Blu-ray Sales: Capping Off a Great Run
November 10, 2011
Captain America: The First Avenger led all new releases earning first place on the Blu-ray sales chart by a similar margin to its victory on the DVD sales chart. It sold 1.54 million units and generated $40.08 million in opening week sales. Its Blu-ray ratio was a stunning 68%.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was pushed into second place with 402,000 units sold, generating $10.05 million in revenue for the week giving the film totals of $58.54 million and 2.11 million units. Winnie the Pooh debuted in third place with 190,000 units / $5.39 million. Its opening week Blu-ray ratio was 49.96%, which is nothing short of outstanding for a kids film, especially one that isn't computer animated. The Lion King slipped a spot to fourth with 156,000 units / $4.26 million for the week, giving it totals of 2.58 million units / $67.38 million after a month of release. The Jurassic Park Trilogy: Blu-ray Box Set rounded out the top five with 148,000 units / $9.16 million. That's an excellent result for a box set like this.
The only other new release to chart was Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings, which landed in 22nd place with 13,000 units / $266,000, giving it an opening week Blu-ray ratio of 21%. This is a little disappointing, as low budget horror films are aimed at the right demographic for high definition. People who like these movies are more likely to own a high definition setup. On the other hand, low budget horror films are not exactly showy enough to need to be seen in high definition.
It was another unbelievable week on Blu-ray, although overall sales were only a little higher compared to last week, growing 0.6% in terms of units and 7% in terms of revenue. Compared to last year, wow. This week last year was the slowest week for Blu-ray during the entire Christmas shopping season, but even with that in mind, growth of 331% in terms of units and 305% in terms of dollars is stunning. I'm at a loss for words. DVD sales continued to fall when compared to last year, albeit by a slightly slower rate than the last few weeks. They even grew compared to last week, which resulted in the overall Blu-ray ratio slipping a bit to 59% in terms of units and 70% in terms of revenue.
Blu-ray sales will likely hit a bit of a snag next week, as the only major release is Cars 2. On the other hand, this week last year saw the release of Toy Story 3, which sold 1.4 million units during its first week of release. I don't see Cars 2 matching that figure.
Filed under: Video Sales, The Lion King, Captain America: The First Avenger, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Winnie the Pooh, Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings