I haven’t heard anything from OrbitDVD about my Hard Boiled preorder. The preorder is closed/sold out on their site, but I’m not sure when it went to that status. Hopefully I ordered early enough that I’ll get my copy.

No doubt the hard cases and books are LE exclusives, and the standard editions would just be the basic case (as in, the plastic 4K or Blu case) and the disc/s will be the same like all of their other stuff. Of course, that presumes the company will still be around to do future pressings!

Sounds like that Shout guy (in the social media post) left some stuff in the hopper, so I guess we’ll see if it actually materializes once the transition to Gruv is finalized. Doesn’t seem like we’re going to get much concrete information from Oaktree/Shout anytime soon.

I’ve had a pre-order for HARD BOILED in at Amazon since maybe a week or two before all this speculation started floating around. Originally I figured I could cancel it if a more reasonable deal came along somewhere else. Now I suspect I’ll have to pony up regardless, just to be safe. Haven’t preordered the BETTER TOMORROW or KILLER releases yet, but it’s tempting just in case.

Assuming they stick to the usual pattern, Shout should be announcing their January slate on Monday. Maybe they’ll say more (or, um, anything) then.

But yeah, there’s clearly at least some stuff on the way, and Shout has already said they have a new loyalty program on the way, so they haven’t given up the ghost quite yet. It sure is puzzling why they won’t just come out and do the whole “reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated” thing, especially since they still seem to be active on social media.

I still haven't got a shipping notice for this yet (Already the longest wait I've ever encountered) No workers to do the shipping, even?

I made an order on 10/21 and received the package within a few days. That was early on before the rumors and speculation really took hold. I imagine they are getting absolutely hammered with orders the last few days.

Worst case scenario if I'm unable to get Hard Boiled, or the remaining ones from SF, I will wait until the Arrow releases.

I'm glad I jumped on Krampus - LE steelbook for $17.99 while it was still on Amazon.

I'd be willing to bet that if they do make any announcements that the only new titles they announce would be Hong Kong related and the others are reissues of previous Scream/Shout Selects titles in steelbooks.

I am also expecting any of their older dvd releases to quietly go out of print, except for maybe the Ghibli GKids titles.

Fascinating. I am ok not getting a slip, though I would like a booklet if it is something that is truly worth reading. I do know that in the UK, Arrow has started to release these films and clearly mark their sets "Limited Edition", though I do not know if that is the typical uber-LE set that is followed by a SE later. As you say, who knows anything until all these releases are out and the dust settles.

Seems to be the case in the US too. The later standard editions are just the disc in a snapper.

The Arrow release of City on Fire (the only Golden Princess title they've announced so far) has everything the Shout disc has plus a few more extras, a booklet and updated subtitles. It's a limited edition, but that just means the eventual standard release won't have the slip case or the booklet.

I'd be surprised if Hard Boiled doesn't follow the same pattern. I suppose it's possible Arrow produces an even more elaborate special edition, but I'd be stunned if whatever they put out is worse than Shout.

Edit to add: The other difference is Shout is dual format and Arrow does separate releases.

That's enough for me to wait for Arrow's GP releases.

The Arrow probably has better subtitles anyway. I’d order from them just based on that.

OrbitDVD got shorted on Hard Boiled too. I got this email today:

^ Wow. Nothing like Shout stoking the uncertainty as Adam mentioned a few posts back by doing nothing to address any of this crap. You’d almost think they’re not planning to be around much longer. Further to that Orbit post, I’ve been wondering the last few days why Amazon seems to be the only place still offering HARD BOILED for sale. I won’t at all be surprised if a lot of pre-orders – which have probably only increased there in the last week or so – will end up canceled. Even Amazon Canada pulled it a while back, which caught my eye at the time but I figured it was just some temporary glitch before all this weirdness started shaking out. I guess there’s some relief that Arrow will get around to it (and I probably would’ve bought both, knowing my bad HK habit) but Blu-ray folks without region-free players might not be happy

Kinda thinking I might pick up Shout’s CHINESE GHOST STORY set sooner than later. At least it’s on the street, so to speak, but who knows if more will be produced as quantities start to decline.

Even if everything works out in the long run, they definitely could have handled this better and eliminated all the rampant speculation.

Atomic Movie Store is saying there’s another shipment en route that’s coming no later than 11/4 to complete their preorders.

My copy of Hard Boiled shipped from Amazon. And I only ordered it about a week ago.

Still waiting on my order to be shipped....

My Hard Boiled pre-order has not shipped yet, and I am wondering if I will get a delayed or cancelled email.

^ The retailer reactions to this confusion have been interesting. As ‘kefrank’ noted above, Orbit just outright canceled many HARD BOILED pre-orders while supposedly ‘getting to the bottom of the issue’ (why not wait?), while Diabolik acknowledged they were shorted by nearly 75% of their expectations (Adam posted an update from them last week) but seem to have at least kept everyone’s orders active for the time being. Amazon has had the title available at their pre-order price the entire time. Presumably that netted a lot of FOMO orders that will be to their benefit when (and if?) Shout produces enough supply for the demand.

It's official, Shout is shutting down their own retail site

X - Formerly Twitter

It’s official:The free shipping is worth calling out again:

I would bet some money that they free shipping on "ANY" order doesn't last too long. They will have to at least raise it to a minimum eventually or they will lose a ton of money with what shipping costs now.

At least part of their January slate:

Those sleeve designs at least repurpose original posters . . . to a degree (with what looks like some heavy Photoshop twiddling). But they also look a bit chintzy to these eyes. The BITH design seems to be a mashup of older items. Not overly keen, but I’ll get them regardless, and then Arrow’s as well. I’m assuming these will have slips like the previous releases, unless Shout’s dropping those?

Some likely source materials: