We’ve been reporting on Paramount’s own exclusive physical media distribution deal with Alliance Entertainment since we first broke the news of it here at The Bits last year.
You may have noticed—and we’ve certainly covered it here—that very few new 4K catalog titles have been forthcoming from Paramount since that deal was signed. The last two new titles were Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can on December 9th.
But as we reported here last week, we’ve now learned from retail sources that Robert Altman’s Popeye (1980) is also forthcoming to 4K, and that is a new catalog title—not another repackage of a previously-released UHD title.
So not only are we likely to see TONS of new Amazon MGM 4K catalog titles in the year ahead, we’re likely to start getting more new Paramount titles as well.
What’s more, because Amazon MGM’s previous distribution arrangement with Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and Studio Distribution Services has now ended, that frees up more production capacity for those two companies to focus on more Warner Bros. and Warner Archive Collection catalog titles.
And that’s in addition to the very large number of catalog titles that Warner Bros. has already recently licensed to boutique labels like Arrow, Vinegar Syndrome, Shout! Factory, and Criterion.
What all this adds up to for 4K catalog fans is a LOT more great forthcoming titles to enjoy!
Now the real question is: Will the major disc replicators start expanding their 4K production lines to add greater manufacturing capacity (which will certainly be needed in the next 12-24 months)?
And will BD-100 media manufacturers ramp up their production output as well to meet the increasing demand for 100 GB discs?
Stay tuned.
One more news item today: In a quick update to the ongoing Netflix v Paramount Skydance for control of Warner Bros. Discovery saga, the WBD board has once again rejected Paramount Skydance’s latest purchase proposal update. So Paramount has now sued WBD over the matter. You can read more here today at Ars Technica.
The saga continues.
Back tomorrow with more news and reviews.
Stay tuned…!
- Bill Hunt
(You can follow Bill on social media on Twitter, BlueSky, and Facebook, and also here on Patreon)