In the era of streaming, physical media, once a key part of every studio’s strategy, has taken a back seat. With so much content available to people without a need to own it, many have simply decided not to do so. While physical media isn’t dead, it’s not nearly as popular as it once was. Even Netflix gave up on discs eventually. As a result, as a recent viral tweet pointed out, the physical media that’s out there isn’t nearly as cool as it once was.
A movie fan on Twitter recently pointed out how dull certain elements of physical media now are. Whereas DVD and Blu-ray menus used to have cool backgrounds, the recent Blu-ray for the recent smash hit Sinners is just a static image. Film critic Courtney Howard then responded to the comment, pointing out how the Blu-ray for Fight Club, in a very on-brand move, opens with a menu that makes you briefly think you got the wrong movie in the box.
The blu-ray menu screen for FIGHT CLUB plays as NEVER BEEN KISSED before glitching and switching over. https://t.co/heNsXDwLHA pic.twitter.com/wudRhru9jfJuly 10, 2025
This is a pretty great opening, and considering that Fight Club is a movie that deals with the confusing perceptions of its protagonist, it's quite fitting that the Blu-ray messes with the perceptions of viewers as well.
It made me think about my own copy of Fight Club. I actually don’t own the movie on Blu-ray. I still have it on DVD. It was, if memory serves, one of the first DVDs I purchased back when I got my first player. I broke it out just to remind myself if it did anything cool with its menus, and while the selection menu itself is pretty standard, it does include a fantastic transition from the standard FBI warning into a fake one clearly written by Tyler Durden
If I went through my collection of DVDs and Blu-rays, I know I would find more cool stuff, from interesting menus to hidden special features. Part of the fun of buying physical media back in the day was looking to see if the disc did anything cool like this. Not finding a hidden Easter egg in a menu was always so disappointing, considering how often you did find them.
It’s somewhat understandable why physical media isn’t getting the investment required to do cool stuff like home releases once did. If fewer people are buying them, there simply isn’t going to be the sort of investment that’s needed to create such things.
While streaming certainly wins the war when it comes to convenience and increases one's available media options exponentially compared to what most could afford to buy, physical media is unlikely to ever fully disappear, and perhaps one day it will make a rebound. As some content disappears from streaming platforms that isn't even available any other way, many see the benefits of physical media again.
The golden age of menus has probably passed us by, but as long as you have the physical media, you can always go back and see it again. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go see what Blu-rays I can buy before Prime Day ends.
