For the week of August 2nd, Walt Disney Home Entertainment will release Enrico Casarosa's Luca, featuring the voices of Maya Rudolph, Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Giacomo Gianniotti, and Jim Gaffigan. The latest film from Pixar Animation Studios, Luca is about a sea monster boy who can take human form on land and has adventures with a new best friend on the Italian Riviera. It was originally planned for a theatrical release, but like Pixar's Soul before it, Luca saw its domestic release cancelled by Disney due to the ongoing pandemic, so that in June, the film went to Disney's streaming service instead. Internationally, Luca did open in select markets, where so far, it has grossed just $21 million. But the film has received positive reviews and Disney has prepared several home media editions for this week, including retailer exclusives, such as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook, a Target Exclusive Gallery Book and a Walmart Exclusive with eBook. A standard Blu-ray edition is also available. The 4K discs will contain HDR and Dolby Atmos, while the included Blu-ray disc will have three featurettes and deleted scenes, including two alternate openings as extras. Note that in addition to the standard English, French and Spanish options, Italian audio and subtitles are also included on both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray.
Also new this week, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, is Taylor Sheridan's thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead, starring Angelina Jolie, Finn Little, Jon Bernthal, Aidan Gillen, and Nicholas Hoult. The film, which stars Jolie as a wildland firefighter who must protect a boy about a boy who witnesses his father's murder, was released theatrically by WB and simultaneously on their HBO Max service, so far, it has grossed just over $7 million domestically and $23 million worldwide. Warner's Blu-ray includes a making of featurette for an extra.
Another new release this week is from RLJ Entertainment, Simon Barrett's film Seance, starring Suki Waterhouse, Madisen Beaty, Ella-Rae Smith, Inanna Sarkis, Seamus Patterson and Marina Stephenson-Kerr. Synopsis: In SEANCE, Camille Meadows is the new girl at the prestigious Edelvine Academy for Girls. Soon after her arrival, six girls invite her to join them in a late-night ritual, calling forth the spirit of a dead former student who reportedly haunts their halls. But before morning, one of the girls is dead, leaving the others wondering what they may have awakened.
Finally for new releases this week, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Billy Crystal's Here Today, starring Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, Penn Badgley, Laura Benanti, and Louisa Krause. Description: When veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz (Billy Crystal) meets New York singer Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish), they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Turning to catalog releases, Arrow Video has The Daimajin Trilogy. The classic 1996 kaiju trilogy was previously released on Blu-ray, but now Arrow have collected the films for a new three-disc set that contains numrous extras, including audio commentaries for all three films, various featurettes and a feature-length interview with cinematographer Fujio Morita. The collection is completed with a poster and a 100-page book featuring essays and artwork. Reviewer Jeffrey Kauffman has seen all three discs and recommends them, as detailed here.
Also this week, from Shout Factory, is a SteelBook 4K UHD release for Nelson Shin's The Transformers: The Movie (1986), featuring the voices of Charlie Adler, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Idle, Lionel Stander, and Victor Caroli. The first theatrical adventure for the robots in disguise has become a cult favorite over the years, not just for the chance to see classic-era Transformers animation in full HD and now, 4K, but for its impressive English voice cast. which, in addition to retaining Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime and Frank Welker as Megatron, also features the final performances from both Scatman Crothers as Jazz, and the legendary Orson Welles as Unicron. Add in a bunch of classic rock tunes, including the film's Transformers theme by Lion, and you have possibly the best Transformers film yet made. Now Shout has performed a brand new 4K scan for this 4K UHD disc, which will present the film in its widescreen theatrical aspect ratio, while a bundled Blu-ray disc will contain the fullscreen version in HD. New extras for this release include a 30th anniversary featurette and feature-length storyboards, in addition to existing extras like the making of featurette and the audio commentary with Shin. Note that only the SteelBook edition releases this week, while a standard 4K UHD edition will not be available until September 28th.