DVD Sales - Weak Competition the Secret to National Treasure's Success

June 18, 2008

Another week with no powerhouse new releases has left National Treasure: Book of Secrets atop the DVD sales chart. During its third week in a row in first place, it sold 483,000 units for $7.45 million in revenue and running tallies of 4.91 million units and $78.33 million, which places it in third for the year.

The best newcomer was Semi-Pro with 444,000 units sold. However, its $10.36 million in revenue led all releases, which could be why some sources say it won the week. Rambo fell just over 50%, which is better than most films, as it added 382,000 units and $8.47 million to its totals of 1.16 million units and $26.06 million. The Eye opened in fourth place with 295,000 units / $6.03 million while Meet the Spartans opened in fifth with 257,000 units / $4.87 million. Both results were on par with their respective theatrical runs.

There were a few other new releases to chart this week, mostly from the TV on DVD category. Topping this list was Weeds - Season Three, which placed seventh with 132,000 units sold for $3.30 million in revenue. The other TV on DVD releases that charted were Rescue Me - The Complete Fourth Season, which placed 16th with 59,000 units and $1.93 million in sales, and The Andromeda Strain Miniseries, which placed 26th with 39,000 units and $669,000. Sandwiched between those two in 21st place was the Dirty Harry Collection with 45,000 units sold and $2.85 million.

The lack of a prime High Definition releases left the Blu-ray sales stagnant this week. However, while the 20 / 20 unit comparison fell to 9%, overall sales increased by a tiny margin to just over 8%. This growth overall was partially due to the massive list of catalogue Blu-ray releases / re-release from Paramount, which is a one time event, but it might have a more long term effect. (People are unlikely to rush out and buy a catalogue release, but they are also more likely to buy them on a whim while in the store shopping for new releases.) There's not much in the way of top-notch Blu-ray releases for the next few weeks, so if the sales ratios can just remain steady, it will be a minor victory.

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Filed under: Video Sales, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Rambo, Meet the Spartans, Semi-Pro, The Eye