“Sadly, the DVD boom couldn’t last forever.”
The US disc market peaked at about $16bn in 2005, and studios spent accordingly on 90-minute making-of documentaries and nine-disc box sets. Netflix arrived in 2007 and the extras budget left with the buyers. Alien: Romulus became the first film in the franchise with no director’s commentary. Streaming sells convenience, and the studios pocket the money they used to spend on the bonus disc.