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Disney delays DVD releases to rentals, Netflix

The last major studio not to embargo titles has a 28-day delay in place, which means you'll have wait a little longer to rent or stream select titles.

Donna Tam Staff Writer / News
Donna Tam covers Amazon and other fun stuff for CNET News. She is a San Francisco native who enjoys feasting, merrymaking, checking her Gmail and reading her Kindle.
Donna Tam
Disney

If you were hoping to catch "Friday Night Lights" star Taylor Kitsch with his shirt off in Walt Disney's "John Carter," you may have to wait a few more days.

Disney has begun delaying select title releases to rental companies and Netflix by 28 days, which means the studio has held back on the June 5 release of Kitsch's "John Carter" to places like Redbox, Blockbuster, and Netflix, according to Home Media Magazine.

Disney is the last of the major studios to begin embargoing its DVD releases, a practice it started with the May 22 release of "The Secret World of Arrietty," a studio representative told the magazine. Studios delay the availability of rentals in hopes that people will just go watch the movie when it's on the big screen or actually buy the DVD.

Redbox will have "John Carter," which performed disappointingly in the theaters, available by June 12, but only because the company is getting its supply elsewhere, Home Media Magazine reported. Blockbuster Express won't have "John Carter" until July 3 and Netflix has John Carter listed for rent on DVD and Blu-ray Disc (not streaming) without an availability date.