Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News.

For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. The consumer spending estimate is based on the average sales price for the title in the retailers we survey.

We refine our estimates from week to week as more data becomes available. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. Figures will therefore fluctuate each week, and totals for individual titles can go up or down as we update our estimates.

Because sales figures are estimated based on sampling, they will be more accurate for higher-selling titles.

International Box Office: Sonic Speeds its Way to $100 million Globally

February 20th, 2020

Sonic The Hedgehog opened with $43 million in 40 markets for an early worldwide total of just over $101 million. This is a fantastic start for a film that cost $90 million to make and there’s already talk of not just a sequel, but a Sonic Cinematic Universe. The film’s biggest individual market was Mexico, where it opened with $6.82 million, while the U.K. was right behind with $6.17 million on 619 screens. More...

2020 Awards Season: Oscars Winners and Reactions

February 10th, 2020

The Oscars were handed out last night and unlike most years, I wasn’t able to live-blog the awards. This is a real shame, because it was one of the best Oscar nights I can remember and there were very few awards that made me legitimately angry, unlike many years in the past. There was even a surprise winner for the full night, as Parasite earned the most wins with four Oscars. It is incredibly rare for a foreign-language film to pull off that feat. More...

2020 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Picture

February 8th, 2020

Our annual Oscar Prediction contest closes at noon, Pacific Time, on Sunday, so now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. We finish our shortened schedule with Best Picture, which is basically a two-horse race at this point. More...

2020 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Director

February 8th, 2020

Our annual Oscar Prediction contest closes at noon, Pacific Time, on Sunday, so now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. We are continuing our shortened schedule with Best Director. We have yet another close race with two films that are practically a coin-toss away from being the winner. More...

2020 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Original Screenplay

February 6th, 2020

Our annual Oscar Prediction contest is underway so now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. We are continuing our shortened schedule with Best Original Screenplay. We have yet another close race with two films that are practically a coin-toss away from being the winner. More...

2020 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Feature-Length Documentary

February 3rd, 2020

Our annual Oscar Prediction contest is underway so now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Due to a compressed Oscar schedule, and the monthly preview, I have to get all ten Oscar highlight stories done this week. Wish me luck! Today we look at Best Feature-Length Documentary, which is a category that doesn’t have a real favorite, nor does it have a real long shot. It’s a five-way race. More...

Theater Averages: Feeling Bad

January 30th, 2020

No film cracked $10,000 on the theater average chart this week. Bad Boys for Life came the closest with an average of $9,010. More...

Home Market Releases for January 28th, 2020

January 30th, 2020

The big winter releases are starting to come out, but the overall quantity of releases is still rather soft. Terminator: Dark Fate is the biggest release of the week, but it isn’t the best. As for the best, it was a close two-way race between Fail Safe and Parasite, with the latter winning by the tiniest of margins. More...

Theater Averages: 1917 Keeps Racing to the Top

January 15th, 2020

It’s rare for a film to remain in the $10,000 club for three weeks in a row, especially when they expand. However, 1917 managed this rare feat at the weekend with an average of $10,775, despite now playing in well over 3,000 theaters. More...

2020 Awards Season: Oscar Nominations

January 13th, 2020

The Oscar nominations were announced on Monday, and the results were... well, there were some puzzling results. Joker led the way with eleven nominations. ... A film with 69% positive reviews earned the most nominations. It’s not the worst-reviewed movie to earn a Best Picture Nomination—after all, Bohemian Rhapsody was nominated just last year. However, this film is arguably the worst-reviewed movie to ever earn the most nominations in a single year. More...

2020 - Awards Season: Golden Globes Winners

January 6th, 2020

The Golden Globes winners were announced on Sunday and we have some interesting developments for the rest of Awards Season. 1917 wasn’t considered a front-runner with five films earning more nominations. However, after this result, it might be the front-runner to become the big winner on Oscar night. More...

Theater Averages: Uncut Won’t Be an Undiscovered Gem

December 19th, 2019

Uncut Gems led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $107,448 in five theaters. The only film to earn a better average this year was Parasite; however, while that film earned an average of $131,072 during its opening weekend, it was playing in only three theaters, so Uncut Gems arguably has the better opening. Bombshell also had an explosive opening with an average of $79,789 in four theaters. The number one film of the weekend, Jumanji: The Next Level, was next with an average of $14,017. The final film in the $10,000 club was A Hidden Life with an average of $10,077 in five theaters. More...

2020 - Awards Season: SAG - Nominations

December 12th, 2019

The Screen Actors Guild announced their nominations this week and we are starting to see some patterns with similar names appearing over and over again. This time Bombshell led the way, earning four nominations, but four other films earned two or more nominations. More...

2020 Awards Season: Golden Globes Nominations

December 11th, 2019

The Golden Globes nominations are the second major Awards Season set to come out. It is still very early in the year and the predictive value of the Golden Globes is a little suspect, but there are still some things to learn here. (This is especially true on the TV end, as there’s talk about how strange the nominations are this year.) Marriage Story led the way with six nominations, just ahead of The Irishman and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, both of which picked up five nods. More...

Weekend Estimates: Frozen Falls, Still Set to Top Predecessor

December 8th, 2019

Frozen II fell both faster than expected, and faster than projections based on Friday’s estimates. However, the film is still managing an estimated $34.67 million over the weekend for a three-week total of $337.59 million. This is enough to push it ahead of Joker and into seventh place on the yearly chart. If this holds up, then it will have an excellent shot at topping the first Frozen’s domestic total, even without the Christmas break coming up. Internationally, the film pulled in $90.2 million in 48 markets for totals of $582.1 million internationally and $919.7 million worldwide. It had no major market openings this weekend, but it is earning an estimated $800,000 in South Africa, which would make it the second biggest opening for an animated film there, behind only Minions. The film has become the biggest animated film in South Korea with $75.5 million. It as also topped its predecessor in Russia ($23.0 million) and Mexico ($21.1 million) and a lot of smaller markets. More...

Theater Averages: Frozen Floats on Water

November 28th, 2019

Frozen II led the way on yet another chart, this time the theater average chart, earning an average of $29,339 during its opening weekend. Dark Waters was right behind with an average of $25,652 in four theaters, which does suggest at least some potential to expand. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot continues its impressive road show run earning an average of $16,140 in five theaters. Citizen K was the final film in the $10,000 club with an opening of $10,571 in its lone theater. More...

Theater Averages: Honey is in the Money

November 14th, 2019

Honey Boy easily led the way on the theater average chart earning just over $300,000 in four theaters for an average of $75,266. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot was way back with an average of $15,613 in 15 theaters during its fourth week of release. Granted, it is a road show with greatly inflated ticket prices, but it also has very limited showings, so this is a fantastic run. The final film in the $10,000 club was Better Days with an opening weekend of nearly $1 million in 70 theaters for an average of $14,136. More...

Theater Averages: The Irishman Enters Witness Protection

November 7th, 2019

It appears Netflix will not be reporting box office numbers for The Irishman. We’ve seen reports by third parties that the film earned $350,000 in eight theaters for an opening weekend average of $43,750. The only confirmed member of the $10,000 club was Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, which earned an average of $15,097 in 15 theaters. However, it is a roadshow tour and ticket prices for some shows are greatly inflated. This is still an impressive number, but don’t expect it to expand truly wide. More...

Theater Averages: Most New Releases Struggle, but Holdovers Thrive

October 31st, 2019

There was only one new release in the $10,000 club, No Safe Spaces, which earned $45,548 in its lone theater. While this is a great start, its reviews suggest it won’t stick around long, as the film is preaching to the choir. Jojo Rabbit expanded from five to 55 theaters, but still managed an impressive average of $18,983. Parasite was next with an average $14,158 in 129 theaters during its third weekend of release. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot expanded to 17 theaters, and earned an average of $12,774. It will likely continue to expand, as a lot of shows on its road tour were sold out weeks in advance. More...

Theater Averages: Jay and Silent Bob Give Limited Releases a Kick in the Pants

October 24th, 2019

It was an amazing week on the theater average chart with five films in the $10,000 club, incluing three new releases that earned averages of more than $50,000. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot opened with two days of special engagements where the film earned just over $1 million, before having a roadshow performance in one theater over the weekend earning $93,520. However, this wasn’t a usual run and tickets range from about $50 to over $200 for the VIP packages at some shows. That said, even with normal ticket prices, it would still have earned a spot in the $10,000 club. Second place went to Jojo Rabbit with an impressive opening of average $69,911 in five theaters. This is more than enough to expand significantly, perhaps even enough to justify a wide expansion. The Lighthouse also opened well enough to justify significant expansions earning an average of $53,475 in eight theaters. Parasite was the only holdover in the $10,000 club earning an average of $37,616 in 33 theaters. The film topped $1 million over the weekend and it has plenty of room to grow. The final film in the $10,000 club was The Cave, which earned an average of $10,593 in two theaters. More...

Weekend Estimates: Maleficent Leads the way, but Box Office is a Team Effort

October 20th, 2019

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil did bounce back on Saturday and that is helping it earn an estimated $36.0 million during its opening weekend. It is still missing expectations, but by a more reasonable margin. Its internal multiplier is about the same as the first film managed, despite this film earning weaker reviews. Audience reactions were the same, as both films earned an A-rating from CinemaScore. As for the movies international numbers, it is pulling in $117.0 million, but it also opened everywhere, so it needed a monster start and I’m not sure this was it. The film did have a faster opening that its predecessor did in China with $22.4 million, while it cracked $10 million in Russia with an an opening of $10.7 million. The film cost $185 million to make, so this is not a fast enough start to break even in the short term, but with Disney+ starting next month, it could break even eventually. More...

Friday Estimates: Maleficent isn’t Evil, but it is far from Good

October 19th, 2019

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil wasn’t expected to be a monster hit, but its previews gave reason to be optimistic. That optimism is gone as a result of Friday’s estimates. The film pulled in just $12.5 million on Friday, meaning it will have to have nearly as good legs as the original had just to avoid opening below the low end of expectations. That seems unlikely, especially with its weaker reviews, although it did manage the same A rating from CinemaScore. Maybe it will really bounce back today, but we won’t really know till the weekend estimates come out tomorrow. More...

Theater Averages: Parasite Sinks Its Teeth into the Competition

October 18th, 2019

Parasite was the only new release in the $10,000 club, but it not only led the way over the weekend, its average of $128,072 in three theaters is the best average this year. In fact, this is not only the best average of the year, its the best average since La La Land’s debut in 2016. While Parasite was the only new release in the $10,000 club, it wasn’t the only member. Joker was in a distant second place, a very, very distant second place with an average of $12,771. Meanwhile, Célébration was very close behind with $12,678 in its lone theater. Pain and Glory remained in the $10,0000 club with an average of $11,819 and it managed this feat despite expanding its theater count to 23 theaters. More...

Weekend Estimates: Joker Setting October Sophomore Record with $55 million

October 13th, 2019

Joker is setting the record for the biggest sophomore weekend in October. It is estimated to earn $55.0 million over the weekend, which is nearly $12 million more than the current record held by Gravity. It is also nearly $20 million more than Venom earned during its second weekend of release. If this estimate holds, then Joker will have earned nearly $192.7 million after just ten days of release. Furthermore, its international numbers are just as potent with a weekend haul of $123.7 million on 24,000 screens in 79 markets giving it totals of $351.2 million internationally and $543.9 million worldwide. Given its legs so far, $1 billion worldwide seems like a safe bet. It would be nice to get a billion dollar hit from 2019 that isn’t from Disney / Marvel. The film had a pair of stunning debuts in France ($10.3 million on 630 screens) and Germany ($9.3 million on 912). However, its biggest weekend haul was in the U.K., where it was down just 22%, earning $12.0 million on 1,472 screens for a two-week total of $36.9 million. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Will Parasite Burrow Its Way into Audiences?

October 11th, 2019

It is a shallow week for limited releases with more secondary VOD titles than ones that made it onto the main list. Of these, Dolemite is My Name has the best shot at a fast opening; however, it doesn’t have long before it comes out on VOD itself. This means Parasite could have the best long-term health in theaters. More...

Parasite Trailer

September 24th, 2019

Thriller from director Bong Joon Ho opens October 11 ... Full Movie Details. More...

International Box Office: Godzilla Stomps Through Asia, is Quieter Elsewhere

June 5th, 2019

Godzilla: King of the Monsters was more dominant on the international chart with $130 million on 53,515 screens in 75 markets for a worldwide debut of $178 million. Most of this success came in Asia, including in China, where the movie opened in first place with $66.65 million over the weekend for a total opening of $70.41 million. Japan was the next biggest market with a haul of $8.4 million on 600, which was enough for first place in that market. The film also earned first place in Taiwan ($4.2 million on 320 screens); Thailand ($2.3 million on 705 screens); and Malaysia ($2.2 million on 653). The film had to settle for second place in a number of major markets including Mexico ($4.7 million on 2,443 screens); the U.K. ($4.43 million in 531 theaters); and France ($2.5 million on 628 screens). The film has yet to open in Spain and a number of smaller markets, so it isn’t done its international run. That said, it was an expensive movie to make and it will need help on the home market to break even. More...