Disney Movie Club is hanging up its mouse ears after 23 years.
Members received the closure news from Disney via email and the last day to place orders will be May 20, according to What’s on Disney Plus. Account credits should also be spent by that time as well or members can request a refund through Disney customer support.
Cord Cutters News independently confirmed that the club will officially shut down on July 20.
The service, which let members purchase physical copies of Disney movies and access discounts, exclusive merchandise, and more, cited evolving consumer behavior and viewing preferences as the reason for shutting down.
Ahead of the shutdown news, Disney closed the movie club in Canada and had stopped selling Blu-ray and DVDs in Australia and New Zealand. The media giant is likely also placing more focus on the newly merged Hulu on Disney+ service.
Disney is among many companies removing themselves from the physical disc business as customers have largely migrated to digital services. For context, the U.S. physical media revenue fell from $1.5 billion during the first half of 2022 to $754 million in the first half of 2023 — a 28% drop.
Earlier this year, Best Buy began removing physical media and displays from its store shelves after confirming in October that it would halt physical media sales in early 2024.
Last year, Netflix shuttered its DVD-by-mail business and Ingram Entertainment, one of the largest physical media distribution companies, said it was exiting the business.
“Expenses are exceeding sales [so it’s] time to exit,” Ingram Chairman and CEO David Ingram said at the time.
Rumors have also circulated that Target is planning similar actions.
The shifts leave Walmart and Amazon as some of the last options to purchase DVDs, CDs, and Blu-ray, but Walmart could soon ditch discs as well. Last year, Josh Fairhurst, CEO of video game distributor Limited Run Games, tweeted that he’d heard “rumblings” that Walmart may drop physical Xbox games in the future.
Until the May 20 deadline, Disney Movie Club members can keep shopping with an extra perk.
According to the report, the minimum purchase commitment required of members is “deemed satisfied,” which means everyone is considered a VIP club member with access to all available titles.
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