There is a huge problem brewing with Zavvi’s steelbook range in the UK.
When Zavvi initially launched them in 2014, there was much excitement from the steelbook community and Disney fans alike. Marrying two strong groups of collectors together was a financial goldmine for Zavvi and Disney. At £20 a pop and with each item having a limited run of around 4000, the revenue on the entire collection was considerable. £80,000 per release, over fifty releases… That’s potentially over £4m of revenue by the time the series was over.
Out rolled the big hitters. Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King from their 1990s renaissance period. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella from their classic princesses era. New releases for Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Wreck It Ralph sold out quickly as pre-orders.
They’d suckered everyone in and could hope for a continued interest as more were released. Or could they?
Suddenly they were into the realms of the unknown. Sure, Tangled will sell well, but what about the less popular releases? The Sword in the Stone? Brother Bear? What about Oliver & Co or Saludos Amigos?
They started on this path, but clearly something in the numbers gave them cold feet and by the time Treasure Planet was launched in February 2016, they decided no further vault releases would see the light of day. Instead, all that has been issued since then is the new release item Zootopia and a pre-order for Moana, due for release in April 2017.
To make matters worse, Zavvi have now taken to reissuing all the Disney films already available as standard steelbooks, but this time as lenticular steelbooks, which indicates that they aren’t planning any further standard versions. For those collecting the set and with 35 Disney steelbooks in their possession, that’s something of a kick in the teeth.
WHAT’S LEFT TO RELEASE?
The following Disney vault films are yet to see the light of day as steelbooks, though some aren’t even available as Blu-rays yet.
Saludos Amigos
Disney Classic #6
Originally released on August 24, 1942
Not currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
The Three Caballeros
Disney Classic #7
Originally released on December 21, 1944
Not currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
Make Mine Music
Disney Classic #8
Originally released on April 20, 1946
Not currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
Fun and Fancy Free
Disney Classic #9
Originally released on September 27, 1947
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
Melody Time
Disney Classic #10
Originally released on May 27, 1948
Not currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Disney Classic #11
Originally released on October 5, 1949
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Disney Classic #22
Originally released on March 11, 1977
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
The Black Cauldron
Disney Classic #25
Originally released on July 24, 1985
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
The Great Mouse Detective
Disney Classic #26
Originally release on July 2, 1986
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
Oliver & Company
Disney Classic #27
Originally released on November 18, 1988
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
The Rescuers Down Under
Disney Classic #29
Originally released on November 16, 1990
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
Dinosaur
Disney Classic #38
Originally relased on May 19, 2000
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Disney Classic #41
June 15, 2001
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
Lilo & Stitch
Disney Classic #42
Originally relased on June 21, 2002
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
Home on the Range
Disney Classic #45
Originally relased on April 2, 2004
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
Chicken Little
Disney Classic #46
Originally relased on November 4, 2005
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
Meet the Robinsons
Disney Classic #47
Originally relased on March 30, 2007
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
Bolt
Disney Classic #48
Originally relased on November 28, 2008
Currently available on Blu-ray in the UK
Winnie the Pooh
Disney Classic #51
Originally released on July 15, 2011
Not currently available on Blu-ray in the UK, but is available in the US
IS THERE A SOLUTION?
Well, without the numbers to help guide us, it’s difficult to speculate on making a business decision that should be focused on a financial gain. No business runs for long on a loss, so we can’t expect them to issue something that loses money.
However, there should be a compromise. Those invested in the majority of the items so far are more than likely to want to complete their collection, so they’d need to estimate how many people make up that pot.
There are groups of films there that can be treated slightly differently. Classics #6-#11 (Saludos Amigos, The Three Cabaleros, Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, Melody Time and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad) are obviously niche items, but someone interested in one of them would surely want to pick all of them up. One solution on that front is to group them all together as one or two boxsets, which helps people complete the series whilst reducing their risk on people buying just one or two of them and leaving the rest. Indeed, the total running time of the six films is around 6.5 hours, so they could be done over two discs.
Some of them are popular enough for a standalone release. Bolt, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Oliver & Co. and The Rescuers would fall into that category. Limiting the releases to 1,000 copies and making that explicit on the item description would tempt in some sales to collectors – anything extremely limited with a Disney logo on it is bound to ignite interest.
It doesn’t help matters when the faithful shoppers are getting bombarded with pre-order emails for steelbooks of the likes of Street Fighter, Flight of the Navigator and Short Circuit.
Perhaps the best solution is to launch the remainder as a subscription service, with one released every month over a two-year period. This could be modelled on their ZBOX series, and they could throw in other items to sweeten the deal. It may not be perfect but how else will they ensure people stick around for the release of Dinosaur?
Cinema, etc. 
Fyi Dinosaur isnt a classic in the UK (its substitute is the god awful Wild)
Ah yes. There’s always that confusion and I’m always making that mistake. Both are way below the usual standards. I’ll make the correction and credit you. Thanks for pointing it out.
I always find it strange people see zavvi as the bad guys in the release of steelbooks. Dont disney decide on the final artworks and total print runs? This is why alot of steelbooks get pulled due to artwork not being approved. If disney dont allow zavvi the chance to release the other titles maybe due to ownership rights or other legal reasons thats not there fault. On re releases there a good thing, new collectors are now given the option of paying rrp rather than the ‘scalping’ ebay prices and zavvi are just looking at that market as disney will allow them to. The only people i find who get agravated by this are either a) people who dont realise the effort that goes into the legal side of getting a steelbook green lit or b) those that are looking to cash in one day.
But thats just my opinion and i am happy to fill the gaps i have in the disney area of my collection
You make several great points. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the collection and that’s why I have 35+ of them. It’s just really frustrating to have yet another incomplete collection of Disney home media releases and I wanted to make sure Zavvi and Disney realise we are still eagerly waiting for the next release!!
I wish I had discovered Zavvi sooner. I was able to catch the last few releases but missed the classic I would have wanted from my childhood. I would purchase if they released a full set of steelbooks with all the theatrically released titles. I would have some duplicates and I am sure a big price tag but it would be worth it to have the set. I am sure it bothers original collectors but I was happy with the lenticular covers so I could get some titles. I hope they continue and continue allowing shipping to the US.
They have been fantastic releases and it’s a shame they’ve dried up again. There are about 10 that will probably never see the light of day. Very frustrating!
Zavvi have actually released the following in recent months :
Dinosaur, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Lilo & Stitch (Lenticular), Meet The Robinsons
Bolt is currently on pre-order
We might just get there in the end…
I am thrilled about the recent developments! I have kept up with the orders on the recent releases. I’ll have a look through and update the remainder when I get chance.
[…] February 2017, I published an article that criticised Zavvi’s policy on Disney steelbooks. I still stand what I said at the time, because the situation was dire and frustrating. There had […]