While there are still many collectors (like the author of this article) who swear by physical media, there have been clear signs in recent years that demand for DVDs, Blu-rays, etc. continues to decline – and likely will to stay. It will only be a matter of time before discs finally become a niche product. A drastic development for many cinephiles, which has now reached a new peak.
With the American technology giant Best Buy, one of the largest electronics retail chains in the world will completely stop selling physical media within a few months. DVDs, Blu-rays and 4K Blu-rays will not be sold until early 2024 – after which they will disappear from the range completely. Both digitally and in stores.
This is now the case, among other things be learned. A Best Buy spokesperson confirmed to the industry newspaper that this step was necessary. “It is obvious: The way we watch films and series today is completely different than decades ago,” the statement said. Instead, this “creates more space and opportunities for customers to explore and experience new and innovative technologies.”
A bang – but no surprise
This news will likely be a blow to many movie fans that they will have to chew on for a while. However, this (albeit drastic) step does not come as a big surprise, as a change has become visible in recent months.
In January we looked back current cinema productions that are no longer released on Blu-ray – for example, “The Woman King,” which is available as a 4K stream, but was only physically available on DVD. Those who want to experience the celebrated historical action film in the best possible version (Ultra HD) have no choice but to resort to the digital version – or import it from abroad, where the film is available on Blu-ray and 4K. beam is released.
Then in March the news came that that Netflix is ending its DVD delivery service after more than 25 years. While the red ‘N’ in Germany is best known for its streaming platform, in the US Netflix was in the post-video store business for a quarter of a century – with enormous success, which recently collapsed to such an extent that a line had to be drawn.
At the end of July it was announced that Disney would release films and series in Australia in the future is no longer released on DVD and Blu-ray. This decision can be attributed to declining sales figures for physical media – which are already causing restructuring in Germany:
People also think differently in Germany
Even though the Germans are considered a people with strong DVD purchasing power and measures such as those that Best Buy is now implementing are not yet a problem for us, at least at the moment other screws have been tightened in this country for a long time:
After PLAION PICTURES had already taken over Sony Pictures’ home cinema releases and films such as “Sisu” released on DVD and Blu-ray, Leonine Studios has been supporting Disney in the field of marketing, sales and distribution since October.
While more and more titles are disappearing from stores and it is unclear given the circumstances whether there will be new editions in the future, it is worth taking those films and series that you simply cannot live without, step by step. In a few years the purchase may be significantly more expensive, as is the case with products that are out of stock…