Steelbooks..Why.... - Blu-ray Forum

Moefiz · 07-11-2009, 06:52 PM

Seems that steelbooks are becoming pretty popular with blu-ray collectors in the US but all of the steelbook titles have to be imported..it seems that sooner or later most of us will have at least one steelbook in there movie collection.

My question is why doesn't the American studios release some of there major Blu-rays as steelbook even for a limited time....

Beta Man · 07-11-2009, 07:13 PM

good question.... limited runs can be costly I guess.....

With that said....

I have 1,200 DVDs, one of them (that I purchased only a couple of years ago) is a Steelbook...... just turned out that way

steve_dave · 07-11-2009, 07:55 PM

Actually, most of the James Bond catalog titles from Fox/MGM were available in Steelbook for either Best Buy or Amazon.com.

It comes down to cost and title though...

Some distributors feel that if they are going to pay extra for packaging, it would be better to go with a Digibook case since they could also include liner notes and photos.

Other titles may be better off with unique packaging like Watchmen, Iron Man, The Dark Knight, and Blade Runner.

DetroitSportsFan · 07-11-2009, 08:26 PM

You're right, steelbooks in the U.S. are pretty rare. Hopefully that changes soon.

Moefiz · 07-11-2009, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve_dave

Actually, most of the James Bond catalog titles from Fox/MGM were available in Steelbook for either Best Buy or Amazon.com.

It comes down to cost and title though...

Some distributors feel that if they are going to pay extra for packaging, it would be better to go with a Digibook case since they could also include liner notes and photos.

Other titles may be better off with unique packaging like Watchmen, Iron Man, The Dark Knight, and Blade Runner.

I know about the James Bond stuff...Watchmen steelbook would be available in Canada, why can't WB release it here also..there is a market in the US for this type of packaging.

Horhay · 07-11-2009, 09:41 PM

I talked to the guys from Scanavo, which are steelbook makers, they mentioned that usually they receive the orders from the retail stores and not from the studios themselves....so who knows who has the last say in the matter.

Would be nice to get a few steels other than James Bond here in the states.

jw · 07-12-2009, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by horhay2313

I talked to the guys from Scanavo, which are steelbook makers, they mentioned that usually they receive the orders from the retail stores and not from the studios themselves....so who knows who has the last say in the matter.

Would be nice to get a few steels other than James Bond here in the states.

correct, I heard the retailers order the product and most retailers here dont see a demand like the overseas market. Amazon has seen it with their overseas venues and Best Buy has experience with FutureShop so they see the demand in Canada. Why they chose James Bond for the US I will never know

There is a minimum order Qty of 4000 copies for bluray and 8000 for DVD so its not cheap either. Then add the packaging costs and Disc cost you can see where the expense incurs

Petra_Kalbrain · 07-12-2009, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by horhay2313

I talked to the guys from Scanavo, which are steelbook makers, they mentioned that usually they receive the orders from the retail stores and not from the studios themselves....so who knows who has the last say in the matter.

Would be nice to get a few steels other than James Bond here in the states.

This is exactly the case. Who gets final say on the matter would have to be the studio themselves. However, the retail location must first be willing to go the extra mile in acquiring said product. This would mean that the retail location would probably have to be willing to absorb some of the production cost of the product itself. I can't see many businesses being willing/able to do so efficientely.

Since FutureShop is a subsidiary company of Best Buy, I can't understand why they don't switch over to the Best Buy franchise and release Steelbooks in both countries. Perhaps it's the notion of a limited run and creating excessive demand that motivates them. That way they can almost be certain that they will sell most, if not all, of their order.

P@t_Mtl · 07-12-2009, 01:33 AM

So I don't truly go out of my way to find steelbooks, are they available in other countries? I always thought it was a Future Shop thing here in Canada?

Petra_Kalbrain · 07-12-2009, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

So I don't truly go out of my way to find steelbooks, are they available in other countries? I always thought it was a Future Shop thing here in Canada?

They are available globally. There are many different titles available throughout the world. For example, Sweeney Todd has a BD steelbook that was released in Europe. It's not available in North America unless you import or acquire it from someone that bought a bunch for resale in the region.

P@t_Mtl · 07-12-2009, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

They are available globally. There are many different titles available throughout the world. For example, Sweeney Todd has a BD steelbook that was released in Europe. It's not available in North America unless you import or acquire it from someone that bought a bunch for resale in the region.

I see I suppose that make's it worth while for the collectors.

danman227460 · 07-12-2009, 02:39 AM

I thought it was a "gimmick" to sell titles?

I mean most of the steelbooks, besides a few titles, are pretty much bottom barrel. I bet if they weren't in the steelbook form, most people wouldn't own that movie.

The way I see it is, if you have a title like TDK, Iron Man etc and you want to make sure they sell even more than before, get a steelbook. Think about this way.

If you weren't interested in the steelbook or a collector, how many of you waited until there was a sale on those movies? Otherwise, everyone shelled out WAY more for the extra casing when a sale for the plastic would have netted a huge savings.

That is the way I see it, a sales tactic. It makes you pick up certain movies you wouldn't normally buy just because of the fancy case and it makes you buy movies you want at a higher price.

jw · 07-12-2009, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

So I don't truly go out of my way to find steelbooks, are they available in other countries? I always thought it was a Future Shop thing here in Canada?

Canada doesnt have anything compared to Other countries

Australia SteelBook™
Knowing Release date: July 29, 2009
Transporter 3 Release date: June 10, 2009

Canada SteelBook™
The Dark Knight- Future Shop exclusive OOP
I Am Legend (Future Shop exclusive) OOP
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Future Shop Exclusive) OOP
Iron Man (2-Disc Ultimate Edition) (Future Shop exclusive) OOP
James Bond: Die Another Day
James Bond: Dr. No
James Bond: For Your Eyes Only
James Bond: From Russia With Love
James Bond: Live And Let Die
James Bond: Thunderball
James Bond: Moonraker
James Bond: Goldfinger
James Bond: The World is not Enough

Denmark SteelBook™
Flammen & Citronen

Dutch SteelBook™
The Dark Knight 2-Disc

Finland SteelBook™
Terminator 2 - Judgment Day(UNCONFIRMED)

France SteelBook™
1408
3:10 To Yuma (3H10 Pour Yuma)
Animals in Love (Les Animaux amoureux)
Aviator
Babylon A.D.
Bangkok Dangerous
Body of Lies[Mensonges d'Etat ]
Cash
Casino
Chicago
Cleaner
Crank (Hyper Tension)
The Dark Knight (FNAC exclusive 32 page comic book and 2
DOA: Dead or Alive
The Departed [Les Infiltrés]
The Fountain
Female Agents (Les Femmes de l'ombre)
Forbidden Kingdom[Le Royaumes Interdit]
The Good, the Bad, the Weird Release date: July 2, 2009
Gran Torino (FNAC exclusive) Release date: July 1, 2009
Hellboy II : The Golden Army (FNAC exclusive 20 page booklet)
The Host
Kill Bill Vol.1
Kill Bill Vol.2
The Last Trapper (Le Dernier Trappeur)
The Mad Adventures of 'Rabbi' Jacob
Match Point
The Mist
Next
Persepolis
Piége De Feu (Ladder 49)
Pulp Fiction
Les Randonneurs à Saint-Tropez
Rescue Dawn
The Second Wind [Le deuxieme souffle SteelBook]™
Surviving with Wolves (Survivre avec les loups)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day: Skynet Edition
The Tiger Brigades (Les Brigades du Tigre)
Tom-Yum-Goong (L'Honneur du Dragon)
Ushuaïa Nature

Italy SteelBook™
Memoirs of a Geisha
Shoot'em Up
The Interperter

Japan SteelBook™
Terminator 2 Judgment Day (Premium Edition) (First Press Limited Edition)

Mexico SteelBook™
Terminator 2 Judgment Day

Netherlands SteelBook™
The Dark Knight OOP
Star Wars: The Clone Wars OOP
Terminator 2: Judgement Day: Skynet Edition

Spain SteelBook™
Twilight (Crepúsculo)

Sweden SteelBook™
Righteous Kill

Thailand SteelBook™
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

UK SteelBook™
10,000 B.C.
Highlander: Immortal Edition
Sweeney Todd OOP
Terminator 2: Judgement Day: Skynet Edition
Transporter 3
Wanted OOP

USA SteelBook™
James Bond: Die Another Day
James Bond: Dr. No
James Bond: For Your Eyes Only
James Bond: From Russia With Love
James Bond: Live And Let Die
James Bond: Thunderball
James Bond: Moonraker
James Bond: Goldfinger
James Bond: The World is not Enough

UK SteelBook™
10,000 B.C. OOP
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Sweeney Todd OOP
Wanted

Playstation 3 SteelBooks™

KillZone 2 Playstation3 SteelBook™

Resident Evil 5: SteelBook™

Moefiz · 07-12-2009, 03:21 AM

Thanks JW...I knew you would find this eventually...

The list the JW posted show that they are available in different countries around the world for us,in the US or Canada to get our hand on them we have to import...surely the US studios should look in to this..

As mention before by Petra...does the studio or retailer have the final say

Exist2Inspire · 07-12-2009, 04:11 AM

Now, I cannot say for sure, but I have a sneaky suspecion that FutureShop will release the LOTR movies in Steelbook. I know that the only Catalog titles they've done them for were the James Bond ones, but otherwise they've only released them for High-Profile movies.

That, and when Star Trek Comes out.... well, one can only hope :P

danman227460 · 07-12-2009, 05:05 AM

Ya. Like when the new Hulk Movie came out. They didn't give it the steelbook treatment for the blu ray but the DVD had it. Or the BSG Season 4/5 which I think was also steelbook on DVD. Why they never did a blu version for both is beyond me. I would have loved the Hulk steelbook for blu. It is a hit or miss with FS. Unless it's a very popular movie or they see a reason to do it, they do it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exist2Inspire

Now, I cannot say for sure, but I have a sneaky suspecion that FutureShop will release the LOTR movies in Steelbook. I know that the only Catalog titles they've done them for were the James Bond ones, but otherwise they've only released them for High-Profile movies.

That, and when Star Trek Comes out.... well, one can only hope :P

Petra_Kalbrain · 07-12-2009, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwbbud

Canada doesnt have anything compared to Other countries

Australia SteelBook™
Knowing Release date: July 29, 2009
Transporter 3 Release date: June 10, 2009

Canada SteelBook™
The Dark Knight- Future Shop exclusive OOP
I Am Legend (Future Shop exclusive) OOP
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Future Shop Exclusive) OOP
Iron Man (2-Disc Ultimate Edition) (Future Shop exclusive) OOP
James Bond: Die Another Day
James Bond: Dr. No
James Bond: For Your Eyes Only
James Bond: From Russia With Love
James Bond: Live And Let Die
James Bond: Thunderball
James Bond: Moonraker
James Bond: Goldfinger
James Bond: The World is not Enough

Denmark SteelBook™
Flammen & Citronen

Dutch SteelBook™
The Dark Knight 2-Disc

Finland SteelBook™
Terminator 2 - Judgment Day(UNCONFIRMED)

France SteelBook™
1408
3:10 To Yuma (3H10 Pour Yuma)
Animals in Love (Les Animaux amoureux)
Aviator
Babylon A.D.
Bangkok Dangerous
Body of Lies[Mensonges d'Etat ]
Cash
Casino
Chicago
Cleaner
Crank (Hyper Tension)
The Dark Knight (FNAC exclusive 32 page comic book and 2
DOA: Dead or Alive
The Departed [Les Infiltrés]
The Fountain
Female Agents (Les Femmes de l'ombre)
Forbidden Kingdom[Le Royaumes Interdit]
The Good, the Bad, the Weird Release date: July 2, 2009
Gran Torino (FNAC exclusive) Release date: July 1, 2009
Hellboy II : The Golden Army (FNAC exclusive 20 page booklet)
The Host
Kill Bill Vol.1
Kill Bill Vol.2
The Last Trapper (Le Dernier Trappeur)
The Mad Adventures of 'Rabbi' Jacob
Match Point
The Mist
Next
Persepolis
Piége De Feu (Ladder 49)
Pulp Fiction
Les Randonneurs à Saint-Tropez
Rescue Dawn
The Second Wind [Le deuxieme souffle SteelBook]™
Surviving with Wolves (Survivre avec les loups)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day: Skynet Edition
The Tiger Brigades (Les Brigades du Tigre)
Tom-Yum-Goong (L'Honneur du Dragon)
Ushuaïa Nature

Italy SteelBook™
Memoirs of a Geisha
Shoot'em Up
The Interperter

Japan SteelBook™
Terminator 2 Judgment Day (Premium Edition) (First Press Limited Edition)

Mexico SteelBook™
Terminator 2 Judgment Day

Netherlands SteelBook™
The Dark Knight OOP
Star Wars: The Clone Wars OOP
Terminator 2: Judgement Day: Skynet Edition

Spain SteelBook™
Twilight (Crepúsculo)

Sweden SteelBook™
Righteous Kill

Thailand SteelBook™
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

UK SteelBook™
10,000 B.C.
Highlander: Immortal Edition
Sweeney Todd OOP
Terminator 2: Judgement Day: Skynet Edition
Transporter 3
Wanted OOP

USA SteelBook™
James Bond: Die Another Day
James Bond: Dr. No
James Bond: For Your Eyes Only
James Bond: From Russia With Love
James Bond: Live And Let Die
James Bond: Thunderball
James Bond: Moonraker
James Bond: Goldfinger
James Bond: The World is not Enough

UK SteelBook™
10,000 B.C. OOP
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Sweeney Todd OOP
Wanted

Playstation 3 SteelBooks™

KillZone 2 Playstation3 SteelBook™

Resident Evil 5: SteelBook™

GOOD WORK!!!

Nice list! It kind of worries me though that I don't have most of those!

sandman6662 · 07-12-2009, 03:39 PM

I too like the steelbooks, as for when DVD's were doing a lackluster in sales, I seen some movies they tried it with at Best Buy , The Plant Terror & DeathProf was in Steel book also the Die Hard Series too , and I also found the Texas Chain Saw Massacure in steelbook at target, Now these are DVD's not Blu rays, so some one thought the idea would work here in the US, But maybe it did'nt go good enough to warrent the treatment, I wish it would myself, so maybe time will tell and they'll see the deman down the road, also look at Target with the Mask Movies like Transformers, Iron Man & Batman TDK , My Target still has all of them for sale , so it did'nt go to well for them, I think we'll see alot of different stores doing Exclussive and packaging to attract our money, lets look at this later this year at XMAS time ,, to see what happens, also look at the economy too , more cost to make them but no one buying them , so not really worth the investment to do it, Just a few ideas on why ,,

TenEightyP · 07-12-2009, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danman227460

If you weren't interested in the steelbook or a collector, how many of you waited until there was a sale on those movies? Otherwise, everyone shelled out WAY more for the extra casing when a sale for the plastic would have netted a huge savings.

I think you got my purchasing decisions pretty close there. I am not a steelbook lover and as such try to avoid them whenever possible. I almost never pre-order or buy on release day, but wait for sales, which kind of proves your point in my case. My average spend on Blu-ray's is approximately £6.90.

I think that if you like them, you will already be in the mindset that you are paying much more for your films.

In the case of the Bond films, I wonder how people feel that they will have most of their collection in Steelbook, but the last films in a plastic case?

.

anomynous · 07-12-2009, 04:14 PM

Me personally, I only buy steelbooks for movies I like, and I only buy 1 version of it. I'm not like some of the uber hardcore collectors here that bought every version of T2. I have no problem with it, but I just need 1 version.

I'm also in the mindset that I could be paying twice as much for a steel vs. amaray. Hell, the Watchmen steelbook will probably be around $45 after everything, while the normal is $22/23. I have no problem spending the extra money.

Also another factor is region-freeness. I'm a Region A only set up, so that's also a factor.

Like with the upcoming Gladiator steelbook, there's UK, France, and Germany. I'm going to go with the one that's:

A) Region free
then
B) The Cheapest

07-11-2009, 06:52 PM	#1
Moefiz Blu-ray Knight Member since:Jul 2007 Blu-ray collection:288 DVD collection:20 Blu-ray reviews: 15 Trading Score:70	Steelbooks..Why.... Seems that steelbooks are becoming pretty popular with blu-ray collectors in the US but all of the steelbook titles have to be imported..it seems that sooner or later most of us will have at least one steelbook in there movie collection. My question is why doesn't the American studios release some of there major Blu-rays as steelbook even for a limited time....

07-12-2009, 04:14 PM	#20
anomynous Blu-ray Guru Member since:Sep 2008 Blu-ray collection:185 Trading Score:40	Me personally, I only buy steelbooks for movies I like, and I only buy 1 version of it. I'm not like some of the uber hardcore collectors here that bought every version of T2. I have no problem with it, but I just need 1 version. I'm also in the mindset that I could be paying twice as much for a steel vs. amaray. Hell, the Watchmen steelbook will probably be around $45 after everything, while the normal is $22/23. I have no problem spending the extra money. Also another factor is region-freeness. I'm a Region A only set up, so that's also a factor. Like with the upcoming Gladiator steelbook, there's UK, France, and Germany. I'm going to go with the one that's: A) Region free then B) The Cheapest Last edited by anomynous; 07-12-2009 at 04:18 PM.

07-11-2009, 07:13 PM	#2
Beta Man Moderator Top contributor Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Juuuuuuuust A Bit Outside.... Home Theater Gallery:4 Blu-ray collection:268 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:25	good question.... limited runs can be costly I guess..... With that said.... I have 1,200 DVDs, one of them (that I purchased only a couple of years ago) is a Steelbook...... just turned out that way

07-11-2009, 07:55 PM	#3
steve_dave Blu-ray Duke Member since:Nov 2008 Trading Score:21	Actually, most of the James Bond catalog titles from Fox/MGM were available in Steelbook for either Best Buy or Amazon.com. It comes down to cost and title though... Some distributors feel that if they are going to pay extra for packaging, it would be better to go with a Digibook case since they could also include liner notes and photos. Other titles may be better off with unique packaging like Watchmen, Iron Man, The Dark Knight, and Blade Runner.

07-11-2009, 08:26 PM	#4
DetroitSportsFan Hot Deals Moderator Top contributor Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Michigan 4K collection:439 Blu-ray collection:2226 Trading Score:93	You're right, steelbooks in the U.S. are pretty rare. Hopefully that changes soon.

07-11-2009, 09:41 PM	#6
Horhay Expert Member Member since:Jun 2007 Location:San Pedro, CA Home Theater Gallery:3 Blu-ray collection:352 Trading Score:2	I talked to the guys from Scanavo, which are steelbook makers, they mentioned that usually they receive the orders from the retail stores and not from the studios themselves....so who knows who has the last say in the matter. Would be nice to get a few steels other than James Bond here in the states.

07-12-2009, 01:33 AM	#9
P@t_Mtl Blu-ray Duke Member since:Sep 2008 Location:Montreal Home Theater Gallery:4 Blu-ray collection:452 DVD collection:513 Trading Score:3	So I don't truly go out of my way to find steelbooks, are they available in other countries? I always thought it was a Future Shop thing here in Canada?

07-12-2009, 02:39 AM	#12
danman227460 Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Canada 4K collection:907 Blu-ray collection:1094 Trading Score:59	I thought it was a "gimmick" to sell titles? I mean most of the steelbooks, besides a few titles, are pretty much bottom barrel. I bet if they weren't in the steelbook form, most people wouldn't own that movie. The way I see it is, if you have a title like TDK, Iron Man etc and you want to make sure they sell even more than before, get a steelbook. Think about this way. If you weren't interested in the steelbook or a collector, how many of you waited until there was a sale on those movies? Otherwise, everyone shelled out WAY more for the extra casing when a sale for the plastic would have netted a huge savings. That is the way I see it, a sales tactic. It makes you pick up certain movies you wouldn't normally buy just because of the fancy case and it makes you buy movies you want at a higher price.

07-12-2009, 03:21 AM	#14
Moefiz Blu-ray Knight Member since:Jul 2007 Blu-ray collection:288 DVD collection:20 Blu-ray reviews: 15 Trading Score:70	Thanks JW...I knew you would find this eventually... The list the JW posted show that they are available in different countries around the world for us,in the US or Canada to get our hand on them we have to import...surely the US studios should look in to this.. As mention before by Petra...does the studio or retailer have the final say

07-12-2009, 04:11 AM	#15
Exist2Inspire Special Member Top contributor Member since:Dec 2008 Home Theater Gallery:18 4K collection:258 Blu-ray collection:1510 DVD collection:441 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:6	Now, I cannot say for sure, but I have a sneaky suspecion that FutureShop will release the LOTR movies in Steelbook. I know that the only Catalog titles they've done them for were the James Bond ones, but otherwise they've only released them for High-Profile movies. That, and when Star Trek Comes out.... well, one can only hope :P

07-12-2009, 03:39 PM	#18
sandman6662 Expert Member Member since:Feb 2008 Home Theater Gallery:35 Trading Score:24	I too like the steelbooks, as for when DVD's were doing a lackluster in sales, I seen some movies they tried it with at Best Buy , The Plant Terror & DeathProf was in Steel book also the Die Hard Series too , and I also found the Texas Chain Saw Massacure in steelbook at target, Now these are DVD's not Blu rays, so some one thought the idea would work here in the US, But maybe it did'nt go good enough to warrent the treatment, I wish it would myself, so maybe time will tell and they'll see the deman down the road, also look at Target with the Mask Movies like Transformers, Iron Man & Batman TDK , My Target still has all of them for sale , so it did'nt go to well for them, I think we'll see alot of different stores doing Exclussive and packaging to attract our money, lets look at this later this year at XMAS time ,, to see what happens, also look at the economy too , more cost to make them but no one buying them , so not really worth the investment to do it, Just a few ideas on why ,,

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