Blu-ray Sales: Contraband Can't Hide at the Top
May 8, 2012
There were only two new releases to earn a spot on the Blu-ray sales chart, but one of them, Contraband, took top spot on the chart. The film sold 510,000 units / $10.19 million giving it an opening week Blu-ray share of 52%. At this point, any action film that doesn't open with a 50% Blu-ray share should be considered a disappointment.
Second place went to Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol with 316,000 units / $6.95 million over the week for a total of 1.57 million units / $34.51 million after two. Surprisingly, The Princess Diaries: Double-Pack rose to third place with 69,000 units / $2.39 million for the week for a total of 101,000 units / $3.65 million after two. This is a strong result, considering the films' target audience and its box office run. Beauty and the Beast returned to the chart in fourth place with 61,000 units / $1.58 million. It has sold more than 4 million units and generated more than $100 million in sales, making it one of the best selling Blu-rays of all time. Thor and Captain America were in a very tight battle for fifth place as both films sold 50,000 units. Thor came out on top by a nearly imperceptible margin and has now sold 1.42 million units and generated $42.63 million. Captain America total sales have now reached 2.60 million units / $64.22 million.
The only other new release to chart was Dark Tide, which placed 24th with 13,000 units / $269,000. Its opening week Blu-ray share was just 25%. Granted, it is a limited release, but this is still a low percentage.
Overall Blu-ray sales were mixed. Sales were way down from last week plummeting 28% in terms of units and 33% in terms of dollars. However, compared to last year, sales were up 51% in terms of units and 41% in terms of dollars. DVD sales, on the other hand, were down across the board, but were a little better than Blu-ray when compared to last week. This meant the overall Blu-ray share was a little lower compared to last week at 44% in terms of units and 51% in terms of dollars. This is much higher than this time last year, on the other hand.
I have mixed opinions about next week. On the one hand, Haywire should lead the way, and it was a weak film at the box office so sales should be off from this week. On the other hand, last year wasn't exactly a banner year either. The Green Hornet did earn nearly $100 million at the box office and opened on top of the Blu-ray sales with 257,000 units, but that's low compared to the numbers we've been seeing this year. 2012 might not match last year, but it could be very close.
Filed under: Video Sales, Beauty and the Beast, The Princess Diaries, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, Dark Tide, Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol, Contraband, Haywire