?Mutants, upside-down ships or Cars, anyone? Nev Pierce, acting editor, Total Film, looks at the big DVD releases out soon that are set to make a killing for supermarkets stocking them



While retailers count the shopping days to Christmas, the film industry ticks off the time until the Oscar season when glitzy events will be packed with actors thanking God and their agent and cinemas will be full of movies stocking up critical kudos without necessarily gathering viewers.

Meanwhile, on DVD, the blockbusters and arthouse classics which made a mint or gained a gong earlier in the year will hit shelves, and canny retailers can make a killing. X-Men: The Last Stand is out early next month and is sure to be an essential purchase for fans of the franchise.

This latest outing for the mutant mob isn't as enjoyable as the previous films, which were directed by Bryan Singer, who has joined forces instead with another superhero. His Superman Returns will be released in early December on single and double discs.

Not quite so super, but a box office hit, is The Da Vinci Code, out in mid October, followed by Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, which is likely to prove popular with families keen for more adventures with Sid the Sloth and Manny the Mammoth.

Poseidon, also due for release next month, didn't make much of a splash in cinemas. It is hard for a disaster movie to do big business in these troubled times, particularly when compared to the frighteningly real 9/11 drama United 93, which also has an early October release.

Mission: Impossible 3, hitting shelves in early November, is more reassuring, with Tom Cruise saving the world (again). The slick action is likely to do well on the small screen, where writer/director JJ Abrams enjoys a dedicated following, having co-created cult TV hit Lost. The second season of that series is also due out soon. Other TV hits look likely to include Prison Break and series eight of the ever-popular cartoon satire The Simpsons.

Science fiction fans are sure to find Blade Runner: The Director's Cut irresistible, while the peculiarly riveting teenage detective thriller Brick, out this month, deserves to find a cult following on DVD.

Back to blockbusters, Cars may not have replicated the financial and critical success of the previous animations from the Pixar stable, but it will race away if released for Christmas, while Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest will make perfect post-turkey viewing.

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