Physical Media Isn't Dying - It's Evolving

We are living in a golden age of Blu-ray and physical media that is far from death. If anything, it is evolving to be even better than it was before.

How many times in the past few months have you seen an article that’s claiming physical media is dead? It feels like it’s one of the most popular types of articles that have featured been on entertainment and technology websites over the last several years. Every time a piece of news drops regarding Blu-ray and physical movies, the doomsday articles start up again…

Now, I do agree that the sales are struggling. Nobody is going to sell 100 million copies of a movie on physical media in 2025 like they did in the 90s with smash hits like The Lion King. And yes, some electronics companies like LG are pulling out of the Blu-ray player manufacturing space. But LG hasn’t put out a new player in five years, and we still have Sony and Panasonic, who already owned 95% of the market even before LG ceased production.

Regardless of the noise out there about Blu-ray and movies and the decline in overall sales, I’m still far happier with my current options when it comes to physical media and what’s available on Blu-ray and 4K UHD formats than I ever was in the heyday of VHS and DVD. So is the industry really dying, or simply evolving?

In 2025, I can buy a Frank Capra Collection with 20 of his greatest films during his time with Columbia Pictures, 9 of which have been fully restored in 4K. I can buy a fully remastered copy of George Romero’s Martin, a film which was hard to find even on VHS. I can purchase cult classics like Barbarella, Demolition Man, and Hellraiser, all complete with beautiful packaging and full 4K restorations. This list could go on and on. It’s an embarrassment of riches right now for physical media enthusiasts.

This Capra Collection is like a film library in a box

As many consumers may not be seeing these titles on retail store shelves, there is a general sentiment that physical media is dead. I can see why. Target has pulled physical media off their floor. Best Buy did the same. Movies on disc have gone missing in places you’d expect to see them. But like many industries in a post-COVID world, most of the sales have simply shifted online. There has also been a shift to more independent labels and retailers versus big box stores and studio run operations. In this way, it’s very similar to what happened with the vinyl record resurgence.

Instead of hearing names like Warner Brothers, Disney, Paramount, and Universal, you might start hearing more names like Arrow Video, Vinegar Syndrome, Kino Lorber, Shout Studios, Second Sight Films, Umbrella Entertainment, and The Criterion Collection. Instead of searching at Target and Best Buy for movies, you’ll have to look at GRUV.com, Orbit DVD, Diabolik DVD, The Archive or in many cases, buy titles direct from the labels themselves.

Arrow Video Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases

Many movie studios are taking on a more direct to consumer approach with their own content via streaming and VOD services, and now they are doing the same with physical media. A24 and NEON sell their own special editions of their films. Lionsgate Limited is a new label which releases high quality editions of their films, sold direct from their website. And the aforementioned GRUV.com is a partnership between Universal and Warner Brothers to sell direct to consumers through their joint venture Studio Distribution Services.

As physical media shifts from a mainstream market to a more niche market, this change is completely natural. To me, it signals more strength than it does weakness. The industry is evolving to stay alive rather than dying with their old methods. If this were the animal kingdom, we’d be witnessing a new, more resilient species being developed in front of our eyes, built to survive harsher climates. That’s where I think we’re at now, trying to survive some difficult economic headwinds. The evolution is working, and I will continue to argue that physical media is far from “death”.

So the next time you see an article that says “physical media is dying” just send them this link. We’re alive and well over here in physical media world. The rest of the world just hasn’t understood the transformation yet.