Disney Announces End of Movie Era, Hands Over Reins to Sony

Disney is officially handing over the reins of its physical media production to Sony.

According to The Digital Bits, Disney and Sony have officially agreed that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will take over the production of its physical media. Sony will lead the “authoring and compression of discs.”

Related: Disney Ditching Streaming For New Marvel and ‘Star Wars’ Releases

This follows a turbulent few years for The Walt Disney Company’s physical media operations, with its numbers cut in both late 2019 and early 2020 and home streaming very much the priority since the launch of Disney+. The studio has a notoriously large vault of films across Disney, 20th Century, Hollywood Pictures, and Touchstone that have not yet been released on Blu-ray or in remastered 4K.

Thanks to this new deal with Sony, Disney is officially shuttering the Disney Movie Club. Members received notice today (February 20) via an email that read: “After 23 magical years, it’s time to say goodbye. We have made the difficult decision to close the Disney Movie Club. We will miss the opportunity to serve cherished Disney fans like you!”

It also added that “in the months to come, we’ll be piling on the perks to celebrate you, our loyal Member. Look for amazing offers to help you finish building your collection with movies you love — for memories that are yours to cherish forever.”

Disney Movie Club was a membership program in which Disney fans could purchase physical copies of their favorite Disney movies and access both discounts and exclusive merchandise. The notice cites May 20, 2024, as the last day for DMC members to place their orders. Accounts will then close on July 20, with September 20 the official last day to return any outstanding titles.

Related: Disney Will No Longer Be Selling Physical Marvel DVDs

The service recently closed in Canada in October 2023. “After sixteen Canadian households for 16 years, we’ve made the difficult decision to close Disney Movie Club in Canada effective October 15th, 2023, as consumer behavior and viewing preferences continue to evolve,” Disney told Canadian members at the time.

Inside the Magic reached out to Disney for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication. We’ll continue to update this story as we receive more information.

Did you ever use Disney Movie Club? Let us know in the comments!