Is Universal done with releasing their classic monster films on Blu-ray?

[Jar Jar Stinks]

Koch is releasing "Revenge of the Creature" in Germany. I wasn't sure if this was a case of Universal not holding the rights to the film in Germany or whether they licensed the rights to Koch. So, I'm wondering if this is a sign that Universal is done releasing their monster films on Blu-ray?

[MifuneFan]

No, it isn't a sign of anything. "Revenge..."has been released by other labels in various countries for some time now. . All the same, I don't expect any more Monsters titles from Universal

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by Jar Jar Stinks

Koch is releasing "Revenge of the Creature" in Germany. I wasn't sure if this was a case of Universal not holding the rights to the film in Germany or whether they licensed the rights to Koch. So, I'm wondering if this is a sign that Universal is done releasing their monster films on Blu-ray?

I wouldn't read too much into that. Koch releases a lot of Universal titles on blu-ray. They released Coogans Bluff in Germany long before Universal released it in North America.

[StingingVelvet]

Pretty sure a Universal rep said the monster BDs sold less than expected, so I wouldn't expect the sequels and such to be coming any time soon.

[Bluyoda]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Pretty sure a Universal rep said the monster BDs sold less than expected, so I wouldn't expect the sequels and such to be coming any time soon.

One big problem is that fans of the movies expect them for close to nothing, so why should Univeral bother to release any of them.
The fans shoot themselves in the foot.
If people really want something, they should buy it on the day of rerlease, in order to send a signal to Universal that there is a strong demand for these, but that would be in aideal world.
Also, who can blame people to wait until it drops in price. We all have to save after all. It's quite the viscious cycle.

[Pizzamorg]

From the way it seemed to be put in the extras, remasters like Dracula's were expensive and extensive, so I guess you only keep repeating a process like that if you're making money from it.

[L.J.]

They probably didn't make enough money off of them to continue. Do wish they would release another set with all the sequels in it.

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by Bluyoda

One big problem is that fans of the movies expect them for close to nothing, so why should Univeral bother to release any of them.
The fans shoot themselves in the foot.
If people really want something, they should buy it on the day of rerlease, in order to send a signal to Universal that there is a strong demand for these, but that would be in aideal world.
Also, who can blame people to wait until it drops in price. We all have to save after all. It's quite the viscious cycle.

Not only that, I bet a large number of people bought the Region B version to save a few bucks. Those hoping for more Universal Monsters now have to ask themselves if it was worth it....

[octagon]

Originally Posted by lemonski

Not only that, I bet a large number of people bought the Region B version to save a few bucks. Those hoping for more Universal Monsters now have to ask themselves if it was worth it....

It was absolutely worth it. With our dollars we voted to support companies that release very good products at very (well, usually, anyway) reasonable prices in the hopes that those same companies will flourish and continue to release very good products are very reasonable prices.

That's exactly what we're supposed to be doing with our dollars, isn't it? Sending messages about how want to spend even more of our money?

Right?

[happydood]

I would wager that the differences in price between the American and Region B sets had everything to do with the packaging. The American had it's problems with the glue and everything but it's otherwise aesthetically better put together in every way. Buying the Region B set only indicated that premium packaging wasn't essential to a lot of people.

I was really hoping for a set this October of at least some of the sequels- in the prime of dvd Universal and Warner Brothers would each generally have some kind of offering for the Halloween season. I thought maybe something would be coming this year if WB is willing to finally dole out those Hammer titles.

But as rabid as we all are for these titles, we are ultimately a niche. Guess I have to start asking the dreaded question now: How does the hd streaming/download version of Son Of Frankenstein look from Amazon? Anybody tried it?

[lilboyblu]

I would still like to see more of these too!

Originally Posted by lemonski

Not only that, I bet a large number of people bought the Region B version to save a few bucks. Those hoping for more Universal Monsters now have to ask themselves if it was worth it....

-1
Paying for flimsier packaging of the same exact films is a moot point. The money still went to Universal.

[Vlad Draculi]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Pretty sure a Universal rep said the monster BDs sold less than expected, so I wouldn't expect the sequels and such to be coming any time soon.

Maybe they shouldn't have priced the set so damn high then.

[dsman71]

It was more than affordable. I think because Universal continues to re-release the same movies on DVD and blu ray might be one reason they may not have done well (under that assumption). Theres a zillion releases of Frankenstein, Dracula, etc , while movies like House of Dracula, Son of Frankenstein, havent. Then there are the 50s movies such as Tarantula, The Land Unknown, The Deadly Mantis, the Incredible Shrinking Man that have only gotten DVD and DVDr distribution in the USA. They really need to do a set of these on bluray.

[Dex Robinson]

People spend too much reading tea leaves and inventing their own theories.

We just don't know.

I'm amused by claims that "this didn't sell well" (theory applied to almost everything). I heard this claim CONSTANTLY when Universal was releasing the monsters on DVD. Starting in about the year 2000 or so, I bought the DVD boxed set of the monsters and heard people claiming that they heard they didn't sell well. Then Universal released the individual discs...and people claimed they didn't sell well. Then Universal released the sequels on very expensive double features...and people claimed they didn't sell well (I bought them). Then came the Legacy sets...oh they didn't sell well (bought those too). And the Legacy sets with the collectible busts...I heard from somebody that they didn't sell well

Universal spent 15 years releasing and rereleasing monster movies "the didn't sell well" according to forum experts.

We can guess all we want. That's we do on forums and that's OK. But it's all tea leaves, crystal balls and guessing.

[Dex Robinson]

Originally Posted by happydood

... The American had it's problems with the glue and everything but it's otherwise aesthetically better put together in every way...

Odd statement.

The UK set was significantly better packaged than the North American set.

[MifuneFan]

There's no major incentive to push another set. The first was done due to the 100th anniversary celebration. Universal are planning new monsters films in the future (e.g. new Mummy movie in 2017), so perhaps we might see some then.

[Todd Tomorrow]

As far as I'm concerned Universal could do at least two more sets. One with stand alone films like The Old Dark House, Murders in the Zoo, The Cat and the Canary, The Black Cat and Supernatural and one with sequels like Son of Frankenstein, Dracula's Daughter (my most wanted!), The Mummy's Tomb, Revenge of the Creature, etc.

[Dylan34]

I bought the set to show my support when released and the films for the most part look fantastic!!! I alway try to buy new releases or high priority catalog releases on release day. I want blu-ray to stick around as long as possible because I absolutely hate streaming. I only due on occasion to get an idea about a film I'm looking to purchase on blu, that's it!!!!!

[HD Goofnut]

I bought the separate releases with the gorgeous slipcovers last year because I refused to pay what Universal wanted for a set that was prone to falling apart. I am more than satisfied and hope we get the rest at some point.

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by Bluyoda

One big problem is that fans of the movies expect them for close to nothing, so why should Univeral bother to release any of them.
The fans shoot themselves in the foot.
If people really want something, they should buy it on the day of rerlease, in order to send a signal to Universal that there is a strong demand for these, but that would be in aideal world.
Also, who can blame people to wait until it drops in price. We all have to save after all. It's quite the viscious cycle.

Fans didn't shoot themselves in the foot - they merely had the sense to see the bizarre pricing. It was significantly cheaper to import the UK set. Universal US should have packaged it more economically and sold it at a more even price across the board.

The bigger studios also seem to want big sales or they don't bother, whereas smaller studios who are often staffed by fans as happy with any profit. So hopefully these indie labels can pick up the slack.