25 DVDs Worth Money: Box Sets, Movies, TV Shows, & More

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A thorough look at DVD collectibility and value
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DVDs are in a very unique space right now in terms of collectibility and price. Unlike VHS tapes, DVDs are still being made and lots of people still have DVDs at home, but unlike Blu-rays, they’re 100% obsolete tech for media. As a result, we’re in a kind of weird spot where a lot of DVDs are only worth a couple of bucks, while many of them are worth hundreds or thousands of dollars! In this article, we’ll cover 25 of the most expensive DVDs out there, break down what makes a DVD expensive, and cover the future of DVD investing and collecting.

Disclaimer: We’re looking exclusively at individual DVDs and DVD box sets. This list below does not include Blu-rays, as they are a different market than DVDs and regular DVD players cannot play Blu-rays.

What DVDs are worth money?

The vast majority of DVDs out there today are only worth $1-5, with really unique titles fetching around $10. However, there are plenty of exceptions out there. Content from the 90s, unique box sets, and rare media can easily be worth hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars.

Section 1 of 6:

DVDs Worth a Lot of Money

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  1. 1
    Dragon Ball Z (box set, volumes 1-7) This is just a very rare box set of an extremely popular anime. You don’t see very many of these floating around on the market, so they tend to fetch a very high price.
    • What is it worth? $9,000
  2. 2
    Walt Disney Treasures (Premium Collection) There are a ton of different Disney collections, but this “premium collection” edition is widely sought after. It has a much nicer case than the other ones, and Disney fans are just really fond of this 36-disc collection. [1]
    • What is it worth? $2,000
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  3. 3
    Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films Janus Films is an American distribution company that is almost single-handedly responsible for introducing masterpieces in world cinema to American audiences. This 50-year box set is in really high demand. Buying this one piece instantly gives you access to some of the least common and most highly sought-after DVDs around.
    • What is it worth? $1,899
  4. 4
    Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Complete Series Shout Factory! It has to be the first edition of the complete series. A few especially pristine copies of these box sets have fetched over $1,000, although more worn-down copies will not fetch nearly that much.
    • What is it worth? $1,200
  5. 5
    AK 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa Perhaps the most coveted Criterion Collection product of all time, this box set contains the 25 most classic films produced by director Akira Kurosawa. The demand here comes mainly from the fact that Kurosawa is just so beloved by cinephiles, so the collectability of this already-rare set is just sky high.
    • What is it worth? $850
  6. 6
    Bruce Lee Spectrum Collection (limited edition) Even opened and pre-owned versions of this collection will fetch at least $100 at auction! This collection includes five of Bruce Lee’s most iconic films, and the beautiful silver case really makes it stand out on a collector’s shelf.
    • What is it worth? $800
  7. 7
    The Real Ghostbusters (complete collection) The Real Ghostbusters was an animated series that ran from 1986 to 1991. The series was exceptionally well-reviewed and it was deeply beloved among fans of the original IP. This box set is rare and very out of print, and on top of that, it contains every deleted scene and unaired episode. It even has that content for the spin-off series, Slimer!
    • What is it worth? $500
  8. 8
    The Norm Show (the complete series) Norm MacDonald’s The Norm Show only ran for 3 seasons, but fans of the comedian have helped bolster this collection to sky-high prices. There just aren’t very many copies of the box set out there, and Norm has a huge cult following.
    • What is it worth? $500
  9. 9
    Rebecca (screener copy) This is kind of cheating because the film was never actually released, but a remake of the classic Hitchcock film was made in 2020 and the screener copies sell for a pretty penny.
    • What is a “screener” copy? A screener refers to a special copy of a film that a studio sends out to critics for review before the film is released. There may only be a few hundred copies of a screener in existence, so they often fetch at least $100 regardless of the film. Rebecca just happens to be an especially rare screener.
    • What is it worth? $400
  10. 10
    Cadaverella The very creatively named “Cinder” is the main character of this film. She lives a Cinderella-style life of luxury until her stepfamily murders her. She returns from the grave to enact revenge. Corny? Very much. Rare cult classic that is very difficult to find and therefore expensive on DVD? Of course!
    • What is it worth? $350
  11. 11
    Urotsukidoji: Perfect Collection 2 This is a bit of a weird one. Urotsukidoji is a Japanese horror anime with some very sexually charged material. There have been multiple different releases with different edits floating around, but Perfect Collection 2 is basically the only version in existence that is completely uncut. It contains an additional 50 minutes of sexual content that isn’t present in the other versions. Given the rarity and the lack of distribution, the prices for these can get pretty high.
    • What is it worth? $350
  12. 12
    Evil Dead (limited edition gift set) The limited edition gift set of the Evil Dead DVDs contains both of the first two films encased in really creepy Necronomicon-style books based on the films. Evil Dead has also had so many different releases on DVD that this box set is often coveted for being the “best” version when it comes to inserts and extras.
    • What is it worth? $350
  13. 13
    Emmanuelle in Space: The Complete Collection The Emmanuelle films were basically the first softcore smut to air on deep cable. There aren’t very many copies of this one floating around out there, so nostalgic viewers will pay a premium.
    • What is it worth? $330
  14. 14
    Futurama: The Complete Collection (with Bender head) This box set contains all of Futurama ’s seasons as well as some fun inserts and behind-the-scenes stuff. The real story here though is the case. The DVDs come in a giant replica of a Bender head.
    • What is it worth? $325
  15. 15
    Genesis: The Movie Box This is a bit of an odd inclusion. This Genesis collection contains five live concerts, background footage, and home videos from 1981-2007. If you’re a fan of the iconic Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel band, the box set is kind of the apex of collectibles.
    • What is it worth? $320
  16. 16
    Pulp Fiction (limited edition briefcase set) It’s not exceptionally rare, but it does come with a really cool briefcase. It’s also an incredibly popular film, so movie buffs do seek this one out quite frequently. [2]
    • What is it worth? $200
  17. 17
    Alien Quadrilogy (25th anniversary edition) This 2004 release came with a giant alien Xenomorph head, so it’s a wildly popular product among fans of the franchise. The DVDs also contain deleted scenes that were previously never released, so the content is sought after as well. [3]
    • What is it worth? $300
  18. 18
    Star Trek Voyager (Borg Cube box set) Aside from being a popular show, this Star Trek box set is just super cool. The iconic Borg Cube case makes it a great conversation piece, and fans of the show will pay a premium for a high-quality copy of this set.
    • What is it worth? $400
  19. 19
    Star Wars Episode I, II, or III (graded only) Graded copies of the Star Wars sequels tend to be sought after by collectors. Depending on the quality of the copy, they can fetch quite a price.
    • What is it worth? $300-800
  20. 20
    Harry Potter (any film, graded only) Like the Star Wars sequels, copies of the Harry Potter films can be relatively expensive if they’re graded and in good condition. There are just a lot of fans out there with nostalgia for these movies.
    • What is it worth? $200-400
  21. 21
    Any Sam Raimi Spider-Man box set Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies were silly fun, and there are so many iconic memes and moments from those films that still persist in our cultural memory today. There are also a few different box sets that were released of these movies. They’re all pretty sought after if you can find them.
    • What is it worth? $200-800
  22. 22
    National Treasure (presidential election edition) The 2004 release of National Treasure coincided with the Bush-Kerry election. To honor the occasion, the “presidential election edition” of the DVD contained booklets and inserts full of secrets and riddles (similar to the documents in the film). It has made for a fascinating collector’s item, and the fact that National Treasure is just an incredible cult classic helps quite a bit.
    • What is it worth? $200
  23. 23
    The Exorcist (50th anniversary deluxe set) This deluxe set contains Mark Kermode’s BFI film classics text, which analyzes the plot of the film. It also has a theatrical poster, a lobby card, and a 40-page booklet containing all kinds of behind-the-scenes info. The super impressive steel and leather case also helps quite a bit. [4]
    • What is it worth? $220
  24. 24
    The Wave This 1981 made-for-TV film was a popular movie in classrooms during the 1980s. Teachers would show it to teach the “Third Wave” experiment, where a teacher taught his students about how Nazi Germany could have come to power by creating an authoritarian school club that would eventually go wild. The DVD is rare given its low quality and lack of demand, and now there are a ton of nostalgic 40-year-olds looking for that weird movie they watched in school growing up!
    • What is it worth? $150
  25. 25
    Hardware Wars (30th anniversary edition) Hardware Wars is a very weird film. It’s a parody of Star Wars that involves a lot of tool-themed puns. It’s only 13 minutes long, but given the popularity of Star Wars, the studio that backed it decided to have a DVD release. Today, Star Wars fans collect this weird movie in droves, driving the rare DVD’s price sky high.
    • What is it worth? $150
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Section 2 of 6:

Factors Impacting DVD Price

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  1. 1
    Rarity The less common a DVD is, the more likely it is to fetch a pretty penny at auction. You may think that more popular titles are going to be the most expensive, but the weird, niche stuff that you’ve never heard of is really more likely to find buyers. [5]
    • The very popular stuff tends to get printed into the ground by manufacturers, so there’s no scarcity to drive prices higher.
  2. 2
    Fandom intensity Something being out of print alone isn’t enough to drive prices that high. You also need a little bit of an obsessive audience. Take The Real Ghostbusters, for example. It’s not the most widely-beloved show of all time, but the people who are into it are really into it, and that means they’re willing to pay more than the average consumer.
  3. 3
    Release date If you take a look at the list above, you’ll notice that most of the really valuable DVDs came out before 2012 or so. The older a DVD’s release was, the more likely it is that there are fewer copies floating around out there.
    • There’s also a big nostalgia factor out there. Children who grew up with DVDs released in the 90s are now in their 30s, which means they have a little bit of disposable income to spend on their hobbies!
  4. 4
    Quality of packaging The DVD market isn’t into grading yet, but they still care about quality cases and intact shrink wrap. A DVD that hasn’t been opened and has no blemishes is going to fetch more than an open copy with some dents in the packaging.
  5. 5
    Uniqueness of content Is there something really weird about the DVD? Does it contain rare deleted footage? Is there content on the DVD you can’t find anywhere else? This kind of stuff can help contribute to a big increase in price, since the only way to see the material is to buy the DVD.
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Section 3 of 6:

How to Price DVDs

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  1. Use eBay’s sold listings section to price your DVDs. Unfortunately, there’s no super easy way to price DVDs the way there is for coins, VHS tapes, or stamps. You have to manually check each DVD’s pricing manually. The best way to do this is by using eBay’s sold listings , since eBay is the most popular platform for DVD collectors. Then, you can adjust your sales price based on the quality of your DVD versus the quality of the other sold listings.
    • What if there are no sold listings? This is kind of the downside of this method: the listings refresh every 90 days, so you may not have any recent sales to compare. In that case, run a general Google search to see what comes up. If there’s no other online data, you get to set the market!
Section 4 of 6:

Where to Sell DVDs

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  1. The best platform for selling DVDs is eBay. For selling collectible and rare media, there’s really no platform more active than eBay . This is the go-to online shop for buyers and sellers of DVDs, so set up an account and start listing your DVDs if you want to fetch top dollar!
    • If you have a local media reselling store nearby, you can sell your DVDs there. You aren’t going to get the top dollar you would on eBay, though.
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Section 5 of 6:

Where to Find Rare DVDs

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  1. Thrift shops and bargain resale shops are your best bet. Thrift shops, consignment shops, value shops, and trading posts tend to buy DVDs in lots for a bulk price, so they rarely check the prices of individual DVDs. You can find some expensive DVDs selling for pennies on the dollar if you’re patient and you’re willing to manually check prices while you sort through the stock.
    • Garage sales and estate sales are also worth checking out whenever there’s one happening near you!
Section 6 of 6:

Are DVDs going to appreciate?

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  1. Yes, the odds are high the DVD market will appreciate. VHS tapes are a good analogy here. Most of them were just worth a few bucks for decades, but now that the tech is old enough VHS tapes regularly fetch at least $5-10—even if they aren’t particularly popular titles. The same thing has happened with vinyl, retro video games, etc. It’s very likely that DVDs will follow a similar trajectory in the future. [6]
    • How much are most DVDs worth today? The really heavily printed stuff will only fetch $1-2, while popular titles can pull in $5. The really fringe, weird stuff will attract buyers around $10, but that’s kind of the roof right now.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://youtu.be/05FtAcDioZw?t=167
      2. ↑ https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/26862108/rare-valuable-dvds-attic-expert-ebay/
      3. ↑ https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/26862108/rare-valuable-dvds-attic-expert-ebay/
      4. ↑ https://collectorseditions.co.uk/movies/the-exorcist-50th-anniversary-deluxe-edition/
      5. ↑ https://youtu.be/05FtAcDioZw?t=38 https://youtu.be/05FtAcDioZw?t=28
      6. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/mar/28/dvds-blu-rays-physical-media-reader-responses

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