Is Mean Girls out of print for some reason? (1 Viewer)

[Jake Lipson]

Amazon is not currently selling Blu-ray copies of Mean Girls from anything other than third-party sellers.

Is this out of print for any particular reason? If so, is Paramount planning a new release? I know they reclaimed some old titles from WB last year, but most of those quickly reappeared for purchase.

Considering that Mean Girls is being adapted as a major Broadway musical to premiere this month, it seems like an odd time to have the film unavailable.

I should really own it already, but got into the habit of watching it more than once on Netflix, and it was recently removed from there and now I'm kicking myself for not having bought the physical disc sooner. I'd really like to own it, but I'm weary of going to eBay or other third-party online sellers for fer of getting a bootleg. (I've inadvertently gotten bootlegs even when buying currently-in-print titles from third party sellers before, so I generally don't do that anymore.)

Any information anybody has on the availability, or future re-release plans, for this title would be much appreciated.

 

[MatthewA]

Considering that Mean Girls is being adapted as a major Broadway musical to premiere this month, it seems like an odd time to have the film unavailable.

I can't say with exact certainty, but this does seem like the perfect time to tie-in for a Blu-ray re-release/upgrade. Sony released the movie Annie on Blu-ray to coincide with the most recent Broadway revival, and Groundhog Day was one of their first 4K UHD catalog titles after a recent musical version came and went. But Sony isn't Paramount, and I don't think this movie was part of the Warner Bros. deal, either.

I don't remember its existing Blu-ray being all that bad in terms of presentation. It won't be out of print forever. Are you sure they're not just out of copies?

 

[BRAD1963]

I do not think Paramount has re-issued it yet. They are slowly going through the catalog titles and replacing the previous Warner issued releases.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I don't remember its existing Blu-ray being all that bad in terms of presentation. It won't be out of print forever. Are you sure they're not just out of copies?

Amazon, Wal-Mart and Best Buy all don't have the Blu-ray available. I think if all three of them can't supply it directly, that's a pretty good indication that it is out of print. But as you noted, I haven't heard anything to suggest that the old Blu-ray actually needs work or an upgrade, so why should it be out of print? Especially with the show arriving, you'd think they'd want to get it into people's hands.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Basically what Brad said above - Warner was distributing Paramount discs for a few years, and that distribution deal ended. As the stock pressed by Warner sells out, the titles are technically going out of print. However, Paramount has been reissuing them all under their own shingle again, same exact discs, so it's just a matter of time before it'll be available again.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Amazon, Wal-Mart and Best Buy all don't have the Blu-ray available. I think if all three of them can't supply it directly, that's a pretty good indication that it is out of print. But as you noted, I haven't heard anything to suggest that the old Blu-ray actually needs work or an upgrade, so why should it be out of print? Especially with the show arriving, you'd think they'd want to get it into people's hands.

As others have stated, Paramount is slowly, but, methodically, releasing their titles again on Blu-ray due to their Warner distribution deal expiring.

 

[Dick]

As others have stated, Paramount is slowly, but, methodically, releasing their titles again on Blu-ray due to their Warner distribution deal expiring.

Yes, but so far only those previously released. That still leaves ORDINARY PEOPLE, ROMEO AND JULIET, GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, HUD, and scores of other most-requested titles unreleased on Blu.

 

[Jake Lipson]

OK, sure -- but it would make sense to support the Broadway show, which should mean that this particular title would be near the top of their list to reissue. I don't understand why it isn't, especially if they don't actually need to update the transfer in any way.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

To that, all I can say is... a lot of things that Paramount Home Video does (or rather, doesn't do) doesn't make sense.

As far as non-functional studios go, MGM is the worst in barely being a functional entity, but Paramount isn't far behind. I'm told that the people who actually work with the physical assets in the archives, the negatives and such, are fine people who are dedicated to their work and do a fantastic job preserving and restoring the material, but in terms of the people making the business choices on the home video side, it's a mess and has been for a very long time.

Look no further than the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek in 2016 - there was almost nothing put out to properly commemorate the event. They did a repackage of the existing discs (which were nearly ten years old at that point) in one megaset, a remaster of one of the six original films, and that's about it. Fans have been clamoring for remastered discs almost since the moment the original Blu-rays came out, and crickets from Paramount on that. If it wasn't a priority for Paramount to engage in tie-in releases for a major anniversary like that, it doesn't surprise me that Mean Girls on Blu-ray to coincide with the Broadway show isn't a priority either. The DVD is still in print, and that strikes me as being the likely movie version that a Broadway theater would choose to sell (if they even sold a copy of the movie at all).

 

[Jake Lipson]

Good point, Josh.

The show begins previews on March 8. I'm sure they will have merchandise available at that time, so it will be interesting to see if the DVD is included at the souvenir stand. It would make sense for it to be.

Now that I think of it, Paramount also dropped the ball on the director's cut of Dreamgirls, releasing it last October, too late to coincide with the 10th anniversary (2016) or the opening of the show in London (also late 2016.) So, this is, at least, extremely consistent, if boneheaded, behavior on their part.

It's so easy, Paramount. Make it easy for me to give you money.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

On the licensing front, there are a ton of titles which Paramount controls that third parties like Kino would absolutely love to license and release on Blu-ray. Unfortunately, Paramount's current licensing policy is that they will only license out titles to third parties that they've never released themselves. So, let's take a title like the 1950s version of "War Of The Worlds". Paramount put it out on DVD over a decade ago, but has demonstrated zero interest in releasing it on Blu-ray, even though they have an HD master of it ready to go. Labels like Kino would love to be able to put it out. However, because Paramount released it on DVD, they are unwilling to license it out for Blu-ray. But they are also unwilling to put out a Blu-ray themselves. So it just stays in limbo. So if you ever wonder why Paramount put out something on DVD but why it's not on Blu-ray at all, that's general the answer.

 

[Jake Lipson]

So if you ever wonder why Paramount put out something on DVD but why it's not on Blu-ray at all, that's general the answer.

That's dumb. I guess they don't want to make money. What a novel idea that would be.

But Mean Girls should be easy since they already released it before, all they have to do is press new copies.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

That's dumb. I guess they don't want to make money. What a novel idea that would be.

I think it also comes down to this weird fear of missing out. They released it themselves on DVD, which means it was important to them at one point. They don't want to put it out on Blu-ray because they don't think a BD will sell enough copies to justify the effort. (The threshold for major studios seems to be higher than that of smaller third party labels). But they also don't want to let it out to a third party, because if it ends up being a hit for that third party, they don't want to have missed out on that or have to answer to their bosses, "This was a big hit, why didn't we put it out ourselves?"

But Mean Girls should be easy since they already released it before, all they have to do is press new copies.

Yup. And it'll come out, I wouldn't be surprised to see it by the end of the year, but there isn't necessarily a rhyme or reason to which titles are getting reissued in what order.

 

[haineshisway]

The question is, if it is rereleased this year will that then prompt the original poster to actually purchase it - I always have to giggle a little at these things because it was available for many years.

 

[Jake Lipson]

if it is rereleased this year will that then prompt the original poster to actually purchase it

Yes, if they come out with a reasonably priced and easily available disc, then of course I will purchase it. I said in the original post I should have bought it a long time ago. It's one of those things where because it is, or was, constantly available, it became easier to say, "I'll get it later because item XYZ whatever is coming out this week instead, and I can always stream this on Netflix." Then the Netflix license happened to expire and you look around and notice, "Oh, now that I need the disc in order to access it, it's actually gone."

I know that nothing (except what Netflix fully owns) stays on Netflix, or any of these other streaming services, forever. That's part of why I still like to own physical hard copies of things. But at the same time, if I'm considering buying a disc for a movie that is on Netflix, vs. another movie that isn't on there, I'm more likely to opt, in the immediate term, for the movie that isn't streaming, because that gives me immediate access to more movies. So what happened was I made that choice against buying Mean Girls one too many times during the film's extended period of availability on Netflix, and now it's not there, which would normally prompt me to buy the disc. I did the same thing with Far From Heaven when it was removed from Netflix some years back.

The difference is that Far From Heaven was available for me to buy (on DVD only, as it has unfortunately never had a Blu-ray release), vs. Mean Girls is not. I could accept the DVD for Mean Girls if I really wanted it, but since the Blu-ray already exists, I won't.

But I would have purchased the Blu-ray last night instead of starting this thread if it were available in new condition from Amazon.

 

[Jake Lipson]

But they also don't want to let it out to a third party, because if it ends up being a hit for that third party, they don't want to have missed out on that or have to answer to their bosses, "This was a big hit, why didn't we put it out ourselves?"

That would almost make sense except that they miss out twice by not releasing it. If they license it out, they would at least get a small license fee from the smaller company that is willing to release it. By not releasing anything, thy don't get our money OR the other studio's money, so they're not making any money at all.

To me, some money > no money.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

To me, some money > no money.

I agree completely, but you'd be surprised (or perhaps not) by how many business would rather have 100% of nothing rather than 50% of something.

 

[Mike Frezon]

There's always....eBay.

 

[Jake Lipson]

There's always....eBay.

Yes, if you're lucky enough to deal with an honest seller and get a real copy, which I've done a couple of times. Then here was that time that I got a very convincing bootleg of Finding Nemo (which wasn't even out of print) that could've probably fooled anyone but m and the rest of us Disney aficionados on this board.

So, I dunno, I'm weary of that.

 

[Mike Frezon]

At those prices, I doubt there's much of a lucrative market in bootleg BDs of Mean Girls...