Last weekend, writer and directorZach Creggercontinued to showcase why he’s one of the best emerging voices in horror withWeapons, a film that has generated considerable buzz leading up to its release and currently holds a stellar 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.Weaponsis Cregger’s second feature film following his 2022 debut,Barbarian, which seemingly came out of nowhere, garnered solid reviews, and pulled in a nice profit for 20th Century Studios.
Weaponsis about to become an even bigger hit thanBarbarian, and while this bodes well for his future endeavors, fans of his first film hope it motivates Disney, which owns 20th Century Studios, to finally grantBarbariana proper physical release.That’s right, since 2022,Barbarianhas only been released digitally and made available on streaming platforms, with no plans for a physical release.
‘Barbarian’ Was an Unexpected Hit
It’s possible that the powers that be weren’t even sure they had something great before theyreleasedBarbarianin theaters. The film made its premiere at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022, where it generated enough buzz from those who saw it there to spark rumors that it was a truly unique horror movie experience. The studio initially planned to open the movie on August 12, but then shifted the release date to August 31 and finally to September 9.
While this usually isn’t a great sign, the fact that Disney maintained a theatrical release due to positive test screenings showed they had some faith in it. When the film finally hit theaters, it became a surprise hit, debuting at the top of the box office with $10 million.By the end of its run, the movie had grossed $40 million domestically and $45.3 million worldwide on a $4.5 million budget. Given the profit generated by the film, in addition to its strong showing on streaming and digital, one would think that a physical release would be worth Disney’s time, but that has not happened.
‘Barbarian’ Is Still Without a Physical Release
One of the main reasonsBarbarianhasn’t received a physical release is that Disney has put much of its focus ondigital and streaming availabilityrather than physical media. Much of this is due to declining physical media sales over the years and Disney’s belief that investing in physical releases for some of their films is not worthwhile. This doesn’t apply to their Marvel output, for instance, as they still put out physical media for their more high-profile films.Still, for a little movie likeBarbarian, they seem to think that there isn’t a big enough demand for it to justify the financial risk on their part.
The financial risk of releasingBarbarianon physical mediaseems relatively minor, since this is a movie that made 10x its production budget and continues to be named as one of the best horror films of the last few years. Horror fans are some of the most loyal out there, and they would likely kill for the chance to own a proper copy of the film and not a digital download they have to save to their computer or via a streaming service.The biggest asset to physical media is that the consumer owns the film forever. If, for whatever reason, a movie is removed from digital or a streaming platform, they no longer have access to the movie. This results in some fans having to access bootleg versions of films, a practice that fans ofBarbarianhave resorted to in order to obtain a physical copy of the movie. If fans are willing to do that, surely they would spend the money on a nice Blu-ray or — wishful thinking — a stellar 4K copy of Cregger’s visually stunning work.
The fan demand forBarbarianon physical media is there. If you head to social media and search for the movie, alongside near universal praise, there is a desire for a proper physical release, or fans are still baffled that Disney hasn’t made moves to put one out there. This has only grown asWeaponscontinues togenerate positive buzz. As horror fans prep for Cregger’s latest film, the interest in the lack of a hard copy ofBarbariangrows.
The hope of horror fans is that the potential success ofWeaponswill motivate Disney to move forward with a physical release forBarbarian. Even though we’re dealing with two different studios, Disney could see the businessWeaponsis doing for Warner Bros. and capitalize on their momentum. All signs point toWeaponsbeing a huge hit following the $70 million opening. If Disney ignores that success, they simply don’t care enough about the film’s fans to invest the time and effort needed to do it, which would be a true travesty. In a recent interview withRinger Movies, Cregger said:
“I have banged the drum, made phone calls, and tried my best to get some sort of physical media. I’m not making headway, and it kind of bums me out.”
If Disney doesn’t move forward with one, there is hope that acompany like Criterion Collection, Arrow Video, or Shout! Factory’s Scream Factory could be the ones to get the ball rolling as they have so many times with films thought to have been forgotten by distributors and the passage of time. However it happens, Cregger’s horror masterpiece deserves a proper place on the shelves of so many horror fans who want it. Here’s to hoping that the wait won’t be much longer andBarbariancan sit alongside some of the best horror titles in your physical collection.Barbarianis streaming onNetflix.Weaponsis in theaters now.
