Just a month after Target reduced their in-store physical media presence, Best Buy used October to announce that by 2024, they plan to exit the sale of physical media not just in-store but online as well. As devastating as they seem, it will open the door for another retailer to step in and shine. How Best Buy can step away from their exclusive Steelbooks is shocking to me, but thankfully, Amazon and Walmart have never been shy in selling them, so hopefully, they’ll transfer them that way.
Big titles filled the month, like Walt Disney getting back into the world of physical media with their release of “Prey,” originally a streaming-only title on Hulu. I grabbed the Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook of that one, although the regular releases also looked terrific. Disney also releases their 2023 feature “Haunted Mansion,” with a very spooky Steelbook. Lionsgate, who will have to find new retailers for their Best Buy Exclusives, continue to go all out, with incredible artwork on their releases of “The Mist” and “The Wicker Man.” And Shout Factory had two exclusive Steelbooks for their releases of “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,” “Pumpkinhead,” and “The Blob.”
Horror films were on full display this Halloween season, with Steelbook releases for “Scream 3,” “Evil Dead Rise,” “Friday the 13th,” “M3GAN,” “Jeepers Creepers: Reborn,” and “Terrifier 2.” There was also plenty of Stephen King love shown throughout the month with releases like “The Boogeyman,” the aforementioned “The Mist,” which was my favorite release of the month, and Kino Lorber’s release of “Cujo.” “Hannibal” received an International box set, including a Steelbook with Kino Lorber doing a 4K of “Red Dragon.” The scariest releases continued to be Walt Disney’s plain 100th Anniversary Steelbooks, again taking the spot of my least favorite releases of the month with their minimalistic design. The titles this month included “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Moana,” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
Some other major 2023 releases included “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part 1,” “Meg 2: The Trench,” and “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.” Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” the highest-grossing movie of 2023, hit physical media this month with a sparkly pink 4K release, as well as some international Steelbooks. One of my favorite horror movies of the year, “Talk To Me,” landed a release as well, but I’m waiting for my international Steelbook to come in the mail. I took part in the Criterion sale, purchasing from their new label, Janus Contemporaries, with the releases of “EO” and “The Innocent.” This month was also significant for Box Sets, including David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” trilogy and the “Jurassic World” 6-film Collection, both in Best Buy Exclusive Steelbook Collections. Arrow also released a 4-film “Hellraiser” Box Set.
OCTOBER 3, 2023
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The Film Vault 4K Series #007
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Aladdin (1992)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Walt Disney Pictures
Apollo 13 (1995)
The Film Vault 4K Series #008
Universal Pictures
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Warner Bros. Pictures
Ip Man (2008)
Blu-Ray Steelbook
Well Go USA
It Came From Outer Space (1975)
International 4K Steelbook
Universal Pictures
The Lion King (1994)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Walt Disney Pictures
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Walt Disney Pictures
The Mist (2007)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Lionsgate
The Mist (2007)
4-Disc 4K Collector’s Edition
Lionsgate
Moana (2016)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Walt Disney Pictures
Prey (2022)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Walt Disney Pictures
Scream 3 (2000)
4K Steelbook
Paramount Pictures
RELEASES ON MY RADAR
Night of the Demons (Shout Factory 4K):
Night of the Demons 2 (Shout Factory Blu-Ray):
Night of the Demons 3 (Shout Factory Blu-Ray):
Prey (4K):
The Sting (4K):
Talk To Me (Blu-Ray):
Talk To Me (Alt Blu-Ray):
Talk To Me (4K):
Waiting for sale
Waiting for sale
Waiting for sale
Waiting for price drop (double dip)
Waiting for price drop (double dip)
Waiting for price drop (double dip)
Waiting for price drop (double dip)
Waiting for price drop (double dip)
OCTOBER 10, 2023
The Boogeyman (2023)
Blu-Ray
Walt Disney Pictures
Friday the 13th (1990)
Limited Edition 4K Steelbook
Paramount Pictures
Halloween Trilogy (2018-2022)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Universal Pictures
Jeepers Creepers: Reborn (2022)
Wal-Mart Exclusive Blu-Ray Steelbook
Screen Media
M3GAN (2023)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Universal Pictures
Pumpkinhead (1988)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Shout Factory
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Walt Disney Pictures
Terrifier 2 (2022)
Wal-Mart Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Cinedigm
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Paramount Pictures
Winnie the Pooh: Blood & Honey (2023)
Wal-Mart Exclusive Blu-Ray Steelbook
Shout Factory
RELEASES ON MY RADAR
Jackie Brown (Blu-Ray):
Kill Bill Vol. 1 (Blu-Ray):
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Blu-Ray):
Rosemary’s Baby (4K):
Strays (Blu-Ray):
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (4K Steelbook):
Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection (Blu-Ray):
Yellowjackets: Season 2 (Blu-Ray):
Waiting for potential 4K
Waiting for potential 4K
Waiting for potential 4K
Waiting for potential Steelbook
Waiting for price drop
Waiting for arrival
Waiting for sale
Waiting for price drop
OCTOBER 17, 2023
Aquaman (2018)
4K Steelbook
Warner Bros. Pictures
Barbie (2023)
4K Ultra HD
Warner Bros. Pictures
Barbie (2023)
International 4K Steelbook
Warner Bros. Pictures
The Blob (1988)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Shout Factory
EO (2022)
Janus Contemporaries Blu-Ray
Criterion
Haunted Mansion (2023)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Walt Disney Pictures
The Innocent (2022)
Janus Contemporaries Blu-Ray
Criterion
Memento (2000)
Limited Edition International Blu-Ray Steelbook
101 Films
The Wicker Man (1973)
Best Buy Exclusive 4K Steelbook
Lionsgate
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
4K Steelbook
Warner Bros. Pictures
RELEASES ON MY RADAR
The Best of Times (Kino Lorber Blu-Ray):
The Bride of Frankenstein (4K):
Creature of the Black Lagoon (4K):
Freaks (Criterion):
Golda (Blu-Ray):
John Wick Collection:
The Last Voyage of the Demeter (Blu-Ray):
The Lost Weekend: A Love Story (Blu-Ray):
Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Natch (4K):
The Mummy (4K):
No Bears (Criterion):
Passion (Blu-Ray):
Phantom of the Opera (4K):
Shortcomings (Blu-Ray):
Titans: The Complete Series (Blu-Ray):
Twilight Collection:
The Walking Dead: The Complete Collection (Blu-Ray):
The Way We Were (4K):
Waiting for sale
Waiting for potential Steelbook
Waiting for potential Steelbook
Waiting for sale
Waiting for price drop
Waiting for price drop
Waiting for price drop
Waiting for price drop
Waiting for price drop
Waiting for potential Steelbook
Waiting for sale
Waiting for price drop
Waiting for potential Steelbook
Waiting for price drop
Waiting for price drop
Waiting for price drop
Waiting for price drop
Waiting for potential Steelbook
OCTOBER 24, 2023
Cujo (1983)
4K Ultra HD
Kino Lorber
The Exorcist (1973)
50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Amazon Exclusive International 4K Steelbook
Warner Bros. Pictures
Godzilla (1998)
25th Anniversary 4K Steelbook
Sony Pictures
Hannibal (2001)
International Collector’s Edition 4K Steelbook