John Latchem

April 19, 2021

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Vol. 1 earned the top prize in the 2021 Home Entertainment Media Play Awards, which honor the best home disc, digital and streaming releases of 2020. It won Title of the Year and Best Packaging.

Blu-ray Disc of the Year went to Shout! Factory’s Friday the 13th Collection: Deluxe Edition, which also won Best Boxed Set. HBO’s Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc set won TV on Disc of the Year. Warner Bros.’ The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy won Best 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc.

On the digital side, Lionsgate’s But I’m a Cheerleader: Director’s Cut won Best Digital Sellthrough Release, while Paramount’s Love and Monsters earned Best Premium Video on Demand Release. Netflix’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 was selected as Best New Streaming Movie, while Disney+ series The Mandalorian: Season 2 won Best Season of a Scripted Series.

In other award categories, Lionsgate’s Knives Out was a triple winner, selected as Fan-Favorite Title of the Year, Best New Movie on Disc and Best Audio/Visual Quality.

Vintage TV shows also were hailed, with Shout! Factory’s “The Carol Burnett Show” picking up a streaming win as Best Binge Series and Mill Creek’s Return of Ultraman honored as Best Disc Release of a Vintage TV Series.

Winners were chosen by a panel of judges in conjunction with an online consumer vote for eligible titles submitted for consideration by studios, distributors and industry professionals.

The annual home entertainment honors are presented by Media Play News, one of five Hollywood trades and the only one to focus exclusively on the home. The awards have been presented in various forms by Media Play News and its predecessor publications for nearly 20 years.

2021 Home Entertainment Media Play News Winners:

Title of the Year
Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Vol. 1
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

TV on Disc of the Year
Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection 4K Ultra HD
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment/HBO

Blu-ray Disc of the Year
Friday the 13th Collection: Deluxe Edition
Shout! Factory

Fan-Favorite Title of the Year
Knives Out
Lionsgate

PACKAGED MEDIA

Best New Movie on Disc
Knives Out
Lionsgate

Best Catalog Movie on Disc
Jaws: 45th Anniversary Edition
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

Best Recent TV Season on Disc
Watchmen
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment/HBO

Best Disc Release of a Vintage TV Series
Return of Ultraman
Mill Creek Entertainment

Best Boxed Set
Friday the 13th Collection: Deluxe Edition
Shout! Factory

Best Complete Series Set
Mission: Impossible — The Original TV Series
CBS/Paramount Home Entertainment

Best Indie Studio Disc Release
I Spit on Your Grave (1978) Collector’s Edition
Ronin Flix

Best 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc
Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Best Audio/Visual Quality
Knives Out
Lionsgate

 Best Extras/Bonus Material
Tremors: Limited Edition
Arrow Video

Best Disc Upgrade
Ghost in the Shell: 25th Anniversary Edition
Lionsgate

Best Retailer Exclusive
Best Buy’s Rambo: The Complete Steelbook Collection
Lionsgate

Best Packaging
Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Vol. 1
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Best Box Art
Gamera: The Complete Collection
Arrow Video

GENRE

Best Documentary Movie
John Lewis: Good Trouble
Magnolia Home Entertainment

Best Documentary Series
The Last Dance
ESPN/The Walt Disney Company

Best Action/Adventure Release
Midway (2019)
Lionsgate

Best Comedy Release
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: The Complete Series
Mill Creek Entertainment

Best Drama Release
A Confession
BritBox

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Release
Total Recall 30th Anniversary Edition
Lionsgate

Best Horror/Thriller Release
The Invisible Man (2020)
Universal

Best Release of a Western
Yellowstone: Season 3
Paramount Home Entertainment

Best Animation Release
Frozen II
The Walt Disney Co.

Best Kidvid Release
Sesame Street: Monster Hits — Rock & Rhyme With Elmo
Shout! Factory

Best Faith-Based Content Release
I Still Believe
Lionsgate

 Best Music/Performance Home Release
Dolly: The Ultimate Collection
Time Life

Best Musical Home Release
The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!
Nickelodeon/Paramount Home Entertainment

Best Sports Release
The 2020 World Series Film
Shout! Factory

Best War Movie Home Release
The Outpost
Screen Media

Best Historical Drama Home Release
Victoria: The Complete Seasons 1, 2 & 3
PBS Distribution

Best Home Release of a Mystery
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries: Complete Collection
Acorn Media

MIXED MEDIA

Best International Release
Ip Man 4: The Finale
Well Go USA

Best Restoration
Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Ultra HD
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Best Extended Edition/Alternate Cut
Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone
Paramount Home Entertainment

Best Marketing Initiative
Knives Out 35mm Egyptian Theatre World Premiere
Lionsgate

Judges’ Award
The Call
Cinedigm

DIGITAL

Best Digital Sellthrough Release
But I’m a Cheerleader: Director’s Cut
Lionsgate

Best Premium Video on Demand Release
Love and Monsters
Paramount

STREAMING

Best Season of a Scripted Series
The Mandalorian: Season 2
Disney+

Best Nonfiction Movie or Series
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian
Disney+

Best New Streaming Movie
Hamilton
Disney+

Best Stand-Up/Sketch Comedy
Kevin Hart: Zero F**ks Given
Netflix

Best Binge Series
“The Carol Burnett Show”
Shout Factory TV