According to a short article on High-Def Digest, Universal Studios will be releasing its first movies on Blu-ray disc on July 22nd.

The studio was a staunch supporter of the HD DVD format, but when Warner Bros. announced its move to Blu-ray exclusivity back in January, it didn't take long for HD DVD to implode. On February 19th, I posted that Universal was making plans to release movies on the Blu-ray format.

Those plans are coming to fruition with the release of three movies from "The Mummy" franchise, just ahead of the theatrical release of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor on August 1st.

I did some digging and found this article from the Hollywood Reporter (via Reuters) that says that the studio plans to release future home video titles on both DVD and Blu-ray at the same time. The first such release will be for Doomsday, which does not yet have an exact release date. Given its March 14, 2008 release date, a 3-4 month window would put its release somewhere around mid-June to mid-July at the earliest. However, since they mention that the 7/22 release of the Mummy movies are going to be their first, it would follow that Doomsday will come out later.

Universal has created some great HD DVD titles, including the three Jason Bourne movies, U-571, King Kong, and others. These will likely make excellent demo titles for the Blu-ray format, as they were for HD DVD.

Overall, Universal looks to release 40 titles in the second half of 2008. Here is a list of those mentioned:

• Doomsday
• The Incredible Hulk
• Wanted
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army
• Mamma Mia
• The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
• The Mummy
• The Mummy Returns
• The Scorpion King
• American Gangster
• Knocked Up
• The 40-Year-Old Virgin
• Miami Vice
• End of Days
• U-571
• Land of the Dead