Blu-ray Sales: Green Film Wins Big on Blu
August 22, 2012
Doctor Seuss' The Lorax was the first new release to top the Blu-ray Sales Chart in a while. It sold 1.73 million units and generated $34.65 million in revenue. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 47%, which is outstanding for a kids movie. In fact, it generated more revenue from Blu-ray than it did from DVD, so it is clear Blu-ray has taken over the mainstream market. Granted, some types of releases, like dramas, live action kids movies, documentaries, TV shows, etc. still sell much better on DVD than they do on Blu-ray, but those days could be numbered as well.
Batman Begins was way back in second place with 89,000 units / $890,000. I wonder if it will bounce back in the top ten when The Dark Knight Rises comes out on Blu-ray? Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol rose to third place with 76,000 units / $1.17 million giving it a four-month total of 2.57 million units sold and $52.10 million in revenue. The Dark Knight slipped to fourth place with 75,000 units / $1.06 million. Marley opened in fifth place with 67,000 units / $1.21 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 38%, which is excellent for a documentary.
No other new release made the top ten, but Grimm: Season One came close with 37,000 units sold. In fact, if you go by revenue, its managed fourth place with $1.30 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 37%. This is strong enough to encourage more shows to come out on Blu-ray. Adventures in Babysitting opened in 15th place with 30,000 units / $440,000. This is a great start for a catalogue release.
The overall Blu-ray market was very strong this week with growth of 78% in terms of units and 82% in terms of revenue when compared to last week. When compared to last year, the growth was even more impressive with 184% more units sold and 138% higher revenue. DVD also saw growth compared to last week; in fact the growth was close to the Blu-ray growth at 64% in terms of units and 73% in terms of revenue. Growth from last year was almost as strong with 59% more units sold and 71% more revenue generated. The overall Blu-ray share grew by a little bit to 45% in terms of units and just over 50% in terms of revenue. With some prime releases coming out in the following weeks, we could see records fall in that regard.
Next week's new releases include The Hunger Games, but only the first two days of its release. Even so, it should crush the competition from that week and from last year. The best new release last year was Dexter: Season Five, which sold close to 250,000 DVDs, but as a TV on DVD release, it struggled on Blu-ray. The best selling Blu-ray was Priest with just 143,000 units. The Hunger Games could sell ten times that in the first two days. I'm not predicting it will, but there is a chance. It should sell more than the entire market did last year (780,000 units) and that will lead to another week of strong growth on Blu-ray.
Filed under: Video Sales, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Adventures in Babysitting, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol, The Hunger Games, Marley