DVD Sales: True Blood is True Blue
June 9, 2010
New releases continue to struggle, but at least there is something of interest to report on top, as there are two releases that could legitimately the claim top spot. Dear John sold the most units, topping True Blood: Season Two 526,000 units to 480,000. On the other hand, True Blood generated more revenue $15.85 million to $9.46 million.
Avatar continued its strong run this week, earning third place with 176,000 units / $3.25 million over the week and 7.19 million units / $123.58 million in total so far. Valentine's Day fell from first to fourth with 149,000 units / $2.52 million for the week and 647,000 units / $10.98 million after two. The final new release to chart was The Road, which landed in fifth place with 115,000 units / $2.19 million. For a film that opened in just over 100 theaters and never expanded wide (no matter how much you stretch the definition of that word), this is a great start on the home market.
Blu-ray continues to suffer, down 5% to $14.4 million over the week, but at least this was 2.5% higher than the same week last year. Compared to DVD sales, Blu-ray represented 10% of total sales and 18% of the top twenty comparison. I think it is safe to say the soft numbers are a result of an overall weakness in the market, plus a lack of prime Blu-ray releases. That should change next week with the release of Alice in Wonderland. The biggest seller of the week was True Blood: Season Two with 130,000 units, which is awesome for a TV on DVD release. Avatar moved an additional 125,000 units for a very close second place. Dear John opened in third place with 65,000 units. Given its target demographic, this is acceptable.
Filed under: Video Sales, Valentine's Day, The Road, Avatar, Dear John