Blu-ray Sales: New Releases are Far From Perfect
January 25, 2013
There were plenty of new releases to chart this week, but none of them were able to top the Blu-ray sales chart. In fact, most missed the top ten. This left Ted on top for the second weekend in a row with 558,000 units / $13.93 million giving it totals of 1.86 million units / $39.92 million after two. These are amazing Blu-ray totals for a comedy.
The Dark Knight Rises rose to second place with 415,000 units / $10.01 million for the week. The film has now sold 3.58 million units and generated $72.16 million in total sales. Pitch Perfect earned third place with 358,000 units / $7.15 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 31%. That's low for the format as a whole, but good for this genre. Total Recall bombed on DVD earning tenth place, but placed fourth on Blu-ray with 348,000 units / $8.01 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 62%, which is fantastic; however, its overall home market numbers are still weaker than the studio would have liked given its production budget. Ice Age: Continental Drift landed in fifth place with 311,000 units / $5.60 million for the week and 701,000 units / $14.06 million after two. This is goods for a kids film, but not amazing.
Resident Evil: Retribution earned 13th place on the Blu-ray chart, which is terrible, but better than it did on DVD. (In fact, it did so poorly on DVD, I missed it the first time around.) It sold 114,000 units / $2.43 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 54%, which is a small silver lining. Trouble with the Curve was right behind with 112,000 units / $2.46 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 32%, which is better than most dramas manage. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days was also very close behind with 111,000 units / $2.56 million. Most live action kids movies really struggle on Blu-ray, so it is not surprising its opening week Blu-ray share was only 22%. In fact, that's better than expected. The final new release to chart was Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection, which earned 21st place with 50,000 units / $10.20 million. That's excellent for a box set.
The overall Blu-ray market remained strong, albeit not quite as strong as the last two weeks. There were 10% fewer Blu-rays sold this past week, but 3% more revenue was generated. Compared to last year, 18% fewer units were sold while revenue was 5% lower. The overall DVD market was even stronger up 11% in terms of units and 9% in terms of revenue when compared to last week. It shrunk a little bit compared to last year, down 4% in terms of units and 3% in terms of revenue. The overall Blu-ray share was at 34% in terms of units and 47% in terms of revenue, which is good.
Next week's new releases are terrible and there is not a single first run release. We will likely have a holdover on top of the chart. Last year we were in a similar situation, but at least there were a couple of first run releases among the new releases. Final Destination 5 was the best last year, but it only earned sixth on DVD and fifth place on Blu-ray. I fear this year will be even worse.
Filed under: Video Sales, The Dark Knight Rises, Total Recall, Ted, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, Trouble with the Curve, Pitch Perfect, Alfred Hitchcock