First Blu-ray Movies Due June 20

Sony Pictures said Tuesday that the first Blu-ray movies would be released on June 20, coinciding with the release of the first Blu-ray DVD player from Samsung, and a Sony VAIO Blu-ray PC. Seven titles are slated to launch that day, including "50 First Dates," "The Fifth Element," "Hitch" and the "House of Flying Daggers." The studio plans to release additional titles in the coming weeks.

Sony is locked in a fierce battle for supremacy in the race to next-generation DVD. Toshiba has already beaten Blu-ray to the punch with the release of its first HD DVD player and movies back in April, but Blu-ray supporters point to the potential breadth of content to be available on the platform. No sales figures have been released for HD DVD players, but only 10,000 players were shipped at launch, according to Toshiba.