Blu-ray Sales: Braving the Harsh Conditions
January 9, 2013
There were quite a few new releases to chart on the November 18th edition of the Blu-ray sales chart. In fact, there were five in the top ten. Leading the way was Brave with 1.16 million units and $23.97 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 35%, which is lower than expected. Granted, it is a kids movie, but it is a 3D animated kids movie.
The Amazing Spider-Man slipped to second place with down 36% to 412,000 units / $9.24 million over the week for totals of 1.05 million units / $23.61 million. Savages opened in third place with 113,000 units / $2.26 million for the week. It's hard to get excited about that figure, but its opening week Blu-ray share of 41% is good for a drama. The Watch bombed in theaters, so its fourth place 70,000 units / $1.62 million opening is not a surprise. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 31%, good for a comedy, but not great. Arthur Christmas fell to fifth place with 39,000 units / $1.17 million for the week giving it just 132,000 units / $3.80 million after two weeks of release.
The incredible Mel Brooks: An Irresistible Collection Of Unhinged Comedy opened in sixth place with 38,000 units /$3.42 million. Not bad for a box set. Lawrence of Arabia debuted in tenth place with 28,000 units / $1.83 million. This is strong for catalog release and the studio should be happy. Strangely, while there were five new releases in the top ten, there were no other new releases to chart this week.
Blu-ray really rebounded this week with strong growth compared to last week and last year. There were 73% more units sold than there were last week, while the overall Blu-ray market generated 72% more revenue. The year-over-year growth was similar with 76% more units sold and 51% more revenue generated. The overall DVD market was more mixed. Granted, the market grew by 44% in terms of units and 39% in terms of revenue when compared to last week. On the other hand, the DVD market was down compared to last year falling by 4%, both in terms of units sold and revenue generated. The overall Blu-ray share was 33% in terms of units and 42% in terms of revenue. That's a solid number, but not spectacular.
It was not a good week for new releases next week. The Expendables 2 should do well, but that's it. Last year, the only significant new release was Super 8, but the DVD and Blu-ray sales charts were dominated by holdovers. The same will happen this year, but hopefully 2012 will come out on top.
Filed under: Video Sales, Lawrence of Arabia, Brave, The Amazing Spider-Man, Arthur Christmas, The Expendables 2, Savages, The Watch