Last August, the Disney Group announced that it was completely exiting the Australian market for physical DVD and Blu-ray media. Guardians of the Galaxy 3, available for sale in the country, was the company’s latest foray into the Australian continent. It’s the same in New Zealand.
In an interview published in the magazine Laser years In October, we learned that Disney France’s video arm had announced that it was bowing out, 32 years after its creation. and is preparing to transfer the exploitation of its catalog on physical media to ESC Distribution from the beginning of January 2024. Elementaire and the live-action version of The Little Mermaid will be the last films released directly to DVD/Blu-ray by Disney. .
“We have informed our customers that we will cease delivery on November 10th in order to organize the transition for ESC Distribution to take over on January 2nd.” comments Disney’s video director, David Lamoine, in the magazine’s columns.
“Find the right partner to get a second wind…”
Paradoxically, the firm seems to have a renewed interest in physical media across the Atlantic for some time now, such as the deluxe editions of Cinderella or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs under the UHD 4k format, or even Marvel TV. Series announced there Blu-ray and UHD box sets of Loki 1, WandaVision season 1 or even the first two seasons of The Mandalorian. But nothing is decided for France.
“Potential marketing of these titles, should it happen, will be handled by our new distributor. This show is in no way about wanting to be freed from physical support, quite the opposite.” David Lamoine continues.
“If we had continued, we would have risked being cut from the group rather than the effort and organization required to market a catalog that is reportedly quite small compared to our competitors.” Our desire was to find the right partner to find a second wind.
The DVD/Blu-ray publishing market has been declining for years. Competing violently with VOD and streaming platforms, it has declined sharply, especially in France. According to the CNC-GfK barometer, quoted Article from Le Monde Due in 2022, it has grown from more than 1.4 billion euros in 2010 to 245.5 million in 2021. That is, an 82.4% drop in a decade.
Suffice it to say that with this announcement from the firm, beyond the page-turner, the rush for Disney-branded DVDs and Blu-rays is all but guaranteed to become impossible to find. And supplies should run out very, very quickly…
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
