Valentine gift idea

Valentine's Day ranks a distant second to Christmas as a gift-giving holiday, but it's a tried-and-true vehicle for studios to move new releases and catalog titles with a romantic theme. And with DVD prices still coming down, studios are positioning older releases as impulse-buy gifts for the holiday.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment scored a hit with the early February release of "Sweet Home Alabama" last year and is hoping to repeat that success in 2004 with the Feb. 3 releases of the romance "Under the Tuscan Sun" and the romantic comedy "My Boss's Daughter."

"We're going to make sure the advertising campaign for both titles has a Valentine's Day message and we're positioning them as Valentine's Day gifts," said Lori MacPherson, vp of brand marketing for Buena Vista. "We had great success with the early February release of 'Sweet Home Alabama' and we're going to release both of these titles in that same time frame next year."

MacPherson, who noted that Valentine's Day ranks behind Christmas and Easter in terms holiday sales at Buena Vista, said the studio will also release 40 catalog titles with romantic themes early next year, ranging from contemporary classics like "Pretty Woman" to recent hits such as "Tuck Everlasting."

"This is by far the greatest number of Valentine's Day titles we're ever had and they're all priced to be affordable gifts," said MacPherson. Buena Vista is also releasing "The Miramax Romance Collection" DVD box set that features independent films "Amelie" and "Like Water for Chocolate."

Lowering the price of older titles to make them impulse buy gifts is the strategy behind 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment's Valentine's Day promotion. The studio has 18 romance-theme titles due out on Jan. 13, including recent films like "Ever After," "Just Married," "A Walk in the Clouds" and the surprise 2001 hit "Moulin Rouge."

"All the titles have a lower suggested retail price of $14, which means they'll be sold for about $10 in many stores," said Todd Rowan, vp of marketing for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

"This is the first time films like 'Moulin Rouge' have been priced this low and the idea is to make them impulse buys for the holiday."

Several other studios are also releasing a slate of titles with a Valentine's Day hook. Warner Home Video has a half-dozen releases due out Jan. 20 at a suggested retail price of $19.95. The list includes "The Accidental Tourist," "Swing Shift" and "Everybody's All-American."

Paramount Home Entertainment will release "A Charlie Brown Valentine" for the first time on DVD Jan. 6. That title includes the bonus feature "There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown." Universal Studios Home Entertainment has the latest installment in the American Pie franchise, "American Wedding" coming to DVD on Jan. 3.