Where to Buy Physical Media in 2025?
Without Best Buy and Target, where can you buy movies?
Physical media is still available to purchase, you just have to know where to look. It isn’t really available in a ton of stores, as Walmart and Barnes & Noble are among the last big-box stores where you can purchase them. But there is still a desire for people to own their media. There have been plenty of articles written about why it might be a good idea to own the movies you love, whether that is subscription fatigue or simply the title being removed from streaming. But with fewer options to walk up and buy a movie, where exactly can you purchase one nowadays?
As someone who still collects physical media and, by extension, writes about physical media, I thought it would be a great idea to share the places I purchase from. Some of these are smaller independent shops that could use the business, while there are others that will be more familiar names. Any shop that I’ve listed below, I’ve done business with. The shops featured in the bullets are just other shops I’ve heard do reputable and good business. I ultimately hope that this article helps so that the next time I recommend a new 4K release, there are a few options to purchase the title from.
Independent Options
OrbitDVD
OrbitDVD is a video store that has been open for more than 20 years in Asheville, North Carolina. They sell a wide range of items, including 4K discs, imported movies, video games, unusual books, and more. They have free media mail shipping if you order three or more eligible items.
Review: I’ve ordered a few items from OrbitDVD this year, and I’ve been very satisfied. Back in April, I received the Steelbook Tombstone 4K release that was sold out just about everywhere, and it came in perfect condition. I also use them to order my import 4K releases. 4K discs are NOT region locked, so they can play on any compatible player. I currently have the Dollars Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) pre-ordered through them.
DiabolikDVD
DiabolikDVD is operated out of New Jersey by Jesse Nelson and Joe Gervasi. Their store specializes in horror/cult/exploitation releases, but they also have titles from Criterion and Kino, as well as international releases.
Review: Another website I’ve done some business with. I’ve been buying titles from Jesse since 2022, and I’ve always been happy with the resulting purchase. One of my favorite purchases was a huge box set of Shaw Brothers films from Arrow known as Shawscope Volume One. Through DiabolikDVD, I was able to purchase a slightly damaged box for almost half price. And when I say slightly, I mean minuscule.
Atomic Movie Store
Atomic Movie Store is operated by Kyle Findley out of Lawrence, Kansas. It’s completely operated out of his home— he orders the stock, updates the website, and packs the orders.
Review: I haven’t ordered too much from the Atomic Movie Store yet, but I did purchase the new import of The Fall from Umbrella Entertainment through their store when no one else had availability of the title. That was a big win as the Umbrella Entertainment release is the first time The Fall has been available on 4K. I’m certainly interested in doing business with Atomic Movie Store again.
Bull Moose
Bull Moose has been open for over 30 years and specializes in Music, Movies & TV, Books, and more. All of their locations are in Maine and New Hampshire, and since 2022, it has been owned by an ESOP committee. If you’d like to read more about that change in ownership, this article has some great details about it.
Reviews: I did more of my purchasing with Bull Moose before the pandemic, but with the company being employee-owned and local for Northeast residents, I consider it a fine place to do business. They have competitive pricing and a frequent buyer program to keep customers returning to the site. I still consider it one of my favorite places to buy Vinyl records from.
Other shops include:
DeepDiscount
Zavvi
Direct
Criterion Collection
From the Criterion website, “Since 1984, the Criterion Collection has been dedicated to publishing important classic and contemporary films from around the world in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements. No matter the medium—from laserdisc to DVD, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD to streaming—Criterion has maintained its pioneering commitment to presenting each film as its maker would want it seen, in state-of-the-art restorations with special features designed to encourage repeated watching and deepen the viewer’s appreciation of the art of film.”
Reviews: The best place to buy releases from the Criterion Collection is directly from them. While many of their releases are priced at MSRP, they offer frequent sales throughout the year, like 30% off pre-orders. Also, twice a year, they have Flash 24-hour sales that mark all in-stock titles at 50% off. There’s plenty of other merchandise you can buy there, like shirts, towels, and tiny cars.
Vinegar Syndrome
From Vinegar Syndrome: “Vinegar Syndrome is a film restoration and distribution company with a catalogue of hundreds of feature films, produced primarily between the 1960s and 1980s.” It was founded by Ryan Emerson and Joe Rubin and specializes in genre films. Some of their most notable titles include Tammy & the T-Rex, Demon Wind, Spookies, Night Train to Terror, and more.
Review: The titles at Vinegar Syndrome are outside the typical Hollywood fare. It’s only within the last two or three years that they’ve licensed with bigger name recognition like Road House, Showgirls, Dirty Work, and The Keep. They have two massive sales every year, known as “The Halfway to Black Friday” and “Black Friday” sales. It’s an opportunity to get a steep discount on some older titles and purchase some exclusives. They cater to collectors with exclusive slip covers and art for their various releases. While the releases they sell won’t be for everyone, there are plenty of interesting titles in the library.
Arrow Video
From Wikipedia: “Arrow Films is a British independent film distributor and restorer specialising in world cinema, arthouse, horror and classic films. As Arrow Video, it sells Ultra HD Blu-rays, Blu-rays, and DVDs online.”
Review: Arrow Video started selling in the North American market in 2015 and has some fantastic titles like Robocop, Tremors, Demolition Man, Dark City, and more. They normally do a Limited Edition in the first run of a new title with lots of extras and follow it up with a standard release that’s slightly more affordable. They have sales throughout the year on the website.
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory has been in business since 2002 and was founded by Richard Foos, Bob Emmer, and Garson Foos. Their headquarters are in Los Angeles, California. Their releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy specials. They also release films under their sublabels Scream Factory, Shout! Select, and Shout! Kids.
Review: Shout! Factory often has sales on their titles, including a Buy Two Get One Free sale right now. Some of their current best sellers include titles like Halloween, Prince of Darkness, Clue, WarGames, and Blaxploitation Classics. They also distribute a lot of titles from GKIDS, which holds the home video license for a lot of Studio Ghibli titles. Normally, if you pre-order titles from Shout! they’ll throw in exclusive posters or slipcovers.
Other shops include:
A24
Kino
Severin
88 Films
Synapse
Second Sight
Oscilloscope
Gruv (Universal Studios)
Lionsgate Limited
Big Box Stores
Crunchyroll Store
Sony-owned Crunchyroll purchased anime superstore RightStuf a few years ago and instantly became one of the biggest providers of anime in North America. The store features DVDs and Blu-rays of anime, collectables, clothing, Manga, and a lot more.
Review: I’ve only made two orders with Crunchyroll since they bought RightStuf, but I’ve been pleased with my purchases. The discounts aren’t as great as they once were through RightStuf, but the shipping and packaging of the titles were fine. There aren’t a lot of great places to purchase anime on home video anymore, but this is probably near the top. They also have a lot of exclusive releases that you can’t get anywhere else.
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble should be familiar to everyone. It’s a book shop that’s kind of turned into an everything shop. While books remain what they’re known for, they do have some decent sales, including July and November Criterion sales, Arrow Video sales, and Kino sales. They’ve also started carrying the exclusive A24 releases that have been coming out in the last few years.
Review: Most of the time, Barnes & Noble is pretty expensive, but those periods when they have sales almost make up for it. They are also one of the few stores that still sell physical media in a brick-and-mortar store. I wouldn’t normally recommend them, but if they have something you’re looking for immediately, they might be your best choice that day.
Amazon
Amazon still has one of the most robust catalogs of movies available. Anything that is released in Region 1/A will likely be sold on the online store. Some of the titles are limited, and Amazon is going to be the first place people look. That means the title you want might already be sold out.
Review: Amazon really doesn’t need your business, but if you are a Prime member, it is tough to beat that two-day shipping. They are competitive with sale pricing at a lot of these other retailers and have the most recognizable name by far. That being said, they don’t care how your package gets to you. If you want your steelbook release to be pristine when it gets to your home, that might be more than enough reason to shop elsewhere.