Portland, Ore. - The top-grossing films of 2006-2007 in the U.S., when including box office sales, DVD and VHS sales and rental estimates, and video-on-demand viewing, were "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (Disney), "Transformers" (Paramount) and "Cars" (Disney), according to data compiled by Rentrak. The only R-rated film to crack the top 20 was Warner Bros.' "300," while the majority were either action or family films rated PG-13. Rentak tracks data from 51 million set-top boxes, more than 10,000 retail and 12,000 home video locations, and 35,000 movie screens across North America and other countries around the world.

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple (NASD: AAPL) on Thursday announced that new release movies from the major Hollywood studios will now be made available for purchase and download from the iTunes Store on the same day as their DVD releases, and will be priced at $14.99. Participating studios include 20th Century Fox (NYSE: NWS), The Walt Disney Studios (NYSE: DIS), Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX), Paramount Pictures (NYSE: VIA), Universal Studios Home Entertainment (NYSE: GE), Sony Pictures Entertainment (NYSE: SNE), Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios.

Dulles, Va. - AOL (NYSE: TWX) said on Tuesday that it will begin offering short-form online video content from Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ESPN.com through its AOL Video and AOL Sports sites, marking the first time ESPN has syndicated its content through an Internet portal. Through the deal, ESPN will offer highlights from games and major sporting events, as well as video clips from its original programming, through an embedded video player.

Burbank, Calif. - Disney Interactive Studios (NYSE: DIS), the company's video game publishing unit, announced on Monday that it has acquired Chinese independent game studio Gamestar, for an undisclosed sum.

Burbank, Calif. - Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group announced on Thursday that it has promoted Jason Brenek to the newly created position of SVP, worldwide digital cinema and cinema programming. Brenek will be responsible for developing and overseeing any non-movie content, including 3D or live events, delivered to theaters enabled by digital cinema, as well as setting the company's worldwide digital cinema strategy and negotiating deployment deals around the world. Disney has taken to releasing more films in digital 3D format, such as "Chicken Little" and "Meet the Robinsons," and also beamed digital 3D Hannah Montana concerts into theaters.

New York - Disney (NYSE: DIS) president and CEO Bob Iger believes that the computer will soon replace television as children’s screen of choice. He made the remark at the McGraw-Hill Media Summit in New York yesterday. Iger also stressed how social media was far from a fad, but in fact a part of everyday life for children, according to Broadcasting & Cable.

Morristown, N.J. - Access Integrated Technologies (Access IT) (NASD: AIXD), a provider of digital cinema projection systems for movie theaters, announced on Tuesday a massive deal with four major movies studios, to provide movies to up to 10,000 digital cinema systems in the U.S. and Canada.

Tokyo - Disney (NYSE: DIS) has partnered with Softbank to launch a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service in Japan, featuring handsets manufactured by Sharp that feature Mickey Mouse and buttons that lead directly to Disney content, AFP reports. The launch of a Disney-branded MVNO service in Japan follows several unsuccessful similar efforts in the U.S., with the failed Disney Mobile and ESPN Mobile services.

Burbank, Calif. - Disney Interactive Studios (NYSE: DIS) on Thursday announced plans to publish "Ultimate Band," a music-focused game for the Nintendo Wii and DS that will utilize the Wii controller and DS stylus as musical instruments, a la the popular "Rock Band" (MTV/Harmonix) and "Guitar Hero" (Activision). Disney has partnered with London-based music consultants Radial Music to select music for the game, which is being developed by Fall Line Studios for release in the fall.

Los Angeles - Disney (NYSE: DIS) on Thursday announced the formation of a new digital production studio, Stage 9, which will develop original series for the Web and mobile devices. The unit's first production, a comedy series about window washers called "Squeegees," launched today on ABC.com and YouTube with Toyota as sponsor.

Los Angeles - Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ABC has announced plans to make its primetime TV series available for free viewing on cable, satellite and telco TV video-on-demand services, with the stipulation that viewers will not be able to fast-forward through commercials.

North Hollywood, Calif. - Disney Online (NYSE: DIS), part of the company's Walt Disney Internet Group, has announced the formation of a new unit, Disney Online Studios, that will focus on creating and publishing games, virtual worlds and online social communities.

Dulles, Va. - After rejecting Microsoft's (NASD: MSFT) unsolicited $46 billion takeover bid on Monday, Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) is considering restarting merger talks with AOL (NYSE: TWX), the Times of London reported. The company, attempting to stave off a hostile takeover, also reportedly is exploring possible deals with Google (NASD: GOOG) and Disney (NYSE: DIS).

Redwood City, Calif. - Zazzle, an on-demand retail platform that lets consumers personalize music merchandise and other products, said on Tuesday that it Disney's Hollywood Records will offer its service for artists including Plain White T's and Breaking Benjamin. Redwood City, Calif.-based Zazzle has previously signed similar deals with MySpace, Live Nation and Warner Music Group.

New York - Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ESPN plans to make its live sporting event broadband video service, ESPN360, free to access to anyone on college campuses or military bases who sign up from an .edu or .mil domain, The New York Times reports. Currently, ESPN360 is only available to subscribers with ISPs who have made deals with ESPN to offer the service, which includes some 20 million broadband customers of AT&T, Verizon, Charter and others. The Times reports that ESPN360 has served just 500,000 viewing hours since last September.

Miley Cyrus’s “Best of Both Worlds” tour, one of the best selling ever, has added 14 dates in January. The 15-year-old star of Disney’s TV hit Hannah Montana will begin selling tickets to the new shows on Saturday. Detroit will host the first show on January 11th and Miami will host the last on January 31st.

London - Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Internet group said this week that it will launch a dedicated site in the U.K. next week that will showcase its movies, music, video games and community offerings, Reuters reported.

Los Angeles - Movie Gallery (NASD: MOVI), the movie rental chain that purchased Disney's Moviebeam set-top-based download service for $10 million less than a year ago, will shutter the service on Dec. 15, BetaNews reports.

North Hollywood, Calif. - The Walt Disney Internet Group (NYSE: DIS) announced on Tuesday that it has acquired iParenting Media, a ten-year-old online network of over 40 community sites for parents and those expecting children. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.