MGM and Fox to relaunch James Bond DVD and Blu-Ray box sets in 2012

In news that will not be in any way surprising to James Bond fans, MI6 understands that MGM is planning a major DVD & Blu-Ray box set relaunch in 2012 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 007 series.

The originally planned schedule to release the entire series on Blu-Ray hit the skids in late 2009 when MGM's financial woes put everything on ice. Only a random smattering of 13 from the available 22 titles have been released in the high-definition format. Since their rescue and new found financial freedom, MGM upped their home video distribution deal with Fox in a contract that now runs until 2016.

With regular DVD and Blu-Ray sales down across the industry, due largely to the ramp up in streaming services such as Netflix, the focus for many studios is to package titles attractively and hang them on notable events such as major anniversaries.

As well as Bond reaching 50, MGM is understood to be launching a Rocky box-set in 2012 to celebrate the series' 35th anniversary. Fox and MGM are prepping a "West Side Story" set for its 50th birthday in November this year.

There are no firm details available yet, but word is that Limited Edition and Gift Set options are being considered to boost sales of the Bond catalog which has been repeatedly mined for DVD releases since 1999.

Discuss this news here...