CODA finally gets a physical media release; are other Apple titles next?

Nearly five years ago, CODA debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, going on to be picked up by Apple for distribution. Then it hit Apple TV+ later that summer, building its buzz into an eventual Best Picture win. But despite that success, CODA never received a home video release, sticking to Apple’s apparent philosophy of, How about you just subscribe and you can watch it here and only here? But now, it’s being reported that CODA will hit Blu-ray and 4K on November 4th. So with CODA Blu-rays on the horizon, where does that leave Apple’s other major titles, like Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Ridley Scott’s Napoleon?

Whether or not you were on CODA’s bandwagon during the Oscar race, it absolutely deserves to have a home video release. Added to this the fact that it stands as the only Best Picture winner in the Academy’s history and it’s simply absurd. Unfortunately, Apple has been completely stingy with their Blu-rays , whether the movie has prestige or not. Sure, Napoleon wasn’t the all-time epic classic we had hoped it would be, but what could possibly justify it lacking a 4K Blu-ray? And what about Wolfs, Apple TV+’s most-watched movie ever?

And then there is the case of Killers of the Flower Moon, with no word on a Blu-ray from Apple or any other distributor. Even the pre-orders that had been placed were pulled, showing just how little investment they had in regards to a physical release. There were rumors a while back that maybe Killers of the Flower Moon could be headed to Criterion but nothing substantial has come of that, likely because, again, Apple wants you seeing it on their streamer.

In a time when we should all be championing the life and longevity of physical media, it’s a damn shame that certain companies (in this case, Apple) aren’t encouraging the release of Blu-rays, instead serving to bury the format. But if we were to be optimistic here, maybe Apple is using CODA as a bellwether for how their titles will sell on home video. Personally, I would have thought Killers of the Flower Moon would have been the better choice considering fans of it would be lining up for a Blu-ray and CODA may end up being one of the most forgettable Best Picture winners ever (no dig, but being an uplifting title straight out of Covid greatly helped the odds). Either way, we’ll hold out hope and assume this is all a good sign.

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