DVD Sales: New Releases are Precious
April 1, 2010
Not only did eight new releases reach the top 30 on this March 14's sales chart, but they were very top-heavy on the chart, taking the top three spots and six of the top seven. The new number one DVD was Precious with 726,000 units sold and $12.34 million in consumer spending at retail during its first week of release.
Second place went to Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day with 590,000 units / $10.62 million while Old Dogs was right behind with 583,000 units / $10.20 million. For the former, this was a fantastic result, especially when you consider how poorly the franchise started. For the latter, this beginning is no better than its theatrical run, which is a bad sign. The only holdover in the top five was 2012 in third place with 564,000 units for the week giving it 2.16 million units / $36.17 million after two. Rounding out the top five was Up in the Air with 536,000 units / $9.11 million for the week, which is weaker than expected given its success in rising from limited release to becoming a solid hit at the box office and Oscar contender.
Planet 51 just missed the top five selling 413,000 units and generating $7.02 million in opening week sales. It wasn't a big hit theatrically, but as a kids movie, it should have done better on the home market. On the other hand, the direct-to-DVD release, Barbie in a Mermaid Tale, performed well in its debut, opening in seventh place with 350,000 units / $5.25 million. Capitalism: A Love Story opened well back in 16th place with 66,000 units / $1.19 million. Hannah Montana's latest DVD release, Miley Says Goodbye?, was the final new release to chart earning 18th place with 66,000 units sold and $989,000 in spending.
Blu-ray sales were down 27% for the week to $22.50 million, according to estimates by Home Media Magazine; however, this is not surprising as only one of the new releases to chart this week were the kind that one would predict would do well in High Definition.
The total was still up 34% from last year, while it was 10% of the total sales and 17% of the top 20 comparison.
The best selling Blu-ray of the week was Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day with roughly 300,000 units sold and this was just ahead of 2012's sophomore stint.
Filed under: Video Sales, Capitalism: A Love Story, Up in the Air, Precious (Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire), Planet 51, Old Dogs, The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day, 2012, Barbie in a Mermaid Tale