Merchandising: 'Mario,' 'Wick' Exclusives Officially Arrive (if Mostly Sold Out)

John Latchem

June 14, 2023

Though many stores had copies out a week early, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and John Wick: Chapter 4 officially were released June 13, and retailers offered a slew of exclusives for them. Unfortunately for shoppers who didn’t preorder them well in advance, most of the exclusive editions were already sold out.

For Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Best Buy had the 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray combo pack of the film in Steelbook packaging for $36.99. Curiously, the street date for the Steelbook is listed as June 6 at Bestbuy.com, through last week the listing still had no announced street date well after the studio announced a June 13 release date for the title at large.

Walmart had the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack of Super Mario Bros. Movie in a gift set housing the discs in a tin star for $32.96.

Target had the Super Mario Bros. Movie Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with a slipcover that had exclusive 3D lenticular box art for $26.99.

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For Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4, Walmart offered two exclusive editions.

One was a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack in Steelbook packaging for $24.96. The Steelbook included a special slipcover to put Wick in his suit.

Walmart’s other “Wick” exclusive was a deluxe edition of the 4K combo pack for $39.96. The set includes the movie on both 4K and regular Blu-ray, a digital copy code, a specialty marquee pin, double-sided collector cards, a custom map of Paris, a hotel key card, a Comic-Con poster, and a themed folder from the Osaka Continental Hotel. The outer slipcase uses the same artwork as the Blu-ray Steelbook.

Best Buy also had a John Wick: Chapter 4 Steelbook, but for the 4K /Blu-ray combo pack, listed at $31.99.

Target offered the John Wick: Chapter 4 Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with a special dog-themed slipcover for $22.99. This completes a set of previously released slipcovers for the first three “Wick” movies that used box art prominently featuring a dog from the movie on the cover with a large number marking which chapter the movie was in the series.

Even Amazon had a John Wick: Chapter 4 exclusive, in the form of a 4K/Blu-ray combo pack with unique box art and a “World of Wick” bonus disc with an additional 20 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage, listed at $42.99. From Amazon’s listing: “In this 20 minute exclusive, learn about the massive creative process that brings forth the many new locations and players that enter into the fray. Director Chad Stahelski joins Cast and Crew to guide fans through his creative process and tribulations that have culminated in this epic fourth installment. From the high rises of Osaka, to the chateaus of France, allies and enemies alike characterize this one of a kind cinematic experience. We meet Wick’s ally Akira, played by legendary J-pop star Rina Sawayama, and discover the extensive training she had to go through to bring this unique character to life. Then, the foes of Wick, like Bill Skarsgard’s Marquis, set killer obstacles and an unforgettable final duel.”

At Walmart and Target especially, even copies of the regular editions for John Wick: Chapter 4 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie were hard to come by, particularly the 4K editions. Fans looking for non-exclusive 4K copies of the films would have better luck trying the retailers websites. Target’s website showed many of its Orange County, Calif., locations having at least a few copies of the 4K John Wick: Chapter 4 on hand, only for the copies to actually be sold out (there’s usually about a day delay in the chain’s inventory control system updating the website, which is operated by a third party), should shoppers discover had they tried going to one of those stores, or ordering a copy for pickup.

As previously noted, due to a street date snafu, brick-and-mortar retailers began selling The Super Mario Bros. Movie June 6, and Walmart also had John Wick: Chapter 4 a week early, giving shoppers last week a jump in getting copies from chains that have had difficulty keeping shelves stocked in general due to staffing concerns. Interestingly, at some point during the week between the unofficial and official street dates, Walmart’s displays shifted from having The Super Mario Bros. Movie on the top shelf of the new-release endcap, to moving John Wick: Chapter 4 there. The street date for John Wick: Chapter 4 was also reportedly moved up to June 9 to allow other retailers to start selling it early as well, though the studio maintains June 13 is the official street date.

During the week, Target also ran a buy-two-get-one-free sale for Movies, books, video games, board games, puzzles and activity sets.

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