A release date for Disney’s live-action Aladdin on Blu-ray and DVD has been revealed, along with an array of special features that are included with it. After debuting to one of the best Memorial Day weekends ever, Guy Ritchie’s take on the animated classic was a surprising box office success, and it’s inching closer to the $1 billion mark day-by-day. Not only has the film shocked moviegoers with its lively, reimagined story, but even its cast has benefitted from the film’s monumental success, as Aladdin has gone on to become the highest-grossing film of Will Smith’s career.
The film also became Disney’s most critically-acclaimed live-action feature of 2019, though that really isn’t saying much. Aladdin scored a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, while Tim Burton’s take on Dumbo from earlier this year scored a 46% and the more recent CGI reimagining of The Lion King managed a middle ground of 52%. Even with these scores, the latter has managed to break a live-action box office record for the Mouse House, proving that people are still interested in what the studio has up their sleeve.
Now, Disney fanatics finally know when they can get their hands on Ritchie’s Aladdin. Today, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment announced that the film will become available on Digital HD on August 27 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on September 10. Not only will they live-action version be available on these dates, but the original 1992 animated Aladdin will also be made available in 4K Ultra HD for the first time. The live-action Aladdin’s 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray combo pack will also include special features like “a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film from Mena Massoud’s point of view, an extended featurette on Will Smith’s Genie, six deleted scenes, bloopers, music videos - including Naomi Scott’s “Speechless” - and more!” Meanwhile, the 4K Ultra HD release of the animated version will feature exclusive bonus features like “a sing along version, a new retrospective with Scott Weinger, behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions, and a few fun “What If” alternate endings”.
This array of bonus content appears to be well worth the price of the box set. Considering that both the animated and live-action Aladdin will be available on Disney’s upcoming streaming service, Disney Plus, the Mouse House will now have to find a way to market their Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD releases in order to make them appealing to their audience and worth the purchase. Including so much additional content with Aladdin’s home video package is a good starting point for navigating their future releases around what will already be available to stream.
Despite what many critics and general filmgoers have had to say about Disney’s live-action remakes, other people are clearly fans of them and continue to check them out in large numbers. Even so, the future of the Mouse House will depend on how they manage their upcoming projects around their streaming service, and the release of Aladdin’s stacked Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD shows how they intend to go about doing just that.
Next: 5 Live-Action Disney Remakes In Development (And 5 Films That Deserve One)
Source: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
