Physical media has ever been important to collectors, but its popularity died down rather a spot successful the property of streaming services. There was a delighful in-between epoch erstwhile you could bargain a clump of Blu-rays and DVDs from a bargain bin astatine Walmart for lone $5 each, but that clip has since passed. These days, determination is inactive a dependable watercourse of movies and TV shows released connected carnal discs, but it's not astir astatine the aforesaid level of abundance arsenic it was adjacent 10 years ago.
The bully quality is that 4K UHD and Blu-ray movies have been making a comeback. With large streaming services similar HBO Max dropping adjacent originals from its platform, determination are galore folks looking for a mode to genuinely own their favourite media. Unfortunately, the outgo of these discs is simply a batch higher than it utilized to be. There are nary longer bins you tin benignant done to find a large movie for inexpensive and astir of your buying volition beryllium online. If you privation to proceed to physique (or commencement building) a carnal media collection, it tin get costly fast.
If you're looking for proposal for redeeming money, IGN beauteous regularly covers discounts connected 4K and Blu-ray releases. There's nary "best" clip to bargain for each movie oregon TV show, but determination are a fewer times a twelvemonth wherever you tin decidedly expect savings. We'll interruption down the champion times to bargain below.
Look for Savings During Sales Events
Online retailers similar Amazon, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble volition usually connection immoderate benignant of discount astir large income events. This could either beryllium successful the signifier of nonstop discounts oregon immoderate benignant of "buy one, get one" sale. Here are the cardinal times passim the twelvemonth to look for these savings.
Prime Big Deal Days (October)
Amazon is 1 of the champion places to bargain 4k and Blu-ray discs online, truthful it stands to crushed that its exclusive income events are mostly a bully clip to find discounts. Prime Big Deal Days (also known arsenic October Prime Day) is simply a reasonably caller lawsuit that takes spot each October. This twelvemonth Amazon has announced that the merchantability volition tally from October 7 done October 8. Early deals for the lawsuit person already started, and determination are immoderate large discounts connected 4K Blu-rays good up of the commencement date.
See All the Movies connected Sale
Black Friday and Cyber Monday (November-December)
Arguably the champion clip of twelvemonth to bargain beauteous overmuch thing astatine a discount is Black Friday season, followed by Cyber Monday. Every large retailer volition beryllium competing for your business, and carnal media has been much a portion of that successful caller years. You should expect akin discounts we've seen passim the remainder of the twelvemonth and immoderate of the precise first discounts connected immoderate of the astir fashionable 4K movies of 2025. These income volition apt statesman sometime successful aboriginal November and volition past each the mode done December aft Cyber Monday wraps up.
Prime Day (July)
Amazon Prime Day has consistently been 1 of the champion times of twelvemonth to bargain carnal media. In 2025 that was particularly existent arsenic Amazon launched a monolithic "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" merchantability connected a ton of movies. This promotion was successful summation to immoderate large discounts connected fashionable 4K movies and TV bid container sets. Prime Day takes spot sometime successful the mediate of July each year, truthful it's a large clip to drawback discounts connected fashionable titles from the erstwhile summertime that got released earlier.
Criterion Collection Sales
If you're specifically looking to bargain movies from the Criterion Collection, you'll beryllium blessed to cognize determination are usually 4 times a twelvemonth erstwhile you tin find savings. The astir caller Criterion Collection merchantability took spot astatine Barnes & Noble and lasted passim the entirety of July. This was a broad 50% disconnected merchantability connected everything successful the postulation but for preorders. This aforesaid benignant of merchantability is expected to get again for November this year. Outside of that, the Criterion website has 2 24-hour flash income a twelvemonth that connection akin discounts for a overmuch smaller model of time. The adjacent 1 of these volition supposedly instrumentality spot sometime successful October.
Holiday Weekends
While discounts connected 4K and Blu-ray discs aren't arsenic guaranteed during vacation weekends, they are inactive usually a beauteous bully clip to find deals. Almost each large online retailer volition person immoderate benignant of income leafage for Labor Day, Memorial Day, and adjacent Presidents' Day—which usually means discounts connected movies arsenic well. These types of income volition usually instrumentality spot astir a week earlier the existent national holiday, truthful you tin usually commencement buying up of the play to find terms cuts. Amazon besides has a inclination to connection 1 of its "Buy One, Get One" income astir these times that marque buying for your postulation worthwhile.
When to Find Deals connected Steelbooks
If you're gathering a collection, you are apt going to privation to adhd astatine slightest a fewer steelbooks to your collection. These are movies oregon TV bid collections that are wrapped up successful a peculiar steelbook lawsuit with immoderate benignant of limited-edition artwork connected the beforehand and bonus features inside. Because of these extras, they thin to beryllium the astir costly mentation of immoderate release. That being said, they do spell connected merchantability and erstwhile those discounts really hap varies.
Near the End of the Preorder Window
The ongoing database of upcoming 4K and Blu-ray releases includes a premix of steelbooks of the astir caller movies of the twelvemonth arsenic good arsenic re-releases of fashionable older movies. When preorders for these steelbooks archetypal spell live, they thin to beryllium astatine their astir expensive. Depending connected however fashionable the movie is, limited-edition steelbooks person the imaginable to merchantability retired beauteous quickly. However, if it isn't a truly sought aft rubric past you tin usually find immoderate benignant of discount person to its existent merchandise date. So if it's a collector's variation of thing you truly want, you tin perchance hold for a discount and anticipation it doesn't merchantability out. Amazon besides offers a preorder terms warrant that volition automatically get that discount if the terms does drop, truthful you tin ever instrumentality the way of preordering aboriginal if your don't privation to miss retired connected your accidental to get it.
A Month oregon More After Release
Assuming a steelbook doesn't merchantability retired earlier it really releases, retailers volition apt person an abundance of banal they volition request to offload astatine immoderate point. Sometimes this comes successful the signifier of a discount beauteous soon aft the archetypal merchandise date, but usually you'll person to hold a bit. Collectors who missed the archetypal preorder model are often inactive consenting to wage afloat terms for a caller steelbook soon aft release. This means you tin usually expect discounts astir a period oregon truthful aft the archetypal merchandise date. You're improbable to find these discounts connected the truly fashionable caller movies with limited-edition steelbooks, but they are often disposable connected the re-releases oregon day editions of films that don't get arsenic overmuch attraction from being successful the zeitgeist arsenic recently.