When will Warner Bros. get going on releasing more titles on 4K Blu-ray?

MGM 4K distribution switch

So, recently, we reported on news that Warner Bros. will no longer be distributing MGM movies, including those from the James Bond franchise, on ultra-high definition Blu-rays, since Amazon MGM has signed a new deal with Alliance Entertainment for the release of their titles. This news comes as Warner Bros. had just put out a Sean Connery James Bond 4K Blu-ray collection, and even though more releases are in the works with the subsequent Bond actors, they are now going to be distributed through Alliance Entertainment. Paramount had also signed a distribution deal with Alliance, so both studios may see an uptick in 4K restorations with a third party at the helm.

Warner Bros. movies in 4K

While Warner Bros. hands off the MGM Blu-ray reins to Alliance, there’s a question of their own library. Of the big studios that have plenty of classic legacy films to capitalize on with new remasterings, Warner Bros. doesn’t seem to be releasing much on the physical media front. Especially since there are plenty of franchises that could benefit from a new 4K Blu-ray set. Last year, the 1987 Richard Donner film Lethal Weapon got to see a cool-looking ultra-high definition release, but there is no word yet on the rest of the series, which has plenty of fans who will clamor to collect along with the first film.

The same thing is happening with the Dirty Harry series. Warner Bros. released a few Clint Eastwood films on 4K, including the first Dirty Harry, along with The Outlaw Josey Wales and Pale Rider. However, the Dirty Harry sequels are immensely popular in the resume of Eastwood, but the WB has not yet announced any plans to release any of them.

Compare those titles to the recent 4K release of the Rocky franchise, which are MGM films distributed by Warner Bros. a couple years ago. WB went all out by releasing all six of the Rocky movies in a UHD set, which includes the new director’s cut of Rocky IV, plus the first time that Rocky V and Rocky Balboa saw a 4K release. There are even two versions of Rocky Balboa included, with one being a director’s cut. Warners is seemingly dedicating more attention to MGM’s library than their own films.

Is Warners moving away from physical media?

As the new merger drama between Warner Bros., Netflix and Paramount marches on, movie fans are concerned with the future of the WB vault. In addition to the future of theatrical releases, another fear that audiences have is the decimation of physical media in favor of streaming. While streaming has its conveniences, we here at JoBlo still champion physical media, and it’s been talked about how, despite purchasing a title online, you’re still at the whim of the server of the streaming platform, and you may still see the removal of what you may have purchased. So, there has been a recent trend of film fans snatching up the best and the latest in physical media. Arrow Video and Kino Lorber are big saviors of many kinds of titles and are impressively able to add new special features with these releases.

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