We just report. And what we are reporting is that the highest grossing film in Warner Bros. history (unadjusted for inflation) is going direct-to-digital on Sept. 12.
This would be writer/director Greta Gerwig’s summer box office sensation, Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
Warner Bros. Discovery Content Sales (aka: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment) just announced a digital-only release of Barbie on Sept. 12 with no mention, at this time, of DVD, Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD editions.
Consumers (along with “helpers”/”void-fillers”) — in a classic “red tie vs blue tie” buying scenario — can own a digital download copy for $29.99, or rent a digital copy for 48 hours for $24.99 (hint: consumers who want Barbie now will opt for the “red tie” and pay the additional five dollars to own a copy … because it is only five dollars more).
This appears to be the new normal going forward. Disney did the same thing with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny with an Aug. 29 digital-only release and has yet to follow-up with physical media release news.
While selling the equivalent of the “paperback” edition
before the “hard cover” might inject immediate cash-flow into Warner’s coffers,
the policy also provides a pristine master of the film for “helpers” to fill
the physical media void with Blu-ray and/or DVD editions of the film to
consumers who do not discriminate between legitimate copies and copies of the
film from “other” sources.
One must assume that this is a conscious business decision on the part of the studio to provide masters of the film to “helper” sources and write off any piracy that follows as just a cost of doing business (a flea biting at an elephant’s ankle … of little or no concern).
For the record, bonus features included with the “Premium Digital Ownership” digital purchasing option include a half-dozen featurettes — “Welcome to Barbie Land,” “Becoming Barbie,” “Playing Dress-Up,” “Musical Make Believe,” “All-Star Barbie Party” and “It’s a Weird World.”
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