Following the lead of Universal, Fox and Warner Bros., Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has begun delaying new DVD releases to low-priced rental services like Netflix and Redbox, a Redbox spokeswoman told TheWrap on Thursday.
Coinstar-owned Redbox, which distributes cheap DVD rentals from bright red vending machines, will bypass Disney's 28-day delay policy on the newly released "John Carter" by purchasing retail copies of the discs.
The film — now a notorious financial bust — was released on DVD last Tuesday and will be available at the crimson rental kiosks by June 12.
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"We've always had a relationship with Disney where we worked with them on a per-title basis," a Redbox spokeswoman told TheWrap. "In the case of 'John Carter,' we decided we were going to acquire it from alternative means."
She declined to comment about whether it is more expensive to purchase the discs instead of striking a deal with the studio.
Redbox began purchasing retail DVDs of Warner Bros. films in January when the studio announced it would delay releases to rental companies by 56 days.
A month later, Disney announced tentative plans to institute a 28-day delay policy.