Blu-ray Sales: Gnomeo and Juliet and Number Four
June 8, 2011
Two films could make legitimate claims for top spot on this week's Blu-ray Sales Chart. Gnomeo and Juliet topped I Am Number Four if you rank them by units at 271,000 units to 241,000 units; however, the pair finished in opposite order if you rank by dollars at $6.02 million to $5.42 million. As far as opening week ratios are concerned, Gnomeo managed 29%, which is in line with expectations for a family film, while Number Four was stronger at 34%, but that's not quite what you would want for a visual effects heavy film.
Third place went to The Mechanic with 74,000 for the week and 304,000 after two. Since the film made less than $30 million theatrically, earning $5.16 million in Blu-ray sales in just two weeks is strong. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I continues to hang around the top five adding 45,000 units / $9.48 million to its year's best totals of 2.91 million units / $65.58 million. Meanwhile, Tangled returned to the top five with 32,000 units / $597,000 over the week giving it totals of 2.52 million units and $59.22 million. If anyone wants to argue that Blu-ray is still a niche product, I would counter with Tangled's performance. A Blu-ray ratio of just shy of 30%, for a family film, shows the format is not niche.
Unfortunately, it is still highly dependent on the quality of the new releases, and there were no others to reach the top 10, or even the top 20 this week.
Looking at the overall Blu-ray sales market, we find some complications in comparisons. Growth from last week was strong up 14% in terms of units and 25% in terms of dollars. Compared to last year, growth was... unusual. Blu-ray sales skyrocketed by 103% in terms of units and 74% in terms of dollars. However, I feel the need to point out the Blu-ray releases were exceptionally weak with no prime releases to boost sales. The best-selling Blu-ray was True Blood: Season Two, which sold less than 100,000 units. The number one selling DVD was Dear John, but as a romantic drama, it is arguably the worse genre for Blu-ray sales and sold less than 50,000 units in High Definition. On the other hand, next week 2011 will be competing with Alice in Wonderland opening week on the home market, and since it opened with more than 800,000 units sold, this is likely a one-week phenomenon as far as year-over-year growth is concerned. If we can maintain the Blu-ray ratios of 25% in terms of units and 33% in terms of dollars, then I will be more than happy, even if there are declines in year-over-year sales.
Filed under: Video Sales, Tangled, Gnomeo and Juliet, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, I am Number Four, The Mechanic