Every year, thousands of movies and television series are released onto “home entertainment,” be it DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD, or digital. These can be recently released movies, or restorations of older films and shows, and it’s obviously hard to judge the best of them, considering everything is in play. Well, the Home Entertainment Media Play Awards give it their best shot each year, and the results of their 2025 awards are in. A technical achievement in film restoration, the Warner Archive Collection takes the top honor this year with a jaw-dropping 4K release of John Wayne and John Ford’s Western masterpiece, The Searchers.
Warner Bros. Discovery cleaned up quite a bit, winning 12 awards in total; The Searchers’ release won five of those alone, while Friends: The Complete Series and Dune: Part Two each earned two awards. Shout! Studios certainly deserved the gold they got, with their clean release of The Whitest Kids U’Know earning multiple awards and bringing a tear to the eyes of everyone who misses Trevor Moore. Arrow Video arguably deserved more praise, but their special edition of 1982’s Conan the Barbarian earned its award for Best 4K UHD Release.
It’s also great to see the phenomenal Severin Films getting some attention for the second volume of their folk horror box sets, All the Haunts Be Ours. Every horror fan should check out their immaculate 13-disc box set of obscure but brilliant horror movies here, along with the incredible first volume here.
Title of the Year – The Searchers (Warner Archive Collection / Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment)
TV on Disc of the Year – Friends: The Complete Series 4K Ultra HD (Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment)
Blu-ray Disc of the Year – The Searchers (Warner Archive Collection / Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment)
Fan-Favorite Title of the Year – The Whitest Kids U’Know: The Complete Series (Shout! Studios)
Best New Movie Home Release – Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment)
Best Catalog Movie on Disc – Cutting Class (MVD Entertainment Group)
Best Recent-Season Disc Release – Arcane: League of Legends — Season 1 (Shout! Studios / GKIDS)
Best Vintage TV Disc Release – The Whitest Kids U’Know: The Complete Series (Shout! Studios)
Best Movie Boxed Set – Frank Capra at Columbia Collection (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Best TV Series Boxed Set – Friends: The Complete Series 4K Ultra HD (Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment)
Best 4K Ultra HD Disc – Conan the Barbarian (1982) Special Edition (Arrow Video)
Best Audio/Visual Quality – The Searchers (Warner Archive Collection / Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment)
Best Extras / Bonus Material – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Disney / 20th Century Studios)
Best Extended Cut/Alternate Version – Hush — The Shush Cut (Shout! Studios)
Best Disc Upgrade – Trick ‘r Treat 4K Limited Edition (Arrow Video)
Best Home Release From an Indie Studio – All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror Vol. 2 (Severin Films)
Best International Release – Sleep (Magnolia Pictures)
Best Restoration – The Searchers (Warner Archive Collection / Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment)
Best Box Art – Ultraman Blazar Complete Series + Movie (Mill Creek Entertainment)
Best Packaging – Labyrinth Limited-Edition Collector’s Set (Shout! Studios)
Best Steelbook – John Wick: Titans of Cult 10th Anniversary Edition (Lionsgate)