Details surrounding the March 21 release of Twilight on Blu-ray Disc has been fuzzy since Summit Home Entertainment first unveiled plans to release the blockbuster on DVD and Blu-ray.
The official press release from the studio touted multiple DVD versions but failed to mention Blu-ray other than a UPC code confirming its existence. With Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke touting possibly reworking some visual effects specifically for Blu-ray, it’s hard to imagine this release would be so blatantly glossed over.
I’ve been told more information on the Twilight Blu-ray Disc will be available later this week, most likely Friday. In the meantime, Video Business has scooped rather unorthodox release plans for Twilight’s HD debut.
According to VB, Twilight on Blu-ray will be available exclusively at Best Buy and Target (brick and mortar as well as online) on March 21. It will not be released to other retailers like Amazon.com until May 5, nearly two months later. This explains the lack of a pre-order listing at Amazon, DVD Empire and countless other online home video retailers.
The large audience who passed on Twilight theatrically but want to see what all the fuss is about on Blu-ray will still be able to rent it from Netflix or Blockbuster on March 21.
Summit did not provide a direct answer to this release strategy but did mention wanting to cater to the film’s primarily young female demographic. Since most Blu-ray adopters are males the pairing of Twilight and Blu-ray doesn’t seem like a match made in heaven. If that’s the case then why not hold back the release from all stores until May rather than give Target and Best Buy an exclusive window? Summit is saying for certain one way or the other.
Speaking of exclusives, we hope to be back with possibly a list of Blu-ray exclusives on the release — if any — in the coming days.
