Deadpool On Arrives On May 10 Headed By A Day/Date 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack Edition

Is it the chicken or the egg that arrived first?   It’s an age-old question.   

Did Ryan Reynolds, the star of Marvel Entertainment’s Deadpool, leak the release date of May 10 before 20^th Century-Fox Home Entertainment had all of the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed on an official announcement … or was he simply parroting the news that amazon.com was already taking orders?

He posted a picture of himself — in full costume — with a laserdisc edition in one hand and a VHS copy in the other.   The humor was spot-on for the character.  

This little stunt (the selfie with defunct product format mockups) puts the ball in Reynolds court as the news breaker, so do the PR and marketing people over at Fox call Reynolds out on picking May 10 as the release date?   I think not.   So May 10 it will be, there just hasn’t been an official announcement with details as to bonus features … and there will be plenty.

It’s enough to drive one crazy these days.   The very competitive online retail community is always jumping out early with street dates for DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo Packs, and, in the case of Deadpool, a day/date buying option for the newly launched 4K Ultra HD format (being released as a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack).   

We suspect that VOD triggers — based on box office math — are lighting up future home entertainment windows before the studios are ready with the actual release news.   It is all moving way too fast and stunts like Reynolds, as clever as it is, only makes it more chaotic.

In any case, the ARR for Deadpool is a quick-to-market turn of just 88 days.   It becomes the largest grossing film thus far to make the transition from local multiplex venues to the home entertainment market place in that timeframe.  

The industry average — the rolling average covering the past 12 months — currently stands at 112.9 days for all films with a domestic box office tally of at least $25 million (there are roughly 100 of those released annually).   So Deadpool has shaved over three weeks off what would have been the expected release window for a film of this magnitude.  Fox is likely trying to get it into the home entertainment arena before the big summer films — the new shiny objects — distract their target audience.

Ticket sales were in the blockbuster range at $355.1 million (can you say “film franchise” — next installment is likely next year).

If ever there were a perfect match been an X-Men character, Deadpool (aka: Wade Wilson), and the actor who portrays him, in this case, Ryan Reynolds, this is it.   His irreverent and often sarcastic tone seen so often in his romantic comedies are spot-on for the anti-hero persona of Deadpool.   

And, this is one of those rare entries in a mega-dollar film franchise series where liberties can be taken — R-rated, violence, adult humor, etc. — without jeopardizing the core series.  Yes, it is an X-Men film series entry (what are we up to, like eight now), but it can easily stand on its own going forward.

Sometime next week we will get an official press announcement from 20^th Century-Fox Home Entertainment … until then, bonus features will remain a mystery.