'SPEED' GOING DIRECT TO SELL-THROUGH

DAN ALAIMO

LOS ANGELES -- "Speed," the surprise hit action-adventure movie, will be released direct to the sell-through market Nov. 15 with a suggested retail of $19.98.

The title is expected to gross $120 million at the box office and will be backed by a $12.5 million marketing campaign, said Bob DeLellis, president of FoxVideo.

Although it is rated R, it is a "soft R," he said.

"It's a different kind of action movie," said DeLellis. "It's not a body count movie. There's no sex. It has a female heroine and they [the main characters, played by Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock] fall in love at the end of the movie."

Leading supermarket chains have already expressed strong interest in the title, according to DeLellis.

"The reaction has been very, very good. They see that it has major potential," he said.

The movie is about a Los Angeles city bus that will blow up if it goes less than 50 miles per hour.

FoxVideo based the decision to take the title directly to sell-through in the fourth quarter on research that indicated that the purchase intent for "Speed" was greater even than for "Mrs. Doubtfire" and "The Flintstones," and close to "Jurassic Park," said DeLellis.

FoxVideo expects "Speed" to sell at least 7 million to 8 million units and possibly more, he said.

"The floor on 'Mrs. Doubtfire' was in the 8.5 million-unit range and we did 12 million," he said. "If we do 7 to 8 million units, 'Speed' will enter into the top 10 (best-selling videos) of all time."

There will be plenty of marketing support, including an on-pack free poster offer, a $5 rebate on a Casio watch that is worn by Reeves in the movie and $3 rebates on three other FoxVideo titles -- "My Cousin Vinny," "The Last of the Mohicans" and "Point Break."

Advertising will include five "countdown" spots prior to street date, a campaign after the street date and holiday gift-giving ads, said DeLellis.

For point of purchase, a new 15-inch by 15-inch prepack display holding 200 units has been designed with the supermarket trade in mind, DeLellis said.