New DVD and Blu-ray Releases for the Weeks of December 24 – January 6
For the first time in the 25 years I have been covering the DVD/Blu-ray home entertainment industry, there are virtually no new releases — for the next two weeks. The DVD market has faltered — it’s become a streaming world.
According to digital entertainment industry sources, DVD and Blu-ray sales dropped by 4.7% in the first half of 2024. The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) reports that DVD and Blu-ray sales dropped 26% in Q3 2024.
The “death” of DVD and Blu-ray and the narrowing of sales outlets (Best Buy stopped selling DVDs and Blu-rays last year and Netflix discontinued their DVD/Blu-ray rental services at about the same time) has made physical media into a kind of niche category. It’s become a collectors’ paradise. eBay has benefited from retail’s abandonment of physical media; their DVD and Blu-ray category is the third-highest selling category on the site.
There’s still a strong after-market for theatrical releases on DVD/Blu-ray, but new catalog titles are thinning. Those ‘B’ movies that had little chance of receiving a theatrical release and normally would have gone straight to DVD now go straight to streaming. And with the rise of deep-pocket Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Max, and other streaming services, some A-list films are bypassing movie theaters and going straight to streaming platforms.
On the other end of the spectrum there is an upscale market for collectors interested in high-quality cases (slipcovers, beautiful artwork, steel casing), innovative packaging, and 4K-restored and remastered movies.
Some of the studios — Lionsgate at the top of the list followed by Sony and Warner — are remastering older, popular titles in 4K and issuing them in impressive steelbook editions. Cult films live on in special Blu-ray and 4K editions by the likes of Arrow Video, Radiance, Eureka, Severin, Vestron, Synapse, Shout!, etc — even the old ‘B’ movie VHS giant Anchor Bay Entertainment has been resurrected. And don’t forget old standby The Criterion Collection, which still churns out five to six DVD-Blu-ray-4K UHD titles each month.
The DVD/Blu-ray market isn’t exactly dead, but you might say it’s approaching very old age. It’s a new, younger streaming world after all.
So, we’ll take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Holiday season and a Happy New Year, and we’ll see you around January 6, 2025 with a batch of new releases.
Due December 27:
“A Different Man” (2024) Sebastian Stan, Miles G. Jackson, Adam Pearson, Renate Reinsve, Patrick Wang, Neal Davidson. An aspiring actor undergoes a radical medical procedure to transform his appearance. But his dream new face soon turns into a nightmare. On DVD, Blu-ray, from A24.
Due December 31:
“PG Love” (2016 — Hong Kong) Angie Shum, Jacqueline Chong, Anita Chui. Comedic look at Promotion Girls, the hostesses who encourage businessmen across Asia to spend more money on drinks and cigarettes in clubs. On Blu-ray from Bayview Entertainment.
