In its first full week of availability, Paramount’s The Italian Job was #1-rented DVD in U.S., VSDA said preliminary data for week ended Oct. 12 showed. Title earned $6.40 million in rentals during week for total of $6.55 million to date. Three other new DVDs made top 10 in week: Columbia TriStar’s Hollywood Homicide at #4 ($3.46 million in week and $3.56 million to date), Warner’s The In-Laws at #7 ($2.92 million and $2.99 million), Fox’s Down With Love ($1.78 million and $1.82 million). Last week’s #1-rented title -- Universal’s 2 Fast 2 Furious -- dropped to #2 ($3.66 million and $9.68 million), VSDA said.

New Video and Computer Games: Midway Games said SpyHunter 2 went gold and would ship Nov. 24 for PS2 and Xbox Dec. 3 at $49.99. The publisher said late last month that it had reduced its 4th-quarter earnings forecast as a result of weak 3rd-quarter results and because of its decision to not ship SpyHunter 2 and Midway Arcade Treasures for GameCube in the 4th quarter, as originally expected (CED Oct 31 p5)… TDK Mediactive (TDKM) shipped Tonka Rescue Patrol for GameCube at $19.99. The title was developed for it by Lucky Chicken Games. Hasbro’s Tonka brand is sublicensed to TDKM by Atari as part of a 3-year worldwide deal. TDKM Exec. Vp-Sales & Mktg. Michael Devine said Fri. that “more than 5.5 million PC units” of Tonka games had been sold to date… Online publisher GarageGames said Fri. it had signed an exclusive online licensing deal with Cleveland- based developer Max Gaming for the title Dark Horizons: Lore, terms not announced. GarageGames said the title would built with its Torque Game Engine… Fonix said that the 2 Xbox videogames that now features voice command technology -- Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3 and Vivendi Universal Games’ SWAT: Global Strike Team -- had received “rave reviews.” Brian Schmidt predicted voice command “will become market drivers for voice in the games industry”… In conjunction with the release of Mario Kart: Double Dash for GameCube at $49.99 today (Nov. 17), Nintendo of America (NOA) said it would be hosting a promotional real kart race at Universal Studios in Orlando. NOA said the winner of a preliminary competitive event on the new game Nov. 7 in Denver and the winner of a preliminary competition in Orlando would be facing race car driver Michael Andretti and actress Melissa Joan Hart in the real kart race today… Activision Value Publishing shipped Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts for PS2 and Xbox at $29.99.

In its first full week of availability, Disney’s Finding Nemo was the #1-rented DVD in the U.S., Rentrak said its preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended Nov. 9 showed. Rentrak said the title earned $6.41 million in DVD rentals for the week and a total of $6.52 million to date. Combined total rental earnings for the title on DVD and VHS were $10.94 million, Rentrak said. Two other titles also made the top 10 in their first full week of availability: MGM’s Legally Blonde 2 at #2 and Columbia TriStar’s Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights at #8. Rentrak said the DVD of Legally Blonde 2 earned $5.48 million in rentals for the week and $5.53 million to date, while combined DVD and VHS earnings were $8.61 million. It said the DVD of Eight Crazy Nights earned $2.48 million in rentals for the week and $2.53 million to date, while combined DVD and VHS earnings to date were $3.71 million. Last week’s #1 DVD -- Universal’s Hulk -- dropped to #3, earning $4 million for the week and $9.62 million after 2 weeks, while combined DVD and VHS earnings to date were $14.41 million.

PS2 videogames again dominated top 10 DVD rental chart in U.S. for week ended Oct. 5, preliminary data from VSDA showed. Seven games in week’s top 10 were for Sony Computer Entertainment’s console vs. one for Nintendo’s GameCube and 2 for Microsoft’s Xbox. VSDA said PS2 version of Madden NFL 2004 from Electronic Arts (EA) again was top-rented videogame, earning additional $250,000 in rentals in week for total of $2.41 million to date. Sole GameCube title in top 10 was Soul Calibur II from Namco at #7 (additional $90,000 and $560,000). Game was #12 week ago, VSDA said. Two Xbox games that made list were Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic at #8 -- up 2 steps ($90,000 and $1.53 million) -- and Soul Calibur II at #9 -- down one ($80,000 and $610,000). PS2 games that rounded out top 10 were: EA’s NCAA Football 2004 at #2 ($150,000 and $2.75 million), Soul Calibur II at #3 ($140,000 and $1.18 million), EA’s Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 at #4 in its first full week of availability ($130,000 and $170,000), Take-Two Interactive’s Midnight Club II again at #5 ($120,000 and $6.89 million), Atari’s Enter the Matrix at #6 ($100,000 and $9.13 million), Sega’s ESPN NFL Football at #10 ($80,000 and $420,000).

In its first full week of availability, 2 Fast 2 Furious from Universal was top-rented DVD in U.S., according to preliminary data provided by VSDA for week ended Oct. 5. VSDA said title earned $5.91 million in rentals in week and $6.01 million to date. Four other new DVDs were in top 10: Warner’s Dreamcatcher at #4 ($4.17 million in week and $4.25 million to date), Artisan/Fox Video’s Boat Trip at #5 ($2.37 million and $2.42 million), Fox’s Bend It Like Beckham at #10 ($1.58 million and $1.63 million). Last week’s #1 DVD -- Columbia TriStar’s Anger Management -- dropped to #3 ($4.64 million in week and $16.81 million to date), VSDA said.

Marvel Enterprises said Thurs. that “based on preliminary figures” it now expected to report 3rd-quarter results exceeded “the high end” of previous forecast. Improved estimate, it said, was “based partly on assumptions for expected fees from motion picture studios and licensees.” Marvel licenses videogame publishers, film studios and other companies to make products based on its comic books and characters. Company said it now expected to report 37-41? profit per share for quarter instead of 25-30? estimated earlier. Marvel posted profit of 17? per share in same quarter year ago. It said it now expected to report sales of $84-$87 million for quarter, up from $60-$65 million predicted previously and profit of $29-$32 million, up from $19- $24 million. It reported revenue of $84.4 million and income of $6.7 million in same quarter year ago. Company plans to announce actual results Nov. 4.

GE and Vivendi Universal on Wed. signed a formal agreement creating NBC Universal, merging the French company’s Hollywood studio, cable networks and theme parks with NBC TV business. The new venture is expected to generate roughly $13 billion in annual revenue. The terms of the final deal were largely unchanged from a preliminary agreement reached in September, when the company entered into exclusive negotiations. It gives NBC more clout to compete with bigger rivals Viacom, Disney and Time Warner, the firms said. Vivendi shareholders benefit from reduced debt while keeping a 20% of the new company. GE will control 80% of the company, which will be led by Bob Wright, vice-chmn of GE and CEO of NBC. NBC will pay $3.8 billion cash for the Vivendi Universal assets, and assume $1.7 billion of Vivendi’s debt. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals in Washington, D.C., and Brussels, but GE and Vivendi said they expect the deal to be complete by the beginning of 2004.

Business and deregulation advocates looked hopefully to Cal. Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to support light- handed, anti-tax policies favorable to the Internet and telecom industries. But they said they couldn’t be certain about his direction after replacing recalled Gov. Gray Davis (D) because Schwarzenegger and his campaign hadn’t mentioned the issues. Before he turns to the Internet and telecom, the new gov. should have his hands full for some time with the state’s huge budget shortfall and a push for major changes in worker’s compensation, observers agreed.

Macrovision won temporary injunction in Germany against device sold there to circumvent company’s video copy protection. Macrovision said injunction was obtained without oral hearing in Frankfurt Dist. Court on basis of newly enacted German Copyright Directive that prohibits copy protection circumvention devices in that country. Action was taken against Frankfurt outlet of retailer Media Markt TV-Hifi-Elektro, and temporary injunction prohibits sale of Macro 2000 copy protection circumvention device that strips off copy protection from protected DVDs and allows perfect video copies to be made from such content, Macrovision said. Legal action against copy-protection hacking could presage more to come from Macrovision, we're told. Company said Tues. that it was pleased with court’s preliminary ruling, that it wouldn’t tolerate circumvention of its technology and that it would prosecute violators in European countries that had implemented Copyright Directive. Company said it was noteworthy that court granted decision to Macrovision as owner of circumvented copy protection technology. In past, suits for copyright infringement had to be filed by content owners, but new law lets companies such as Macrovision take action in their own right against “sale, distribution and possession for commercial purposes of circumvention devices.”

One day after Nintendo of America (NOA) said $50 price cut on GameCube had led to significant sales boost for its struggling console (CED Oct 3 p4), company said it planned to make similar moves in Europe and Japan to stimulate demand.