It’s been three years since “Barbarian” hit theaters, and officially launched Zach Cregger’s filmmaking career. Yet, to the dismay of physical media collectors and horror fans alike, “Barbarian” still hasn’t received a physical media release.
In a new interview with The Big Picture, Cregger is finally tackling this topic, and admits he’s been relentlessly pushing 20th Century Studios for a physical release but has so far hit a brick wall.
“I have banged the drum, made phone calls, and tried my best to get some sort of physical media. I'm not making headway, and it kind of bums me out”
Despite the film’s success and its growing cult following, plus the recent box-office triumph of Cregger’s follow-up “Weapons,” which debuted to $70M globally — there’s still no word on a Blu-ray release.
There has been a disturbing trend when it comes to Disney and their push to make physical media go obsolete. As you know, a few years ago, Disney purchased Fox. They own the distribution arm as well now. This means they also own 20th Century Fox, which they’ve plainly renamed as 20th Century.
Disney has been steadily phasing out physical media for several years now, but “Barbarian” is arguably one of the more pronounced omissions. It’s clear that Disney is focused on two main goals: encouraging audiences to shift to digital formats and driving subscription growth for Disney Plus.
So, unless Criterion comes to save the day, it’s highly doubtful Cregger will get his wish for a physical media release of his breakout hit.