that we hope will astound audiences, while delighting them with its heartfelt storytelling." Based on the novel of the original 1933 screenplay, the stage show of King Kong is a contemporary take on the classic tale of beauty and the beast. King Kong’s design team for Broadway will include Peter England (Set Design), Sonny Tilders (Creature Design), Roger Kirk (Costume Design), Peter Mumford (Lighting Design), Peter Hylenski (Sound Design), Gavin Robins (Aerial and King Kong Movement Director), King Kong is authorized by the Merian C. Cooper Estate. Casting, additional members of the creative team, and ticketing details for King Kong will be announced at a later date. Update: Tickets for Kong are on sale with dates for previews on Friday, October 5, 2018, with an official opening date on November 8. More info on the cast once available, for official website click here. BIOGRAPHIES JACK THORNE (Text) writes for theatre, film, television, and radio. His theatre credits include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hope, and Let The Right One In, all directed by John Tiffany; Junkyard, a Headlong, Rose Theatre Kingston, Bristol Old Vic and Theatr Clwyd co-production; The Solid Life of Sugarwater for Graeae Theatre Company and the National Theatre; Bunny for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Stacy for the Trafalgar Studios; 2nd May 1997 and When You Cure Me for the Bush Theatre. His adaptations include Woyzeck, Old Vic; The Physicists for the Donmar Warehouse and Stuart: A Life Backwards for Hightide. On film his credits include Wonder, War Book, A Long Way Down, and The Scouting Book for Boys. For television his credits include “National Treasure” (2017 BAFTA winner), “The Last Panthers,” “Don’t Take My Baby,” “This Is England,” “The Fades,” “Glue,” and “Cast-Offs.” He won 2016 BAFTAs for Best Mini-Series (“This Is England ’90”) and Best Single Drama (“Don’t Take My Baby”), and in 2012 won Best Series (“The Fades”) and Best Serial (“This Is England ’88”). DREW McONIE (Director, Choreographer) is one of Britain's most sought-after emerging directors and choreographers. He is the Artistic Director of The McOnie Company and a proud Associate Artist at The Old Vic theatre. Drew won the Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreography for In the Heights in 2016 and he was nominated for the same award in 2017 for the ground-breaking production of Jesus Christ Superstar at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Theatre credits as director/choreographer include: On the Town (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); The Wild Party (The Other Palace); Strictly Ballroom (Toronto/West Yorkshire Playhouse). Theatre credits as a choreographer include: Jesus Christ Superstar (Olivier Award Nomination for Best Theatre Choreography 2017 – Regents Park), Kinky Boots (Malmo Opera), In the Heights (Olivier Award Winner for Best Theatre Choreography, WhatsOnStage Award Nomination for Best Choreography, Winner of the Off West End Theatre Award for Best Choreography – Southwark Playhouse and Kings Cross Theatre), The Lorax (Old Vic), Hairspray (BroadwayWorld Award Winner for Best Choreography – U.K. national tour), Bugsy Malone (Lyric Hammersmith), Oklahoma! (U.K. national tour), The Sound of Music (Curve Theatre Leicester), Little Red Riding Hood (NYB), Chicago (Curve Theatre Leicester), West Side Story (NYMT), British Style (collaboration with Matthew Bourne at Buckingham Palace – BBC), Laurel and Hardy (The Watermill), James and the Giant Peach (U.K. national tour), 13 (directed by Jason Robert Brown – West End), Tommy (European tour), Spring Awakening (German premiere – Frankfurt), The Full Monty (German premiere – Frankfurt), Kes (Liverpool Playhouse & U.K. national tour). For The McOnie Company: Jekyll and Hyde (BroadwayWorld Award Winner for Outstanding Achievement in Dance – Old Vic Theatre), DRUNK! (Curve Theatre Leicester/ The Bridewell Theatre London) which lead to him being nominated for the Emerging Artist Award at the National Dance Awards, Making Midnight (Jermyn Street Theatre/ Latitude Festival) Slaughter (Audience Choice Award Winner – The Place Prize), and Be Mine! (Robin Howard Theatre). Film credits include: Me BeforeYou (directed by Thea Sharrock) and Recordare: Days of Remembrance (pre-selected for the Cannes & Berlin Film Festivals). Upcoming projects include: choreographer of Stephen Sondheim’s Company (directed by Marianne Elliott for the new Elliott Harper Theatre Company in the West End). MARIUS DE VRIES (Composer) has won two BAFTAs, an Ivor Novello award, and four Grammy nominations. He is best known recently for his music direction and production on the multi-award-winning musical La La Land, which won 2017 Academy and Golden Globe Awards. Beginning his career playing keyboards for The Blow Monkeys, he has worked with artists such as Madonna, Bjork, David Bowie, Rufus Wainwright, Chrissie Hynde, Neil Finn, Annie Lennox, Bebel Gilberto, David Gray, P.J. Harvey, U2, Massive Attack, Elbow, Perry Farrell, Josh Groban, and many others. In the film and theatre world, he has collaborated with Baz Luhrmann, George Lucas, Andrew Lloyd Webber, A.R. Rahman, Zack Snyder, Daniel Kramer, and Stephan Elliott. De Vries' long collaborative relationship with Nellee Hooper was responsible for landmark recordings with Massive Attack, Björk, Madonna, The Sneaker Pimps, Tina Turner, and U2, and ultimately the soundtrack and score for Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet and the groundbreaking Moulin Rouge. Marius composed the score for Stephan Elliot’s The Eye of the Beholder and Easy Virtue. In musical theatre, Marius has worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber on Bombay Dreams and the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera: Love Never Dies. He also produced the cast album for Jerry Springer The Opera. In 2010, Marius contributed score and song productions to Kick-Ass and Sucker Punch, as well as co-producing an LP with Robbie Robertson. Another collaboration with Rufus Wainwright arrived in early 2016, an album of musical settings of nine Shakespearean sonnets, released to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, entitled Take all My Loves. Marius worked on George Lucas' animated fairytale musical, Strange Magic. He is now attached to Teen Spirit, starring Elle Fanning, directed by Max Minghella, and earlier this year he signed an agreement with the English National Opera to develop new and adventurous opera-related projects. He is also completing an album with The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde. EDDIE PERFECT (Songwriter) is one of Australia’s most diverse, respected and prolific writer/composer/performers, having made his mark in the fields of comedy, music theatre composition, playwriting, screenwriting, classical music, jazz and acting for stage and screen. Perhaps best known for his portrayal of Mick Holland on Ten’s Offspring, a judge on Australia's Got Talent, and as the new host of Play School, Eddie has won multiple awards for his work both as a performer and a writer. His stage credits include Baz Lurhmann and Global Creatures’ Strictly Ballroom, Malthouse Theatre Company (Babes InThe Wood, Drink Pepsi Bitch, The Big Con), Shane Warne The Musical, Keating! The Musical, Songs From The Middle in collaboration with ANAM, Iain Grandage and the UK’s Brodsky Quartet, Opera Victoria’s The Threepenny Opera and Opera Australia’s South Pacific. His solo music comedy shows (Angry Eddie, Drink Pepsi Bitch, Misanthropology) have received Helpmann and Green Room Awards, touring Australia, New Zealand, Edinburgh and London. His first play The Beast (for Melbourne Theatre Company) was a commercial and critical hit, before touring Australia with Ambassador Theatre Group in 2016. Eddie is currently writing a new play (Vivid White) for Melbourne Theatre Company, a musical adaptation of Beetlejuice for Warner Bros. Theatricals in New York, and is co-Artistic Director of Adelaide Cabaret Festival.  While Kong: Skull Island is finishing up it's release in theaters we have now found out it's release date for home video. Kong: Skull Island will be released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, 3-D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on July 18. Best Buy will be offering an exclusive SteelBook version featuring the 4K, 3-D, Blu-ray, and digital copy for $39.99. The non-SteelBook 4K version will retail for $34.99, Blu-ray/DVD for $27.99, and DVD for $19.99. There is no word yet on any bonus content (deleted scenes, behind the scenes, etc.). We will update once we have more info. Also being released the week before on July 11 will be the 4K version of 2005's King Kong, the King Kong Ultimate Edition 4K Blu-ray features three disc (details below)and retail for $39.99. The film has previously been released but not the 4K version.
  As we thought Kong: Skull Island passed King Kong 2005 in it's worldwide box office numbers, they are estimates but should hold. Skull Island is now at $552.3 million, King Kong 2005 finished with $550.5 million (it has already passed Godzilla 2014).
Skull Island's box office numbers have been helped by the international box office which accounts for about 70% of the total take by the film, $391 million. Both Godzilla 2014 and King Kong did around $330 million internationally (China has been Kong: Skull Islands biggest market), Skull Island trails both in the US but has still had a strong showing. Skull Island has held up pretty well despite having some major films being released right after it, Beauty And The Beast, Boss Baby, Power Rangers, and The Fate of the Furious this weekend, as well as Logan right before.  As we predicted back on March 13th here, Kong has now passed Godzilla 2014 with it's worldwide box office take $534.4 to $529 million. Kong is at $156.5 million in the US with it's international box office of $377.8 million, while Kong has not caught Godzilla in the US it has crushed it overseas. Kong has shown it is not slowing anywhere as much as Godzilla did, in it's fifth weekend (this weekend) Kong finished with approx $5.8 million, Godzilla finished with about $3.2 million in it's fifth weekend.
China has been a boon for Kong, it's at approx $161 million (1.11B RMB) there passing it's US take. Kong is fourth at the Chinese box office for 2017 and can easily be well into third by the time it finishes, at least till a few of the summer blockbusters hit (although Kong has crushed Beauty And The Beast there so it could remain that high). It is definitely not unrealistic for Kong to hit $600 million worldwide by the time it finishes passing King Kong 2005's $550.5 million worldwide total as well.  Kong: Skull Island is closing in on the $500 million mark worldwide, $477.4 million currently to be exact. Kong also hit $124 million in China, it has already surpassed Godzilla, Pacific Rim, Batman v Superman, Interstellar, and The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies there and this is only it's second weekend.
Kong's US total is just short of $150 million ($147.8) with it's international total at $329.5 million. Kong has also surpassed Godzilla 2014's international total which was $328.4 million. There is a good chance Kong may hit the $500 million mark by the end of this week and surpass Godzilla's total worldwide take by the end of next weekend. Domestically Kong has been dropping off less than Godzilla did, in it's third week Kong beat Godzilla (by approx $3 million) despite Godzilla having started stronger.  Kong: Skull Island opened in China with a massive take of $72.1 million, and is nearing $400 million worldwide ($392 million). The film has shown a strong showing despite other big film releases like Beauty And The Beast and Power Rangers. Kong is over $133 million in the US and over $258 million internationally. Kong beat Godzilla's China opening but fell slight short of beating it's total take there. Kong could easily finish around $500 million when all is say and done.
 Kong: Skull Island opens this weekend in China and early estimates are that the film will pull in roughly $75 million (500 million Chinese Yuan). If this holds true Kong will come close or possible beat Godzilla 2014's total take in one weekend, Godzilla made $77.6 million total in China. Kong will probably beat Pacific Rim's China take by it's second weekend, it finish with almost $112 million there. The view is that Kong may be the number one film in the China box office (possible total of $160 million), at least till Furious 8 opens. Kong's total box office currently stands at $308 million worldwide, and could be well over $400 million by the end of this weekend with it opening in Japan as well. If everything plays out our prediction that Kong will beat Godzilla's total is looking more likely. (Sources: Box Office Mojo, and China Film Insider.)  Concept artist Zachary Berger has worked on a number of films including Logan, The Mummy (2017), and Kong: Skull Island. His art shows early concepts and designs for the many creatures and and visuals of Kong: Skull Island, below we have some of his art with a brief explanation/speculation (ours, not his). These few shots give a very good idea of what the arrival to what Skull Island would look like, he seems to have gotten pretty close to the final film, the ship, the storm, and the visual of first seeing Skull Island.    Wall concepts, while these designs never made the film they show a more modern version of the famous wall, be built from some type of stone blocks, it possible the film makers felt it was to modern.
 Flying creatures, his concepts show designs that would have fit into nature, the wings having the look of leaves, as well as very deadly features like a serrated beaks. While a version of these made the film it would have been interesting to have learned more about them based on these concepts.      Skullcrawlers, his designs definitely show the starting point of the Skullcrawlers we ended up in the film. He based them directly on the original creature in the 1933 film and gave them a more modern look, with more pronounced features of the original creature. We got some of these in the final design but his design is much closer.   Skull Island visuals, while the bottom pic is pretty close to the final films "Boneyard", the top one shows a much more interesting altar to Kong's kind by the islands natives. This would have looked great had it been done.   His concept of Kong is right on the mark, very close to the design and scale in the final film.   |
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