Redbox and Warner Bros. have reached a new agreement that will make all of the studio’s new release DVD and Blu-ray Disc titles available to rent at Redbox’s kiosks the same day as their retail on-sale dates.
Upcoming new releases from Warner Bros. coming to Redbox’s U.S. network of 41,500 rental kiosks include Dwayne Johnson-starrer “Rampage” (July 17) and Steven Spielberg’s VR sci-fi thriller “Ready Player One” (July 24).
Previously, Warner Bros.’s agreement with Redbox allowed for rentals seven days after home-video release. Under the new pact, Redbox also will have same-day access to new releases and catalog titles for Redbox On Demand, its online digital transactional service.
Redbox now has agreements for day-and-date DVD rentals with Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures and Lionsgate. Its deal with 20th Century Fox allows Redbox to rent DVDs seven days after home-video release dates.
The only major studio Redbox doesn’t have a direct deal with is Disney — which has sued Redbox to stop it from selling digital codes extracted from Disney’s DVD combo packs to allow downloading or streaming of Mouse House movies. Redbox hasn’t had an agreement with Disney since 2012.
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“We’re thrilled to announce this day-and-date agreement with Warner Bros. that provides the consistently strong slate of Warner Bros. titles to consumers at their earliest physical retail sell-through availability,” Redbox CEO Galen Smith said in announcing the deal.
Redbox offers movies and video games for rental and purchase, starting at $1.75 per night for a DVD rental and $2 for Blu-ray rentals.
Pictured above: Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Ready Player One”
