We're still having theatrical films not getting Blu-ray releases!

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Foggy

All those were theatrically distributed by those studios though, A24 solely distributed Zone of Interest here in the UK, the only other two films they’ve done that for are Everything Everywhere All At Once and The Whale, neither received a disc release over here.

Damn, you're right, and I just found a quote on Screen Daily to back up your logic:

Direct distribution

But the picture is gradually becoming clearer. New York and Los Angeles-based A24, which operates as a producer, sales agent and distributor, sells some films like a traditional agent — The Eternal Daughter sold to BFI Distribution in the UK; Pearl was scooped up by Universal Pictures Content Group internationally; Beau Is Afraid via Sony Pictures; and Studiocanal will release Sundance and Berlin favourite Past Lives. But, Screen understands, when it does not achieve the price it wants, A24 directly distributes its titles in the UK and Ireland. It has done this for multiple Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All At Once, which has taken $7.8m (£6.2m) in the UK and Ireland, and The Whale, for which Brendan Fraser won the best actor Oscar, grossing $3.8m (£3m).

A24 does this from a US base, without an on-the-ground UK partner to wrangle bookings or marketing. Heath Shapiro is head of theatrical distribution and leads a team out of New York, with director of theatrical sales Sean McDonnell handling bookings from Los Angeles. Although there is an A24 London office, comprising fewer than five people including former BBC executives Rose Garnett and Piers Wenger, the company has no plans to create a UK-based distribution arm.

So sounds like nobody was willing to pay enough for The Zone of Interest to distribute it here, probably underestimating its potential both in terms of box office and awards recognition (as many people also did for EEAAO, and to a lesser extent The Whale). That really does suck, and unless someone can negotiate a home video/streaming deal then it may end up going the way you say...

If it did come to that though, at least A24 do press their own films on Blu-ray/4K, so there's always an option to import if absolutely necessary. I was tempted by Showing Up but will probably get the MediumRare disc for that, but if there was no other reasonable option for The Zone of Interest, I'd probably figure out how to import it (or might be able to save import fees if I got it sent to family in Canada and they personally brought it to me).

Thankfully there have been decent UK editions for many of their other films so far (Midsommar, The Souvenir, The Green Knight, The Lighthouse; still need to pick up The Souvenir Part II, Aftersun and Lamb).

I'm surprised there hasn't been a 40th Anniversary UK disc for Stop Making Sense yet. I'd assume Second Sight still have the rights to that but you never know!

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by rapta

So sounds like nobody was willing to pay enough for The Zone of Interest to distribute it here, probably underestimating its potential both in terms of box office and awards recognition (as many people also did for EEAAO, and to a lesser extent The Whale). That really does suck, and unless someone can negotiate a home video/streaming deal then it may end up going the way you say...

Screen Daily is pretty much the go to source for UK acquisition/distribution news. Though it can often take a year for films to come out and they did claim Variety would get a UK BD, which hasn’t happened yet (a VHS has!)

The Zone of Interest is on UK VOD now, which I think gives less chance of a disc with no release announced. The HMV awards email only contained half the nominees/winners!

It’s frustrating that despite Film4/StudioCanal releasing his other films, Glazer can still struggle finding UK buyers, especially when it’s an important film and the Holocaust is still present history. It’s been doing quite well in the US (including with younger audiences - seen some stories about families and teenagers going to the film) but UK screenings have mostly been a limited number of Vues (~40), indies and Picturehouse - ODEON had the poster up but would guess they couldn’t guarantee the number of showings A24 wanted (a similar thing happened with WB and Bottoms) so ended up not screening it, despite screening every other A24 release.

Originally Posted by rapta

If it did come to that though, at least A24 do press their own films on Blu-ray/4K, so there's always an option to import if absolutely necessary. I was tempted by Showing Up but will probably get the MediumRare disc for that, but if there was no other reasonable option for The Zone of Interest, I'd probably figure out how to import it (or might be able to save import fees if I got it sent to family in Canada and they personally brought it to me).

There will be an Australian release. US release of Showing Up is better for the commentary and being 4K.

Originally Posted by rapta

Thankfully there have been decent UK editions for many of their other films so far (Midsommar, The Souvenir, The Green Knight, The Lighthouse; still need to pick up The Souvenir Part II, Aftersun and Lamb).

UK release of Midsommar equivalent, The Lighthouse, Aftersun, Lamb better, US releases of The Green Knight, The Souvenir arguably better (commentaries, short films, double feature.)

Originally Posted by rapta

I'm surprised there hasn't been a 40th Anniversary UK disc for Stop Making Sense yet. I'd assume Second Sight still have the rights to that but you never know!

The Second Sight BD is OOP and A24 have worldwide rights, so no chance.

***

Tony Palmer is self-distributing DVDs of music documentaries about André Previn and Renee Fleming.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindness-St...dp/B0CSS81F86/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Renee-Flemi...dp/B0CSSMLQVQ/

[rapta]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

Screen Daily is pretty much the go to source for UK acquisition/distribution news. Though it can often take a year for films to come out and they did claim Variety would get a UK BD, which hasn’t happened yet (a VHS has!)

The Zone of Interest is on UK VOD now, which I think gives less chance of a disc with no release announced. The HMV awards email only contained half the nominees/winners!

It’s frustrating that despite Film4/StudioCanal releasing his other films, Glazer can still struggle finding UK buyers, especially when it’s an important film and the Holocaust is still present history. It’s been doing quite well in the US (including with younger audiences - seen some stories about families and teenagers going to the film) but UK screenings have mostly been a limited number of Vues (~40), indies and Picturehouse - ODEON had the poster up but would guess they couldn’t guarantee the number of showings A24 wanted (a similar thing happened with WB and Bottoms) so ended up not screening it, despite screening every other A24 release.

I suppose there's a slim chance a distributor throws enough money at A24 to let them release it on disc, but who that would be is another question entirely (perhaps Criterion, but probably not for a few years at least, especially if A24 release their own US disc).

I saw it in my local Everyman, and it was quite well attended. My sister and her partner saw it in their local Picturehouse, and her partner brought his 8 year old son which I was pleased to hear. It's actually showing again in my local Everyman once a day at the moment, obviously due to the Oscar wins. I urge anyone who hasn't seen it to go see it as it'll be much more impactful theatrically!

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

There will be an Australian release. US release of Showing Up is better for the commentary and being 4K.

Yes, I'll likely get the Aussie or German disc over the US one, as I just checked and sending an A24 order to Canada isn't much cheaper than to the UK. Postage goes up dramatically if you buy multiple items as well, it seems, which puts me off as well. Perhaps we could sort out a forum multibuy for some of these to take the edge off a bit? Or just convince A24 to tone down their insane postage fees...

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

UK release of Midsommar equivalent, The Lighthouse, Aftersun, Lamb better, US releases of The Green Knight, The Souvenir arguably better (commentaries, short films, double feature.)

Yes I'm aware the Joanna Hogg double bill has some nice extras, as does The Green Knight, but if you compare the cost of these to the UK equivalents, it's not really something to consider for the average collector. Of course we're both not that, but I'd sooner throw money at a decent Radiance or Indicator box set than a single film I can get for about £6-£10 without all the short films and commentaries. The realities of collecting!

Of course, if A24 sorted out their postage or just managed to get better distribution for their discs, I'd consider buying some of these (namely The Zone of Interest and Showing Up, but maybe also The Souvenir, The Lighthouse, The Green Knight, Stop Making Sense).

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

The Second Sight BD is OOP and A24 have worldwide rights, so no chance.

Ouch, even UK rights, and home video as well as theatrical? I know they were showing it theatrically but figured the home video rights might still be available to Second Sight (or another label who might be interested, BFI or Eureka for example).

[CelestialAgent]

Wild Side are releasing 80s NYC set silent animation about a dog and his robot Robot Dreams in May.

[CelestialAgent]

Animated Morpurgo adaptation Kensuke’s Kingdom is getting a French Blu from Le Pacte in June

[CelestialAgent]

More notable US imports

[GreatUncleBaal]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

More notable US imports

Hoping for a region free version of bottoms at some point

[pferreira]

Still hoping some studio will release 1989's The Wizard in the UK.

[Rutger Lundgren]

Originally Posted by nekromantik

Disney just said they wont be releasing All of us strangers on blu ray!! WTF
Hope they dont own it worldwide so we can get it elsewhere

Just announced for Germany and France, the French release by Disney, if this site's entry is to be believed. I loved the film, so I'll probably jump on the German Blu-ray if the UK release doesn't materialize.

[CelestialAgent]

The new Guy Ritchie has an option for those that don’t have Prime Video (no UK cinema release since The Gentlemen!)

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Guy Ritchie's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) will be coming to 4K later this year, tentatively in late July / early August. I'll post more details as they come in.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYRYYQXF

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) Official Trailer - Starring Henry Cavill - YouTube

American Fiction is also getting a US release.

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

MGM (via Warner) will be releasing American Fiction (2023) on Blu-ray, tentatively in June. In my opinion, this was one of the best films of 2023, with Jeffrey Wright, and Sterling K. Brown giving two of the best performances of their respective careers.

https://www.gruv.com/product/american_fiction_blu_ray


AMERICAN FICTION | Trailer 2 - YouTube

Unsure if EIV will be 4K or BD only, but Civil War has import options.

[rapta]

In positive news, looks like we're finally getting Ferrari and All Of Us Strangers in the UK! So things do seem to be working themselves out, and I don't have to import these things. I'm very grateful.



Interesting that Disney seemed to give in to public pressure, and are actually seemingly listening to audiences? We've had the most popular Star Wars and Marvel series' released on 4K, as well as Prey. Will we eventually get things like Barbarian and The Empty Man, I wonder (I'd love to own both)?

Now fingers cross A24 can sort out any loose ends with The Zone of Interest so I don't have to import the Australian or German disc. And far more likely, Civil War will pop up from EiV (if one doesn't, I'll be astounded).

[CelestialAgent]

Plaion Pictures have announced German releases of The Book of Clarence and Calm with Horses.

https://shop.plaionpictures.com/book...arence-blu-ray

https://shop.plaionpictures.com/shad...olence-blu-ray

[CelestialAgent]

available as imports

[Tam Mullen]

Challengers appears to be only getting a dvd release in the UK

[Phil92]

Originally Posted by Tam Mullen

Challengers appears to be only getting a dvd release in the UK

Surprising considering how popular it is.

Honestly UK releases just feel so cheap these days with the 11mm eco cases and no slipcovers, yet they’re exactly the same price as when we had releases that mirrored the US.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Tam Mullen

Challengers appears to be only getting a dvd release in the UK

Fingers crossed it’s just early days. Maybe another HMV exclusive like Bones and All.

[levcore]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

available as imports

Looks like The American Society of... is getting a UK Blu on 29 June 2024:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/American-So...&s=dvd&sr=1-11

[rapta]

Still no Civil War pre-order? I'm surprised, but then again EiV have been very late to the party before (The Green Knight, for example).

Originally Posted by Tam Mullen

Challengers appears to be only getting a dvd release in the UK

I noticed this, very dumb of Warner Bros to not release this on Blu-ray as I'm sure it'll actually be more popular than Bones and All in the end.

I was hoping to see it this past week so might go try see it this week, but my partner's out of the country and she wanted to see it with me...want to see what the fuss is about. Big fan of Mukdeeprom, Reznor, Ross and Guadagnino so would like to see it theatrically (and if not, definitely Blu-ray).

[nekromantik]

old movie but Fire In The Sky still has no UK blu ray.
Australia and US got one and its hella expensive to import these days

[Pochacco]

Has anyone picked up The Last Dragon BR or 4K release from the US?

I'm wondering whether it's slated for a release in the UK..