It’s official: Magellan is joining the Criterion Premieres line of the Criterion Collection, joining the likes of Bi Gan’s Resurrection and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cloud. It is already available for pre-order.
Criterion Premieres is an imprint under the Criterion Collection that includes the films released by Janus Films, which distributed Magellan in the US. The films receive a Blu-ray and DVD release after their limited theatrical run and a premiere on the Criterion Channel streaming platform, available only in the U.S. and Canada.
The Magellan Blu-ray and DVD will be released June 23, 2026 — interestingly, a few days after the Philippines’ Independence Day, which celebrates our liberation from Spain.
On the website, the film is described as a “hypnotic journey engraved in images of staggering beauty and horror” and a “staggering achievement” by Diaz.
Magellan is the third film in the Criterion Collection and the first in Criterion Premieres. The other two films in the collection are Manila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag, which received an individual release, and Insiang, which is part of the Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 2 box set.
Many Filipino films have already streamed on the Criterion Channel. Currently available are Kidlat Tahimik’s Perfumed Nightmare and Turumba, a three-film spotlight on Lino Brocka that includes Bona, and the curated collection “When the Apocalypse Is Over: New Independent Philippine Cinema,” which focuses on contemporary Filipino films blazing a new trail in filmmaking. The collection includes Whammy Alcazaren’s Bold Eagle and Maria Estela Paiso’s It’s Raining Frogs Outside.
Erratum: The previous version of this article named the imprint Criterion Contemporaries, not Criterion Premieres, which is the correct name of the sub-label. This article has been updated to reflect the correct label.
Frequently Asked Questions
Criterion Premieres is an imprint under the Criterion Collection for films distributed by Janus Films, pairing a Criterion Channel premiere with a later Blu-ray and DVD release. Lav Diaz’s “Magellan” is the imprint’s first title, joining films like Bi Gan’s “Resurrection.”
“Magellan” is set for Blu-ray and DVD release on June 23, 2026, a few days after the Philippines’ Independence Day, which commemorates liberation from Spanish colonization — a fitting timing given the film’s historical subject matter.
“Magellan” is the third Filipino film in the Criterion Collection, following Lino Brocka’s “Manila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag,” released individually, and his film “Insiang,” included in Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 2 box set.
The Criterion Channel streams Kidlat Tahimik’s “Perfumed Nightmare” and “Turumba,” a Lino Brocka spotlight featuring “Bona,” and the collection “When the Apocalypse Is Over: New Independent Philippine Cinema,” which includes Whammy Alcazaren’s “Bold Eagle.”
Yes. The article initially misnamed the imprint “Criterion Contemporaries” instead of “Criterion Premieres,” the correct sub-label under which Lav Diaz’s “Magellan” is being released on Blu-ray, DVD, and the Criterion Channel.
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