Merchandising Archives - Media Play News

Merchandising: Walmart Taking ‘John Wick 4’ Preorders

Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4 just opened in theaters March 24, and Walmart is already taking preorders for two home video versions of the Keanu Reeves action sequel.

One is a Steelbook with removable slipcover for the Blu-ray/DVD/digital combo pack for $24.96.

The other is a gift set for the 4K Ultra HD combo pack for $39.96. The set includes the movie on both 4K and regular Blu-ray, a digital copy code, a specialty marquee pin, double-sided collector cards, a custom map of Paris, a hotel key card, a Comic-Con poster, and a themed folder from the Osaka Continental Hotel. The outer slipcase uses the same artwork as the Blu-ray Steelbook.

Walmart’s 4K gift set for ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’

For the week of March 28, there wasn’t much in the way of exclusives for the weeks’ new releases. Target ran a sale for 20% off Easter titles, while Best Buy offered 40% off select titles.

Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter!

Merchandising: Best Buy Releases ‘Rocky III’ Steelbook

A modest slate of new releases March 14 didn’t yield much in the way of retailer exclusives.

Best Buy released its Rocky III 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook combo pack for $29.99, the standalone 4K version of the sequel that was otherwise released on Ultra HD disc only as part of a four-film “Rocky” set by MGM and Warner on Feb. 28.

Rocky III, from 1982, is the film in which newly crowned boxing champ Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) defends his title against Clubber Lang, played by Mr. T. It also features the classic Oscar-nominated pump-up song “Eye of the Tiger.”

This is the third of four consecutive weeks of Best Buy releasing the first four “Rocky” films in 4K Steelbooks. Rocky IV arrives next week.

Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter!

Merchandising: Walmart Offers ‘John Wick’ Trilogy With Playing Cards

The week of March 7 wasn’t a big one for new DVD and Blu-ray releases, though there were a few exclusives of note.

Walmart is offering a boxed set of the first three “John Wick” films packed with a deck of branded playing cards that notes they are similar to cards that appear in the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4, which is due in theaters March 24.

The trilogy sets from Lionsgate are available on DVD for $19.96, a Blu-ray/DVD/Digital combo pack also for $29.96, or a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with digital copy set for $39.96. The sets include a coupon for an $8 discount on the cost of a Chapter 4 movie ticket when purchased via AtomTickets.com.

The playing cards are a set of Theory 11’s readily available Artisan Guild Black Edition cards, wrapped in a “John Wick” branded cover.

Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter!

Target has its own exclusive “John Wick” Blu-ray combo packs in the form of individual releases of each chapter for $9.99 each with box art centered on the dogs from each film: Daisy the beagle from John Wick, Dog the pitbull from John Wick: Chapter 2, and Sophia’s two Belgian Mallinois from John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum. The “John Wick” exclusives were released Feb. 28, at the same time as the previously reported Best Buy Steelbook trilogy stash box, but the stores have been wildly inconsistent about putting them on shelves on time, if at all.

Target is also offering 20% off movies and books to shoppers using the Target Circle app.

Best Buy released its Rocky II 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook combo pack for $29.99, the standalone 4K version of the sequel that was otherwise released on Ultra HD disc only as part of a four-film “Rocky” set by MGM and Warner on Feb. 28.

Merchandising: ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ Blu-ray Exclusives Available

Two of the big national home entertainment retailers offered exclusive editions for Universal Pictures’ Puss in Boots: The Last Wish packaged-media release Feb. 28.

Both involved the Blu-ray/DVD/Digital combo pack of the film.

Target’s ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ Blu-ray with gallery book

Target had the Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Blu-ray packed with a 40-page filmmaker gallery book for $26.99.

Walmart offered the Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Blu-ray combo pack as a gift set with Puss and Perro squeeze toys for $29.96.

Best Buy didn’t have a Puss in Boots exclusive, but did have exclusive editions of several catalog movies on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in Steelbook packaging.

A 4K Steelbook of 1976’s Rocky from MGM and Warner was offered at $29.99.

The 4K Steelbook for Warner’s Training Day was offered at $32.99.

And a Steelbook collection of the first three “John Wick” movies on 4K disc was offered at $79.99.

Best Buy’s ‘John Wick 1-3 Stash Book Collection’ 4K Steelbook

Target had another exclusive promotion in the form of a $10 gift card for shoppers who purchased both the Blu-ray of Sony Pictures’ Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody for $24.99, and Target’s exclusive sky blue vinyl LP of Houston’s 1987 sophomore album Whitney for $27.99.

Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter!

Merchandising: Best Buy Taking ‘Rocky’ 4K Steelbook Preorders

Retailers didn’t do much to promote the light slate of new releases Feb. 21. Of the big three national chains that sell home entertainment, only Best Buy it seems even bothered to stock any of the new titles on shelves.

More prominent on Best Buy’s website was a promotion for recent and catalog animated movies.

Best Buy also continues to take preorders for many of its upcoming exclusive Steelbook editions, with the most prominent being individual 4K Ultra HD combo packs for the first four “Rocky” films at $29.99 each. The discs are otherwise being widely released as a four-film boxed set Feb. 28, which includes just the 4K disc for each film and a digital copy code. Best Buy’s individual Steelbook editions include both a 4K disc and a regular Blu-ray of each film, plus the digital code.

The other big difference with the boxed set is that Best Buy’s versions won’t be available at the same time, with the original Rocky out Feb. 28, Rocky II on March 7, Rocky III March 14, and Rocky IV March 21.

Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter!

Target also didn’t do much for the week’s new releases, instead offering a promotion of 20% off movies.

Merchandising: ‘Strange World’ Exclusives Go 4K

Feb. 14 saw the release of Disney’s Strange World on Blu-ray Disc and DVD, while its 4K version was seemingly relegated to a retail exclusive.

The animated film follows a squabbling family of adventurers who journey to a far-off land in order to locate more sources of a plant that is their society’s key energy source.

Best Buy offers a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray combo pack in exclusive Steelbook packaging for $39.99.

Meanwhile, the standard-edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray combo pack is apparently a Disney Movie Club exclusive, although it isn’t marked as such at the club’s website, where it is priced at $29.95 for members with $3.95 for shipping (though the price drops depending on how many other titles are ordered at the same time).

At Target, which didn’t offer an exclusive for Strange World, the film’s DVD and Blu-ray were listed as available online only.

Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter!

Merchandising: ‘Wakanda Forever’ Exclusives Arrive

Feb. 7 saw the release of Disney-owned Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Blu-ray, DVD and 4K Ultra HD disc, and there were a few retailer exclusive editions from which fans could choose.

Best Buy had two of them, both exclusive Steelbook editions of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray combo pack with separate box art from artist Dorothea Taylor, one featuring Wakanda warriors and the other, the underwater world of Talokan. Best Buy’s in-store display implored shoppers to “Collect Them Both!” — an easy enough suggestion for the retailer to make at $38.99 apiece.

Best Buy’s ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ 4K Steelbooks

Walmart offered an exclusive 4K Ultra HD edition with custom artwork and a limited-edition Black Panther enamel pin for $34.96.

Walmart’s ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ 4K Blu-ray with enamel pin

Target didn’t have an exclusive for the Wakanda Forever Blu-ray, but did offer an exclusive version of the film’s soundtrack on vinyl for $38.99, as well as 30% off select “Black Panther” toys.

In addition, Target ran a buy-one-get-one-50% off promotion on qualifying movies, books, video games, puzzles, board games and activity kits.

Best Buy had another exclusive during the week in the form of a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook combo pack for Disney’s Encanto, with artwork marking the Walt Disney studio’s 100th anniversary, for $29.99.

Best Buy’s ‘Encanto’ 4K Disney 100 Steelbook

Walmart had its own Disney 100-year exclusives, offering the new Mickey & Minnie: 10 Classic Shorts Vol. 1 Blu-ray, as well as catalog titles such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Moana, Frozen and Toy Story on Blu-ray packed with a collectible pin for $19.96 each.

Merchandising: Best Buy Opens Black History Month Portal

The week of Jan. 31 was another one offering a minimal slate of new Blu-ray and DVD releases of interest to retailers. Instead, Best Buy touted a section on its website to mark the beginning of Black History Month Feb. 1 with links to Blu-rays, DVDs and music under the tagline “Celebrating Black Heroes.”

Among the listed movies are MGM and Universal’s Till and Respect, Universal’s Harriet and Loving, Warner’s Purple Rain and Judas and the Black Messiah, Sony Pictures’ The Woman King, Paramount’s Selma, Criterion’s One Night in Miami …, and 20th Century Fox’s Summer of Soul.

Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter!

Merchandising: Best Buy Taking Preorders for ‘Strange World’ Steelbook

There wasn’t much of note among the Jan. 24 DVD and Blu-ray Disc slate to impact retail new-release displays.

Shelves at quite a few Southern California Targets and Walmarts continued to look neglected. Even when the displays had shelf tags for the week’s new releases, it was a fair question as to whether those slots being empty was less due to the store selling out its inventory and more a factor of the understaffed clerks not bringing the discs out to the floor to begin with.

The week’s biggest new title, Universal’s Violent Night, was even listed as available online only by Target’s website.

Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter!

Meanwhile, Best Buy continues to take preorders for upcoming Steelbook exclusives. The latest touted by the chain’s website was Disney’s Strange World, arriving Feb. 14. Best Buy’s 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray combo pack in exclusive Steelbook packaging is listed at $39.99.

The animated film follows a squabbling family of adventurers who journey to a far-off land in order to locate more sources of a plant that is their society’s key energy source.

Merchandising: Best Buy Taking Preorders for ‘Belly,’ ‘Warm Bodies’ Steelbooks

Jan. 11 yielded very few new DVD or Blu-ray releases of interest to retailers, judging by the number of new-release displays let unchanged or in disarray from the week before.

Best Buy does have a couple of exclusive 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook combo packs on the horizon for which it is taking preorders on its website. Both are catalog titles from Lionsgate.

Due Jan. 24 is 1998’s Belly, listed at $24.99. The film is about two New York drug dealers (Nas, DMX) looking to make it big in Omaha. The film is also getting a standard 4K release for its 25th anniversary.

Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter!

Arriving Feb. 7 is 2013’s Warm Bodies for $22.99, marking its 10th anniversary. The film, which stars Nicholas Hoult as a zombie who falls in love with the daughter (Teresa Palmer) of the military leader tasked with wiping out the undead, was previously released on 4K in 2017.