Blu-ray Sales: True to Form
June 13, 2012
True Blood: Season Four led all new releases and earned top spot on the Blu-ray sales chart. During its first week of release, it sold 369,000 units and generated $12.93 million in revenue. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 34%, which is low for the format as a whole, but very strong for a TV on DVD release.
Man on a Ledge opened in second place with 131,000 units / $2.23 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 47%, which is good, but not great. It was an action film, which usually means higher Blu-ray share, but it wasn't a particularly visually intensive one, plus it struggled at the box office. Red Tails added 81,000 units / $2.02 million over the week for a total of 527,000 units / $12.27 million after two. Thanks to Prometheus, the Alien Anthology returned to the chart in fourth place selling 69,000 units and generating $3.50 million. The Grey remained in fifth place selling 61,000 units and generating $1.45 million in revenue during its third week in release for running tallies of 548,000 units / $11.64 million.
Amazingly, Goon opened in sixth place with 59,000 units / $1.17 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 51%, which is outstanding for a limited release and a comedy. Gone, on the other hand, missed the top ten landing in twelfth place with 48,000 units / $819,000. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 36%, which is weak compared to the format average, but everything about this film's performance has been weak thus far. The final new release to chart was Coriolanus, which earned 14th place with 39,000 units / $665,000. An opening week Blu-ray share of 39% is strong for a limited release.
The blu-ray market didn't sell as many units this week declining by 19% from last week. However, this week was led by a TV on DVD release, which tend to not sell as many units, but the higher price helped the revenue grow by just under 1%. Growth from last year was fantastic up 106% in terms of units and 149% percent in terms of dollars. DVD sales were stronger when compared to last week, up 1% in terms of units and 31% in terms of revenue, and when compared to last year, up 10% / 16%. The overall Blu-ray reach was again a little lower than last week down to 39% in terms of units and 45% in terms of dollars. If it can remain at this level for the rest of summer, that would still be a strong result.
Looking forward to next week, Safe House should lead the way, which is good news, as the film made more than $100 million domestically. By comparison, last year was led by True Grit, which earned first place on DVD and Blu-ray. Even with the overall growth in the Blu-ray market, I don't think Safe House will match those numbers, so we could see a year-over-year decline.
Filed under: Video Sales, Red Tails, Coriolanus, Man on a Ledge, The Grey, Goon, Safe House, Gone