Redbox’s space-age trunk-o-DVDs holds titles of new releases both prestigious and obscure: from your latest Oscar winner, to Zombeavers.
Unfortunately, the movies always hit the box a week after their home-video release.
But not anymore. TechCrunch reports that the DVD and Blu-ray kiosk operator announced a deal with Warner Bros. that will let it offer new releases on the same day as physical stores.
‘All outdated retail operations should be created equal’
To the digital-savvy, Blu-ray is akin to the LaserDisc: Many have heard of them, fewer have actually seen one in person.
But that’s actually not true. In fact, nearly ⅓ of Americans still rent discs in addition to services like Netflix (AKA, everyone’s parents).
It’s not just a little popular — Redbox now operates almost 42k kiosks in the US, more locations than Starbucks (about 13k) and McDonald’s (about 14k) combined.
And studios see the potential
According to Variety, with Warner joining the team, Redbox now has same-day deals with almost all of the major studios, including Sony Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Lionsgate (20th Century Fox).
Now, all they have left is Disney, who has not distributed with Redbox since 2012, amid an ongoing legal battle.