Knight Rises Early in NZ But Thrones Dates Later

While Kiwis are getting to see The Dark Knight Rises on Blu-ray a week earlier than Americans and Britons, we’ll have to wait a couple of weeks longer than the US for season two of Game of Thrones.

The Dark Knight Rises went on sale on Wednesday, just as the new James Bond movie, Skyfall, edged it out of third place in the year’s highest opening-week box office honours (Knight notched up $2,605,683 and Skyfall, $2,615,802).

It releases in Europe today, and next week in the UK and US.

Advance reviews in the US  have praised its “rich contrast, tame and realistic colours and impressive detail”, “reference quality” IMAX footage, and “its sternum-splitting, rib-cracking, ground-pounding” DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track.

But while Kiwis are getting the jump on this Batman internationally, we’ll be near the back of the queue to view Game of Thrones’ second season on Blu-ray.

It bows on February 19 in the US but won’t go on sale here, for $70, until March 6 — which will be just ahead of season three’s SoHo premiere in early April.

Here’s the full rundown of Blu-ray extras:

• War of the Five Kings – Track the claims, strategies and key players involved in the battle for the Iron Throne with this interactive guide that follows the movements of various armies detailing their victories and defeats.
• Histories & Lore – 19 animated histories detailing the mythology of Westeros and Essos as told from the varying perspectives of the characters themselves and featuring, in-part, illustrations from Game of Thrones storyboard artist Will Simpson.
• In-Episode Guide – In-feature resource that provides background information about on-screen characters, locations and relevant histories.
• Hidden Dragon Eggs – Find the hidden dragon eggs to uncover even more never-before-seen content.
• Creating the Battle of Blackwater Bay – See how the epic Battle of Blackwater Bay was brought to life in this exclusive, in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the climatic episode.
• Game of Thrones: Inner Circle – Actors Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Michelle Fairley and Liam Cunningham talk in detail about their experiences shooting season two in this roundtable discussion moderated by executive producers David Benioff and DB Weiss.
• The Religions of Westeros – Author George R.R. Martin, David Benioff and DB Weiss discuss the competing religions in the series and how they influence the various characters in Westeros and beyond.
• Character Profiles of seven major characters as described by the actors portraying them, including Renly Baratheon, Stannis Baratheon, Robb Stark and Theon Greyjoy.
• 12 Audio Commentaries with cast and crew, including David Benioff, DB Weiss, George RR Martin, Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage and Kit Harington.