Did the DVD business take a final bow in 2024?

According to the Digital Entertainment Group’s year end report, physical disc sales in the U.S. dropped to $959.6 million. This is down 23% from 2023’s $1.3 billion and a whopping 94% slide from the glory days of $16.6 billion in 2006.

Streaming’s the king now, with SVOD raking in $52 billion last year, while physical media’s just 1.6% of the $57 billion home entertainment pie. The decline’s been a slow bleed since Netflix went streaming in 2007 but 2024 was the nail in the coffin. Best Buy bailed on discs, Target scaled back and the Redbox kiosks got liquidated. Even Netflix ditched its rental roots.

Still, there’s a flicker of life. Blu-ray and 4K UHD sales are holding steady or creeping up for collectors. We’re talking steelbook editions and boutique labels like Criterion.

It’s not a comeback but more like a vinyl style niche for the die hards. The future? Probably more of that, as streaming gets pricier and less reliable. There are more titles vanishing and the ads creeping in. Physical media might just hang on as a rebellion against the digital churn.

STORY IS HERE