We have a fairly good offering of blurays and 4Ks this week with a handful of titles making their home video debut in addition to a strong offering of catalog titles getting the hi-def treatment. One glance through the list reveals that those annoying exclusive retail releases are here to stay as there is certainly no shortage of them as we plow headfirst in the Christmas shopping season.

Let's get our list of most wanted blu-ray and 4Ks started off this week with an entry from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the form of Marvel's Venom which is coming out in a whole host of formats including a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital and a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD release. The film is also getting several exclusive retailer releases including an Amazon Exclusive / Limited Edition / Blu-ray + Digital HD, a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy, and a Target Exclusive DigiBook / Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD that hits retailer's shelves a day early on December 17th.

Next up is Shane Black's sci-fi thriller The Predator which is getting a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy release from 20th Century Fox in addition to a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy, Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD, Target Exclusive / 36 page "The Art of the Hunt" Gallery Book / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy, and a Target Exclusive / 36 page "The Art of the Hunt" Gallery Book + Funko POP! / Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy release. Holy Moley is 20th Century Fox going all in with this release.

Jack Black's fantasy/family film The House With the Clock in its Walls is also hitting shelves this week with a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD, and a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD release both of which are jam packed with special features, commentaries, interviews, behind the scenes features, and sing-a-longs. This is one hi-def collectors and fans of the film will certainly want to pick up. {googleads}

Another film making its hi-def debut this week is the brilliant little mystery thriller that stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively called A Simple Favor. The film is getting a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD and a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD release with some commentaries, featurettes, gag reels, and deleted scenes.

Additionally, Michael Moore's political documentary Fahrenheit 11/9 is getting a Blu-ray + Digital Copy release while the black comedy thriller Assassination Nation starring Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Hari Nef, and Abra is also coming out in a Blu-ray + Digital HD release.

Now let's get into some of the catalog titles that are making our hi-def pants go crazy this week. Following its short re-run in theaters this past week, Steven Spielberg's award-winning Schindler's List is coming out in a 25th Anniversary edition Blu-ray + Digital HD release as well as a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD edition, the latter of which features a new 4K restoration of the film supervised by Spielberg himself. The film is also getting a Dolby Vision/HD 10 presentation as well as a couple of new featurettes. This is undoubtedly a must-have for fans of the film as well as collectors.

Shout Factory is revisiting John Carpenter's sci-fi romance Starman that stars Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen with a Collector's Edition release that includes a new They Came From Hollywood: Re-visiting Starman feature with director John Carpenter, actors Jeff Bridges, Charles Martin Smith and script supervisor Sandy King-Carpenter.

Shout Factory continues to roll out the goodness with its Collector's Edition release of Terence Fisher's 1966 classic Dracula: Prince of Darkness which stars Christopher Lee as the fanged one. The release contains both the U.S. and the UK cuts of the film with a new 4K remaster of the U.S. version which is struck from an interpositive. The edition contains two new audio commentaries plus a handful of features ported over from the film's previous release.

Believe it or not, it has been 40 years since Steve Martin's classic comedy The Jerk was released. And to commemorate the mark, Shout Factory is putting out a 40th Anniversary Edition blu-ray which contains a brand new 2K remaster of the film, plus s couple of new features and interviews. Yes, "it's a profit deal!"

And to help you get into the holiday mood, Sony Pictures is releasing its Jim Henson holiday classic, Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas on hi-def blu-ray. Those still suffering PTSD from the non-Henson-approved Happytime Murders can rejoice however, as Emmett Otter's fun is certified family friendly and a guaranteed good time.

And now for our most wanted on blu-ray and 4K for the week of December 18th. Stanley Kubrick's 1968 epic science fiction think piece 2001: A Space Odyssey is getting a remastered transfer that comes out in a blu-ray edition as well as a 3-disc 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD, and a 3-disc 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray editions that are housed in a snazzy slip box with embossed print, a ported over audio commentary by Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, an illustrated booklet, and four images from the film printed on cardstock.

So, there you have it. Our twelve most wanted blu-rays and Ultra HD’s for the week of December 18, 2018

Here are some other notable releases coming this Tuesday:

• Horror of Dracula
• The Shield: The Complete Series
• Bloody Birthday
• Sea Hawk
• Dark of the Sun
• Blue Knight
• Longmire: The Sixth and Final Season
• Marwencol
• 1985
• Satan Never Sleeps