Blu-ray Sales: Tintin Finds First Spot
March 28, 2012
The Adventures of Tintin led all new releases and took top spot on the Blu-ray sales chart. It sold 504,000 units and generated $11.09 million in opening week sales. This represents an opening Blu-ray share of very nearly 50%, which is an excellent start for a kids film.
The Descendants opened in second place with 310,000 units / $6.20 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 32%, which is good for a drama and just a little bit below the format's average. Happy Feet Two only managed third place with 270,000 units / $8.11 million, giving it a Blu-ray share of just 23%. It was a kids film, but a 3-D animated one, so it should have done better than this. Immortals fell from first to fourth with 204,000 units / $5.72 million for the week and 978,000 units / $23.52 million after two. The Three Musketeers grabbed the final spot in the top five with 184,000 units / $4.59 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 53%, which normally would be a reason to celebrate, but its home market numbers are so low that this is not enough.
My Week with Marilyn debuted in eighth place with 85,000 units / $1.70 million. For a limited release, an opening week Blu-ray share of 29% is better than expected. Young Adult could place no better than 16th place with 29,000 units / $669,000. Given its genre and its limited release, an opening week Blu-ray share of 23% is acceptable.
Overall Blu-ray market was strong compared to last year, but weak compared to last week and when compared to DVD sales. This is not too surprising, as the almost none the new releases were aimed at the prime demographic for Blu-ray. Compared to last week, the format was down by 7% in terms of units and 15% in terms of dollars. Compared to last year, growth was meteoric with Blu-rays up 99% in terms of units and 131% in terms of dollars. DVD sales grew significantly compared to last week and last year, although the growth from last year was a lot thinner than Blu-ray growth was. This left the overall Blu-ray share at 33% in terms of units and 44% in terms of dollars.
The winter blockbusters are trickling out, so Blu-ray sales should continue to be strong. Next week, The Muppets should get a boost thanks to nostalgia, while both The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy should draw in the more mature target demographic. This week last year, the best selling DVD was Yogi Bear while the best selling Blu-ray was The Tourist, neither of which were big sellers. We should again see strong growth year-over-year.
Filed under: Video Sales, Happy Feet Two, The Adventures of Tintin, Immortals, The Three Musketeers, The Descendants, Young Adult, My Week with Marilyn, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Muppets