It’s the holiday season and a time for gift giving, whether that be for your friends, your family or for… yourself! Recently, there’s been talk about a resurgence for physical media, bolstered by the fact that all those streaming services out there have become a lot more chaotic, with titles dropped completely or bounced around between different services, making it hard to figure out where you can find what when it comes to your favorite series and films. One way to save yourself from that headache is simple: Just have that title on your shelf, where you know it’s available to watch anytime you want.
With that in mind, here’s a list of ten recently released box sets that would be great as a holiday treat, running the gamut from beloved film series to guilty pleasures to cult classics – plus one fancy set for a single film that just happens to be one of the most popular ever. But to kick things off, let’s take things in a spooky direction for a bit of horror for the holidays…
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. Fandom may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
Paramount Scares – Volume 1
This eclectic group of horror films provides a strong overview of genre offerings from Paramount through the decades, including 4K versions of Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Pet Sematary (1989), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Crawl (2019) and Smile (2022). While it would have been nice to have one older film given both Crawl and Smile are both so recent, there’s no denying these are all very different movies, providing very different sources of spooky occurrences. The 4K transfers look terrific and there are a lot of extras included – both the bonus features on the films, plus collectibles like a sticker sheet, pin and a very cool special edition of Fangoria magazine that is focused on the films from the set using archival material.
The most glaring absence in a Paramount horror movie set is perhaps Friday the 13th, given the studio released the first eight movies in that franchise. Still, the “Volume 1” in the name indicates there will be more chances for the Voorhees family to be included down the line.
Star Trek: Picard
The Legacy Collection
Never say never of course, but if 2023 was the last time we see Patrick Stewart playing Jean-Luc Picard, he went out on a high note, with the wonderful third and final season of a show that had been pretty rocky up until that point, Star Trek: Picard. That season functioned as a huge reunion for the cast of the show that gave us Picard in the first place, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and this comprehensive Blu-ray set offers fans pretty much Picard’s entire journey, including every single episode of both The Next Generation and Picard (that’s ten seasons and 206 episodes in total), plus the four Star Trek feature films focused on Picard and the Next Generation crew.
On the downside, it’s too bad the set doesn’t also include the recently released 4K versions of the feature films (and yes, Picard itself deserves a 4K release, but that’s another matter). The collectibles included are a mixed bag – the inclusion of Picard playing cards feels very right given how Picard, the series, wrapped up, and the coasters are fun albeit not that durable. It’s also great to have the book The Wisdom of Picard included. Disappointingly, the “Magnetic Captain Picard Badges” are essentially just basic refrigerator magnets and not usable as actual badges.
Overall though, this well-packaged set is all about all of those stories about Jean-Luc Picard and his beloved crew and it’s a pretty terrific collection in that regard.
Farscape: The Complete Series
25th Anniversary Edition
Beloved cult science fiction show Farscape has had multiple releases before, but the 25th anniversary Blu-ray version from Shout! stands out because it actually includes The Peacekeeper Wars, the miniseries that wrapped up the story after the show’s untimely cancellation, which had previously not been on box sets of the show.
On the downside is that there’s no big image upgrade here because, unfortunately, the original masters of the series were thrown out long ago. There are many bonus features ported over from previous releases – including interviews, featurettes, and deleted scenes – but only one was created for this set. It’s a strong one though: a 44-minute interview with Executive Producer Brian Henson and series creator Rockne O’Bannon hosted By Adam Savage. All of which is to say, for longtime Farscape fans who have a previous release, this may not be a must. But as a gift for potential new fans or for more casual fans looking to finally immerse themselves in the entire series, this is an enticing collection for a fun show that doesn’t always get its due among sci-fi TV pantheon.
Spider-Verse
2-Movie Collector’s Edition
You probably don’t need to be told that the films in this 4K set are amazing, spectacular, and so much more. The Spider-Verse films have rightfully received huge acclaim and box office success, with a big increase for the second film, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. That being said, there are a couple of reasons for hesitation though. First off, the third movie is not out yet, so obviously there will eventually be a different set of all three. And also, despite some cool extra collectibles, the full price for this set ($119.99) feels too high for just two movies and some fun collectibles.
That being said, it is frequently substantially discounted on many sites, including on Amazon. And those collectibles are pretty cool, including a 7-inch vinyl record with 2 songs from Across the Spider-Verse (“Calling” by Metro Boomin and “Am I Dreaming” by Metro Boomin, A$AP Rocky, Roisee) and art cards featuring the comic book covers seen in the films for Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, Peter B. Parker and Miguel O’Hara. Perhaps best of all is a replica of Miles’ sketchbook. Though only a few pages, it includes those sketches of Gwen that were pretty embarrassing for Miles in the second film. So if you’re a big fan of these films and the price is right, this is a set worth getting – as long as you prepare yourself for the eventual Beyond the Spider-Verse release.
Columbo: The 1970s Seasons 1-7
Despite never having a Friends or Suits-type Netflix explosion, it still feels like new viewers are constantly discovering Columbo. Peter Falk’s iconic detective, Frank Columbo, and the very crowd pleasing format it followed (“Just one more thing…”) has been popular for decades and in recent years has become meme-fodder as a younger generation discovered its charms.
Though Falk would continue to play the character in the decades that followed via various revivals and TV-movies (making his final appearance in 2003!) this new Blu-ray set from Kino Lorber focuses on the original seven seasons from the 1970s that most think about as the “classic” version of Columbo, packed with a ton of recognizable guest stars playing the various murderers, victims, and witnesses. And it’s very notable how the show looks better than ever, thanks to terrific new transfers that stand out in a big way from the versions you’ve seen on TV or streaming services in recent years.
It’s a bit of a heartbreaking situation in terms of bonus features, as an incredible amount were announced, including a ton of commentaries both from historians and culled from archival interviews with Falk and others. Unfortunately, nearly everything produced had to be left off the set for unknown reasons (though presumably it was some sort of legal issue), leaving only the option to hear each episode with only music and effects playing and a shorter cut of the “Etude in Black” episode. That’s a huge shame but still, the episodes alone and the fantastic new transfers are enough to make this worthwhile.
The Police Academy Collection
Look… they can’t all be high brow. Is Police Academy a “good” movie series? That’s very debatable. But it is a classic series, in its own way, with seven installments, the first six of which were all released over six consecutive years during the 80s. An entire generation grew up watching this very silly cop comedy franchise and previous releases were often pretty lackluster – including the indignity of arguably the best sequel, Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol, only being in full frame on a previous DVD set.
For this new Blu-ray set, Shout! provides more respect to Commandant Lassard’s favorite cadets with much-needed new scans of the films improving their image quality. On the bonus features front, archival material from 2004 is included, along with additional/alternate scenes and several new interviews with key contributors to the series like producer Paul Maslansky and actor G.W. Bailey (“Captain Harris”). It’s especially nice to see composer Robert Folk get his due, given his Police Academy theme is an especially terrific one that would work for a grandiose superhero film as much as it does for this wacky group of movies.
Hunger Games Collection
4K Ultra HD Steelbook
This Walmart exclusive 4K set is a new release, though content-wise, it’s pretty much exactly the same as previous versions of the four initial films in this popular film series. A couple of years ago, Lionsgate released a Steelbook set for The Hunger Games in which all four movies had their own individual cases. This time out, it’s a more streamlined version, with the four discs inside a single Steelbook. For those who love each movie having cool packaging, the previous release would be best. But if you’re looking to save some shelf space – but still admire an attractive Steelbook – this one is for you.
No new special features have been added, though the ones included previously remain here and are pretty impressive and in-depth. Of course, one has to wonder if yet another set will be coming down the line that includes The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. For now though, it’s worth noting the art on this new collection of the four previous films features Katniss Everdeen and President Snow in a manner mirroring the visuals of Lucy Gray Baird and the younger Snow on the upcoming Steelbook for Songbirds & Snakes, for some nice artistic symmetry on your shelf.
[Update: This Steelbook is currently out of stock at Walmart, but hopefully that’s not permanent!]
Westworld: The Complete Series
Westworld had quite a turbulent run. Debuting in 2016 on HBO to a ton of acclaim, not to mention a lot of buzz as HBO’s “next Game of Thrones,” the series received blowback in its second and third seasons from many who felt it got overly convoluted, even as it always boasted terrific performances and notably impressive sequences. The show felt like it had gotten back on track though in its fourth season, culminating in a big paradigm shift – but, unfortunately, the fifth season the creators intended to use to wrap everything up was not to be, as it was cancelled.
The series then quickly showed how things are changing in the streaming landscape, as it was actually removed from Max, despite what a notable show it had been for HBO when it debuted. You can now see it with ads on FAST channels like Tubi, but fans may want to get this Complete Series set to ensure they can always watch Westworld and its considerable highs whenever they’d like to, because things are weird out there. One complaint: The UK got a 4K version of the Complete Series set, but the US only got a Blu-ray so far, despite the individual seasons all getting previous 4K releases. What gives?
Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films
Acclaimed Japanese animator and director Masaaki Yuasa gets a terrific new retrospective Blu-ray collection via GKIDS and Shout! Factory, offering an overview of standout films he’s made over the past 20 years, including Mind Game (2004), The Night is Short, Walk on Girl (2017), Lu Over the Wall (2017), Ride Your Wave (2019) and Inu-Oh (2022).
Along with previously released bonus features on all the films (a couple for some, quite a few for Inu-Oh), there are a number of exclusive new bonus features, including a very interesting and informative Q&A with Yuasa from an American Cinematheque appearance in 2022. But most of all, this set offers a chance to appreciate Yuasa’s films and his highly creative work and willingness to delve into different styles along the way – sometimes within the same movie!
Titanic Collector’s Edition
Only a few titles are worthy of getting a boxed set for a single movie, but one filmmaker who has remarkably managed to make several movies that feel worthy of the honor is James Cameron. Titanic – AKA the first time Cameron made the highest grossing movie ever – recently got its first-ever 4K release and while there are many fans of that film, for the biggest among them, there’s a special Collector’s Edition.
Along with the film itself and its bevy of extras, the Collector’s Edition goes big (literally, including the packaging) with a hardcover coffee table book about the making of the film and then some other attention-getting inclusions, such as a schematic based off Titanic’s actual ship blueprint which highlights locations from the film. And then there are several prop reproductions, including a boarding pass, menus from the ship, and notes written by the film’s main characters, Jack and Rose. Oh, and yes, there is also sheet music for “My Heart Will Go On.”
It’s a lot, but this is a lot of movie. It’s also very pricey – $153.99 before any discounts or sales are applied. But if you know (or you are) a Titanic mega-fan, it’s a pretty spectacular set worthy of the King of the World.
