Blu-ray Sales: Dark Knight One-Two Punches Its Way to the Top
January 20, 2013
Batman was even more dominant on the Blu-ray sales chart than it was on the DVD sales chart with two new releases earning the top two spots. The Dark Knight Rises earned first place with 2.26 million units / $42.13 million giving it an opening week Blu-ray share of 53%. Meanwhile, the Trilogy Box Set earned second place with 453,000 units / $12.68 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 58%. The combined totals are not quite as good as The Avengers' debut was, but was still a fantastic start.
Finding Nemo debuted in third place with 362,000 units / $8.32 million. This is great for a catalog release, but I'm not sure it is enough to justify further 3D conversions. That market has become saturated. Men in Black 3 was pushed to fourth place with 260,000 units / $7.78 million for the week and 485,000 units / $14.09 million after two. Like its DVD sales, this is good, but not great. Brave rounded out the top five with 151,000 units / $3.76 million for the week and 2.12 million / $45.77 million for the month.
The Odd Life of Timothy Green opened in seventh place with 64,000 units / $1.47 million for the week. Its opening week Blu-ray share was just 15%. This is bad for the market at large, but on par with most live action family films. The only other new release to chart was Hope Springs, which earned 20th place with just 37,000 units sold and $731,000 in revenue. Its opening week Blu-ray share was just 12%, which is weak, even for a drama aimed at a more mature demographic.
Batman saved the overall Blu-ray market helping it grow by 180% in terms of units and 75% in terms of revenue, when compared to last week. When compared to last year, growth was more moderate, but still impressive at 42% in terms of units and 23% in terms of revenue. DVD sales also grew when compared to last week, albeit by a less explosive result, up 19% in terms of units and 24% in terms of revenue. DVD sales actually fell compared to last year, but by a tiny margin, both in terms of units and revenue at 3% and 4% respectively. This helped the overall Blu-ray share skyrocket to 39% in terms of units and 46% in terms of revenue. This is more like what we want to see every week.
The new releases for next week are strong, not as strong as this week's were, but strong nonetheless. Ted became the biggest R-rated comedy of all time and it should continue its strong run on DVD and Blu-ray. Last year's new releases were led by Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which sold 902,000 DVDs and 794,000 Blu-rays. Hopefully Ted will top that.
Filed under: Video Sales, The Dark Knight, Finding Nemo, Batman Begins, Brave, The Dark Knight Rises, Men in Black 3, Hope Springs, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Ted, Batman