Despite the advent of streaming services, there are still a whole lot of people who prefer physical media, but so far the major platforms have been somewhat reluctant to release their highest profile originals on DVD or Blu-Ray. You can understand why, too, when subscriber numbers drive revenue and mass-producing for home video is hardly cost-effective, but not everyone shells out for at least one service.
While in-house exclusives remain the property of streaming only, co-productions are guaranteed a home video release. For instance, Tom Hanks‘ News of the World was distributed internationally by Netflix and was added to the content library domestically last month, but the sweeping Western was produced and funded by Universal, who will be keen to try and recoup their investment after the Coronavirus pandemic limited the $38 million feature to a box office haul of just $12 million.
The film may have dominated Netflix’s most-watched list for weeks, but it could end up shifting a decent number of copies on home video when it comes to 4K, Blu-Ray and DVD on the 23rd of this month. After all, folks love building their collection of movies, and Paul Greengrass’ acclaimed drama is the sort of title that appeals to older audiences who might not be completely sold on the whole streaming thing as of yet.
The News of the World release comes with a myriad of special features, too, including a commentary track from director Greengrass, featurettes about the central pairing of Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel, the filmmaker’s desire to make such a wildly different movie from the handheld action thrillers he became famous for, as well as his goal of authentically depicting and represent the Kiowa people, so it certainly arrives packed with plenty of bonus content to satisfy fans.