Saw Stands Up to Competition
March 4, 2006
Despite crumpling by 47% during its second week of release, Saw II remained in first place on the rental charts with $5.29 million for the week and $15.34 million in total.
Second place when to the first of three new releases in the top five, North Country, which pulled in $4.86 million. Both The Weather Man and Domino were close behind opening with $4.76 million and $4.69 million respectively. Rounding out the top five was Flightplan with $4.24 million over the week for a five-week total of $34.68.
Three more new releases charted this week led by Rent in 12th place with a mere $2.79 million; it was another story entirely on the sales chart. Two direct-to-DVD sequels were the other new releases with Stuart Little 3 - Call of the Wild bringing in $1.14 million for a 27th place finish while The Prince & Me 2 earned $850,000 coming in 35th.
Overall it was mixed bag. Total rentals fell 10.4% for the week to $160.3 million, but that was down just 1% from the same weekend last year. Percent wise, 2006 closed the gab with 2005 to 7.5% with a year-to-date total of $1.3 billion.
It was an even busier week on the DVD sales chart as there were four new releases in the top five and six in the top ten. Leading the way was Rent with and Domino coming in second place. Third place went to Ultimate Avengers: The Movie, which didn't even make the top forty on the rental charts. The only holdover in the top five was Saw II and that film fell from first to fourth. Next up was North Country in fifth place compared to the second place it earned on the rental charts.
Just missing the top five was The Weather Man while Stuart Little 3 - Call of the Wild opened in eighth place.
In contrast, there was only one new release in the top ten on the TV on DVD sales charts. The lack of competition left Grey's Anatomy - Season 1 in first place while second went to that lone new release, NYPD Blue - The Complete Third Season. The rest of the top five is comprised of releases that are all four months old or older: Lost - The Complete First Season, Family Guy - Volume 3, and Chappelle Show - Season 2.
As for the TV on DVD rental charts, I've decided to discontinue that section since the are practically no changes week to week. Perhaps if the market changes and the numbers are more significant, then I will bring it back.
Filed under: Flightplan, Saw II, Rent, North Country, The Weather Man, Domino