'Oppenheimer' Flying Off the Shelves Is Proof Movies Need Physical Releases

[StarFuryG7]

'Oppenheimer' Flying Off the Shelves Is Proof Movies Need Physical Releases

[The Valeyard]

Plus, look what just happened with Discovery and Playstation with Sony removing paid digital content from customers libraries. You don't need to agree to a Terms of Service contract when you buy a physical release.

[DaylightsEnd]

It's a sick, ironic, pathetic joke that a scrolling Best Buy advertisement for multiple 4k uhd discs actually pops up in the middle of that article, whilst they're in the midst of getting rid of their entire physical media business altogether.

[ElectricPeterTork]

Remember that old Chris Rock bit about drug companies?

It's all about the comeback.

The studios saw people were willing to pay them for monthly rental. So that takes priority over a one time sale. They were able to put the genie back in the bottle. Now you pay them monthly for access.

Of course, they're shortsightedly screwing that up with culls, so maybe the bottle isn't completely closed.

[scififan73]

Preaching to the choir with this thread and that article.

I fear there are many that underestimate the danger of streaming until it is too late.
There are people even on this forum ( a safe harbor for physical media if ever there is one) that can't quite seem to grasp what it will mean when the corporations call ALL the shots. I attribute it to the relative young age of certain members, they simply are growing up in a world that doesn't value true ownership in the way my generation does.

[TitusTroy]

I think Nolan giving those interviews promoting physical media is what pushed sales of Oppenheimer...if he hadn't said those things then I doubt the disc would be as popular

[StarFuryG7]

Originally Posted by TitusTroy

I think Nolan giving those interviews promoting physical media is what pushed sales of Oppenheimer...if he hadn't said those things then I doubt the disc would be as popular

People are buying them regardless. That's what this industry needs for it to not whither and die.

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by TitusTroy

I think Nolan giving those interviews promoting physical media is what pushed sales of Oppenheimer...if he hadn't said those things then I doubt the disc would be as popular

I for one am thrilled that Nolan is stepping up and openly promoting physical media. It practically feels like one of a prolific filmmaker’s most important responsibilities after the fact. The cinematic experience is very short-lived, a small window of time. The film will live on in everyone’s personal media collections, and the best way to assure that for the long haul is via actual ownership of the physical media by the fans. If the director himself isn’t going to promote and cheerlead for his own films, on the best and most important home media platform, then who is? More directors need to be as vocal as Nolan is about this subject unless they want to see all their films eventually stuffed away stagnating in the big studios’ vaults, like diznee and WB. There’s a variety of good reasons Nolan walked away from WB on this title, and this is clearly one of the considerations….how the film art is treated after the box office revenue is collected.

[TitusTroy]

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

There’s a variety of good reasons Nolan walked away from WB on this title, and this is clearly one of them.

he walked away from Warner Bros. mainly because he didn't like that they were releasing their movies in theaters and streaming on the same day in 2021...I don't think he had any issues with the way they were promoting or marketing the home media releases of his films

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by TitusTroy

he walked away from Warner Bros. mainly because he didn't like that they were releasing their movies in theaters and streaming on the same day in 2021...

Right. It’s about priorities, and timing. Would you as a filmmaker, a hardcore proponent of the theatrical experience and a champion of physical media, want your films going forward permanently in the hands of a studio that is aggressively pushing a ruinous streaming agenda as their lazy #1 priority, over home physical media, and pushing that streaming as aggressively as while you’re trying to have the film capture live audiences in the theaters during its box-office premier? I believe he sees the bigger picture here and is likely looking at the longer haul, as well as how hostile WB has been to home media in general as of late, ditching or re-allocating about 70% of their physical media staff already, and leaving the bulk of their highly desirable back catalog chilling in the cooler. It’s not just about their recent marketing efforts. I’m sure these and other issues likely all weighed in on his considerations and ultimate decision. I’m sure he’s also well aware of how the Fox back catalog is being treated now that it’s in the Mouse’s vault, another media company hell-bent on forcing the issue with their streaming agenda over the last several years.

[jvonl]

Originally Posted by TitusTroy

I think Nolan giving those interviews promoting physical media is what pushed sales of Oppenheimer...if he hadn't said those things then I doubt the disc would be as popular

I saw no Nolan interviews, but I couldn't wait to get my hands on the 4K disc. So maybe, just maybe, it's selling because it's a great movie....?

[Infallible Presence]

Just wait for when World War III is officially declared and the World-Wide-Internet is shutdown. All those who relied upon it shall hopefully learn from their faults.

Though, without internet many will die because they can't look-up what to do. But, that is the price of ignorance. Meanwhile, all us with our physical media shall rise in ranks within our societies, teasing, pocking, prodding, and beating, streamers as we over charge them for snippets of our viewable media.

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by Infallible Presence

without internet many will die because they can't look-up what to do. But, that is the price of ignorance.

This has to be one of my five favorite posts on this entire forum.

[BrandonJF]

This whole "flying off the shelves" thing seems so made up - I see it was a Collider article. One of those "articles" that needs to ramble on to get you to scroll through ads when it's ultimately based on something someone said somewhere.

It's hard for something to "fly off" a shelf if it wasn't there in the first place. It seems like there were hardly any UHDs floating around given that the UHD had to represent such a low % of sales in the first week of release given that it wasn't in the top 5 and the fifth best selling UHD of the week was "The Flash" which amounted to 45% of it's total sales. The #1 best selling UHD the week "Oppenheimer" was released? "Interstellar". That pretty much tells me there were supply issues with "Oppenheimer" in the first place, otherwise DVD + Blu-Ray had to sell so amazing well over the UHD that the UHD just couldn't register (while not being available). I'd love to know how many units the #1 best selling UHD title actually moves in a week.

Has the standard Blu-Ray been that hard to get?

A cashier at Best Buy did tell me she saw 10 copies of "Dial of Destiny" sold yesterday (I'm sure that's across all formats). I think that is today's definition of "flying off the shelves".

[unsung122212]

Originally Posted by BrandonJF

This whole "flying off the shelves" thing seems so made up - I see it was a Collider article. One of those "articles" that needs to ramble on to get you to scroll through ads when it's ultimately based on something someone said somewhere.

It's hard for something to "fly off" a shelf if it wasn't there in the first place. It seems like there were hardly any UHDs floating around given that the UHD had to represent such a low % of sales in the first week of release given that it wasn't in the top 5 and the fifth best selling UHD of the week was "The Flash" which amounted to 45% of it's total sales. The #1 best selling UHD the week "Oppenheimer" was released? "Interstellar". That pretty much tells me there were supply issues with "Oppenheimer" in the first place, otherwise DVD + Blu-Ray had to sell so amazing well over the UHD that the UHD just couldn't register (while not being available). I'd love to know how many units the #1 best selling UHD title actually moves in a week.

Has the standard Blu-Ray been that hard to get?

A cashier at Best Buy did tell me she saw 10 copies of "Dial of Destiny" sold yesterday (I'm sure that's across all formats). I think that is today's definition of "flying off the shelves".

Well if Amazon is to be believed, they sold over 20,000 4K copies (not accounting for the BBY steelbook and Walmart’s Icon edition). The Blu-ray had sold over 10,000 copies. I believe both 4K and BD had been sold out online (though plenty of copies at Walmart near me since its release.

I don’t think this is proof that people want physical media. It’s only this title that it’s happening with and no other (not even Barbie sold out like this and that was just as popular as Oppenheimer) movie has sold out like this. It could end up being a FOMO or a once in a lifetime type of event.

[StarFuryG7]

Originally Posted by BrandonJF

This whole "flying off the shelves" thing seems so made up - I see it was a Collider article. One of those "articles" that needs to ramble on to get you to scroll through ads when it's ultimately based on something someone said somewhere.

- Oppenheimer 4K and Blu-Ray Discs in High Demand as Stocks Run Dry -

- Universal “Working To Replenish” Sold-Out Stock Of ‘Oppenheimer’ 4K Discs In Time For Holidays -

- ‘Oppenheimer’ Sells Out on 4K Disc With Universal ‘Working to Replenish’ Stock -

- Why copies of Oppenheimer on 4K Ultra HD have been sold out -

- Oppenheimer 4K Blu-ray: where to buy -

It wasn't just Collider that reported this news.

[gardengirl1331]

Not sure about it being an age thing. For a while I think that was true, but, as I've posted in another thread, my husband works at a college and he has a LOT of the students are starting to not like having cell phones, they're going to flip phones with talk and text only, maybe a small crappy camera. He said they're also VERY into DVD/BD/4k movies!! So there is a little hope. I know the demographic of the students he deals with everyday are maybe not your average kid, but the number of them going towards physical is growing. My niece and her boyfriend also LOVE getting our old movies when we upgrade! They love having them and being able to watch them when they want. So who knows? If anything the slight uptick in GenZ interest might bump up sales enough to keep it going for a while longer.

[NJScorpio]

My two cents....


Part of the reason why it was "flying off the shelves" is that the physical disc date was the same as the digital release date.

If it was weeks apart, with digital first, as has been the case with MANY releases lately, I'm sure myself and others would have bought it digitally (yes I'm one of those) to watch it the first weekend I could at home. Since I had the option of buying the disc at (nearly) the same price as digital by itself, I chose the most logical option and bought the disc.

[Damonstein]

It's awesome that oppie is doing well, but companies would probably be more swayed if this was happening to any movie other than oppie.