It’s been nearly eight years since
indie distributor Hannover House, Inc. (OTC:HHSE) released physical DVD or
BluRay copies of its feature films. But beginning this June, the company plans
a robust return to the collectible, physical disc formats.
Initially, Hannover House will
release two titles onto standard DVD, two titles onto BluRay and one title as a
Motion Picture Soundtrack CD. While the items will be made available to major
retailers (including Walmart, Target and Best Buy), the primary market is
expected to be specialty direct mail retailers, including Amazon.com and
BN.com.
“The North American home media
market has shown continued and renewed consumer support for certain product
categories,” said Eric Parkinson, C.E.O. of Hannover House. “Despite the
general market trend towards streaming, we have seen strong DVD and BluRay
collectability for films appealing to families, westerns and horror fans. For
this sort of movie, the physical release formats are commercially viable.”
Hannover House released over 450
titles to the home video market between the years 2004 and 2018, when the
physical product lines were discontinued.
“We were grateful for the support
of major retailers, such as Walmart,” said Parkinson. “But the sell-through
rates for most DVD and BluRay releases had declined by 2018 to the point that
we were losing money on manufacturing and freight. As consumers moved towards
the convenience of direct-to-home streaming, the sell-through demand for
non-blockbuster DVDs collapsed. However, as has often proven the case with
evolving media platrforms, the DVD and BluRay markets have returned, especially
for certain collectible film categories,” he concluded.
“WILDFIRE: The Legend of the
Cherokee Ghost Horse” will hit retail in July in three formats: DVD, BluRay and Motion Picture Soundtrack CD.
The family-appeal feature was inspired by the #1 worldwide hit song, “Wildfire”
by Michael Martin Murphey – and features a new version of this classic song,
along with over 60-minutes of original music.
“UNHOLY SONG” is an indie
horror-thriller that has built up a cult following since it’s original
theatrical release in February 2025. The title will be available in both DVD
and BluRay formats in June.
“We are confident that these
physical formats can be financially successful for Hannover House,” said
Parkinson. “Many of the titles that lost money for us in the past were from
titles that did not merit a 30,000 unit placement at Walmart. By focusing our marketing to specialty retail
outlets, we can be confident of profitability for these items.”
Hannover House was established in
1993 as a book publishing company, and expanded into DVD and VHS products in
2002. The company has had three #1 best selling book titles, and multiple RIAA
gold and platinum certified DVD hit releases. The company will continue to
market its titles via the various streaming / V.O.D. formats, but will also
look for physical goods revenues on future, selected titles.
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