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.

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Part I

November 23rd, 2011

This weekend is Thanksgiving and as always that means Black Friday and Cyber Monday plus 48 hours of shopping in-between. And as always, I've already done my Christmas shopping, for the most part. (I'm still waiting to see if the B.C.Lions win the Grey Cup. If not, I'll need to look for an alternative gift.) For everyone else who is still searching, we present the first part in our annual Holiday Gift Guide. As usual, the gift guide is divided into several sections, starting with Major Movie Releases. These are first run releases, franchise box sets, etc. However, before we get into the individual titles, we will start with an update on... More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for October 11th, 2011

October 12th, 2011

It's not a particularly strong week on the home market. The biggest first run release coming out this week is Horrible Bosses, which was a surprise $100 million hit. Green Lantern will likely be the best selling release of the week, but it disappointed with critics and at the box office. As far as the best of the best goes, The Tree of Life Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack is the best bet as far as Pick of the Week goes, bu there are a few others that are worth picking up. There are also a couple of late arrivals that deserve honorable mentions this week: Castle: Season Three and Dumbo - Blu-ray Combo Pack. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Bridesmaids Highlight of Banner Week

October 5th, 2011

Bridesmaids led the way on the Blu-ray sales chart, just as it did on the DVD sales chart. It was by far the best new release selling 593,000 units and generating $13.30 million in revenue. Its opening week Blu-ray ratio was 30%, which is very high for this type of release and further proof Blu-ray is taking over from DVD. More...

DVD Sales: Honeymoon Begins for Bridesmaids

October 5th, 2011

New releases were again dominated by TV on DVD releases representing five of the eight new DVDs to reach the top 30 on this week's DVD sales chart. However, none of them reached the top five. The best of these new releases was Bridesmaids with 1.37 million units / $21.44 million in opening week sales. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Dumbo

October 5th, 2011

Back in 1941, Disney's animation studio was in a bit of trouble. While both Pinocchio and Fantasia are now considered classics, they both failed to show a profit during their initial releases. Additionally, there were labor problems at the studio (the head animators earned quite a bit for 1941, but the vast majority of the people who worked on the films earned only a tiny fraction of that). And the company was in debt from building a massive animation studio. If Dumbo was a flop, there was a chance the studio would have to close. Seventy years later, the studio is still going strong, so you know it was a success at the time. But can it still effect audiences today? And is the Blu-ray worth picking up? More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for September 20th, 2011

September 20th, 2011

It's another incredibly busy week on the home market with over 400 new releases on Amazon.com. Granted, the vast majority of them are not worth mentioning, while the signal to noise ratio seems to be lower than the average week. There are several major releases coming out in this group, including a few that are prime contender for Pick of the Week. Bridesmaids on Blu-ray Combo Pack, Castle: Season Three, and Dumbo: Blu-ray Combo Pack were all on the shortlist. But in the end, that honor went to Modern Family: Season Two. More...