Fans Begin Hoarding DVDs and Blu-ray Discs As Disney Stops Selling Them

The Walt Disney Company has made a lot of changes since former Disney CEO Bob Chapek left to be replaced by current Disney CEO Bob Iger (who had previously held the position before Chapek).

These changes have ranged from dramatic layoffs to significant inclusivity-focused efforts within the Disney Parks — but now Disney is making a big change abroad that has several Disney movie lovers spooked!

Disney has officially stopped making new DVDs or Blu-ray discs for Australia. According to 7News.com.au, “previously released titles are expected to be available while local retailers sell down their existing stock. Once sold out, Australian Disney fans keen to get their hands on a DVD will have to turn to international online retailers.”

One Last Marvelous Chance

Apparently, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is the last brand-new DVD that Australians will be able to buy. That movie will be available in August.

“The End of An Era”

Social media users are already spreading the word and hoarding what they can in DVD and Blu-ray format — which will feel familiar to older Disney movie enthusiasts who have already developed their own impressive VHS collections!

The mourners are predicting that this business decision on the part of the Walt Disney Company is going to spread on an international scale, meaning that DVDs and Blu-Rays are going to go the way of Splash Mountain soon.

One distraught movie enthusiast called the business decision “the end of an era.” “A domino effect with other companies will begin, then likely to happen all over the world,” the Disney fan predicted.

Multiple people agreed with this prediction, calling Disney’s decision to cease all Australian physical media production a  “sad indication as to what’s to come around the world.”

“Hang onto that Rocketeer Blu-ray, kids,” one person suggested sadly.

Why Australia?

Dave Lee, the pop culture expert from the Dave Lee Down Under channel on YouTube, shed some additional light on Disney’s decision. “I’ll be very candid about home media in Australia. It’s doing terribly,” Lee explained.

“Almost no one I know in real life buys physical, the physical ‘collectors’ online are a very, very small bubble. It’s been dire straits out here for a while,” he added.

“This has been a long time coming,” Lee asserted — but he did add that that fact still “doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck.”

Lee also emphasized that this farewell to Disney DVDs or Blu-ray discs (and the other film studios included under Disney’s umbrella, such as Marvel Studios) extends to New Zealand, too.

While this business practice’s spread outside of Australia might seem likely in the eyes of some Disney fans, it is important to note that Australia was a country with particularly low home video success rates and that Disney has not actually announced a formal end to DVD production overall.

Is Disney+ to Blame?

However, it also seems likely that modern audiences’ focus on streaming services like Disney+ and Hulu was a factor.

Plenty of classic Disney movies or Disney shows can be found on Disney+, after all — but there are certainly some niche cult classics that have recently left the streaming platform, and it is most likely underappreciated shows or films like those that Disney fans are eager to preserve!

Are you going to start hoarding your precious Disney DVDs and Blu-ray discs, even if you don’t live in Australia or New Zealand?