The physical media landscape is ever-changing. It felt like every week in 2023, the collecting community received major announcements about what films were coming out in the future, and that excitement has died down. Now, our wallets do rejoice with these fewer announcements, but when you add to that Best Buy shuttering their releases, Disney closing their Movie Club and handing off their releases to Sony, and now Target announcing their store space will no longer carry movies, you start to wonder what the future of physical media is. I slowed down my buying in April; one, for the lack of new content, and two, because I’m running low on shelf space.
Walmart started the month strong with their Steelbook releases of the First and Last Blood movies in the “Rambo” franchise, as well as “Cutthroat Island” and the “RED” 2-film collection. As these came from Lionsgate, they were some of the month’s best releases. The following two weeks were slow, as I only purchased the 1976 “King Kong” Steelbook and two releases from Shout Factory, “Lost In Space” and “Affliction.” I didn’t buy more because there weren’t many special releases, no Steelbooks, and very few offerings from boutique labels. “Night Swim,” “Lisa Frankenstein,” and “The Peasants” were new releases that I don’t care to own in standard Blu-rays. Had they released 4K versions or Steelbooks, I likely would have picked them up.
GRUV was a focal point of my buying this month, as I bought both “The Departed” and “Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two” on Steelbook from the online seller, along with all three of the “Ocean’s” movies (11, 12, & 13) that released in the final week. I also added an international Steelbook of “Kung Fu Panda” and three new Vinegar Syndrome titles, “Another Body,” “Huesera,” and “Specters,” to my collection. And, as part of one of my final purchases from the Disney Movie Club, before it shuts down, I purchased the four Disney+ streaming series that received 4K Steelbook releases in “Andor,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “Moon Knight,” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” along with a few other back titles that I have yet to receive.
My favorite release of the month is the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” Steelbook because the artwork is stunning. It’s a masterpiece, and had it simply been on a poster, I might have just gotten it to hang on my wall. The other Disney Steelbooks have great artwork, too. The fact that these streaming series are getting physical releases makes me content to be a collector. The release that wasn’t as impactful was “Madame Web.” Not that the artwork is bad, per se, but it doesn’t have much to do with the movie. It feels a bit lazy and contains an outfit that I don’t think even makes it into the film. It’s fitting, however, that one of the year’s worst releases gets a matching Steelbook that is just as bad. May will be highlighted by the Steelbooks for “The Crow” and “Dune: Part Two.”
APRIL 2, 2024
Cutthroat Island (1995)
Walmart Exclusive 4K Steelbook