Casino Royale (Sony), for the first time, broke into the Amazon Top 10 DVD sales today, marking the first time a High Definition disc has reached such a mainstream status. The disc, which is currently sitting at #9, went onsale today, and is predicted to be the best selling HD disc yet. Amazon is also showing that, after pre-orders have been filled, they had 3,666 copies in stock. Which ever side you support, this is clearly good news for HD in general, as it shows a more mainstream adoption of the format.

I've noticed HD titles creeping up lately on Amazon. It was just a matter of time. However, I think Amazon probably sells a higher percentage of HD titles compared to SD titles than most stores do. If Amazon sells 5 percent HD titles of all disc sales, I'm sure the local Best Buy is selling 0.5 percent HD titles.

I've noticed HD titles creeping up lately on Amazon. It was just a matter of time. However, I think Amazon probably sells a higher percentage of HD titles compared to SD titles than most stores do. If Amazon sells 5 percent HD titles of all disc sales, I'm sure the local Best Buy is selling 0.5 percent HD titles.

Yes, sometiems i pick up 3 dvd in the way out of the local supermarket. Thats something I cant do with HD. I would mostly buy online.

Nevertheless. Casino royal is a title that could sell more HD disc than an avarage movie.

1. Its new
2. No PS3 owner has it on DVD, and think they could as just buy it on Bluray.

Other releases such as old movies will not attract as many PS3 owners
1. They already have it on DVD
2. Many has a SD tv only, no need to rush buying highdef discs.

Thats alot of stock..although they sold 20 between when you pisted this and when the site updated apparently...still, when you have 4k copies of Casino Royale and 2k copies of The Departed, it makes me wonder just how much Amazons HD format marketshare is...

I thought it would crack the top 10. I think this is about as high as it goes though.

Nice. I need to pick this up this weekend as a blind buy (missed it in the theater).

The ranking of Casino Royale (currently #9) is even more significant when one considers the Blu-ray sale at Amazon. There are four other titles in the top 100 so CR is competing against several other big titles on BD.

The ranking of Casino Royale (currently #9) is even more significant when one considers the Blu-ray sale at Amazon. There are four other titles in the top 100 so CR is competing against several other big titles on BD.
Why? You make it sound like most buyers are only likely to buy one disc. I think the opposite is true. Most people privy to the Amazon sale are more likely than not early adopters and thus more likely to buy multiple discs at a time. I'd be willing to bet a good deal of those CR preorders are from people also taking advantage of the sale.

The ranking of Casino Royale (currently #9) is even more significant when one considers the Blu-ray sale at Amazon. There are four other titles in the top 100 so CR is competing against several other big titles on BD.


Actually, I would bet the sale helped Casino rankings. People that would have bought it somewhere else bought it from Amazon - so they could pickup a few other cheap disk.

This is a huge step for optical HD and BR in particular. :cool:

cool (that was what I voted in the poll

Amazon started out the day with 3667 copies of Casino Royale. Currently as of 6:55 PM PST, its down to 3344 copies. Amazon already moved 323 copies just today. Pretty good clip.

Amazon started out the day with 3667 copies of Casino Royale. Currently as of 6:55 PM PST, its down to 3344 copies. Amazon already moved 323 copies just today. Pretty good clip.


you think so? 323 copies nationwide? i think that's terrible if accurate and i would question those results. hell my best buy in nyc probably sold 100 copies by themselves today...

I got my copy from Fry's today. :)

you think so? 323 copies nationwide? i think that's terrible if accurate and i would question those results. hell my best buy in nyc probably sold 100 copies by themselves today...

Dude ...its all relative. Can you name me a HD title that did that before? I don't think so.

It's number 8 at the moment.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/new-for-you/top-sellers/-/dvd/all/ref=pd_dp_ts_d_1/103-3048081-5635848

you think so? 323 copies nationwide? i think that's terrible if accurate and i would question those results. hell my best buy in nyc probably sold 100 copies by themselves today...

it is not 323 nationwide. It is 323 people that most likely tried several local places that ran out and ran to Amazon. Anyone that wanted to get it from Amazon most likely preordered it so that they would have received it today, not order it today.

Amazon started out the day with 3667 copies of Casino Royale. Currently as of 6:55 PM PST, its down to 3344 copies. Amazon already moved 323 copies just today. Pretty good clip.

Take a 24 hour snapshot and we will know how many disks every 24 hours is required to maintain that #8 spot on amazon. I don't know how the rankings are counted (ie: what is the time interval, I assume it's a sliding window).

Good news! They were sold out at Best Buy and Circuit City.

Yes, sometiems i pick up 3 dvd in the way out of the local supermarket. Thats something I cant do with HD. I would mostly buy online.

Nevertheless. Casino royal is a title that could sell more HD disc than an avarage movie.

1. Its new
2. No PS3 owner has it on DVD, and think they could as just buy it on Bluray.

Other releases such as old movies will not attract as many PS3 owners
1. They already have it on DVD
2. Many has a SD tv only, no need to rush buying highdef discs.

I think what you say about PS3 and Blu Ray could be said about either of the two formats and any HD player. The average person is not going to replace their whole DVD collection, even if the titles are available. This is why Universal's lack of *new* box office hits is so troubling.

Congrats ... this achievement made it to slashdot.org ...

http://slashdot.org/articles/07/03/14/1317255.shtml

Dude ...its all relative. Can you name me a HD title that did that before? I don't think so.

I remember Batman Begins hitting the top 20....

Congrats ... this achievement made it to slashdot.org ...

http://slashdot.org/articles/07/03/14/1317255.shtml

I have yet to read or meet a slashdot regular who has any common sense.

I remember Batman Begins hitting the top 20....

Pretty doubtful.. the highest for any HD-DVD would have been The Departed earlier last month in the Top 30.

Pretty doubtful.. the highest for any HD-DVD would have been The Departed earlier last month in the Top 30.

Yep. BB was the best up until the departed. I think CR or the departed on Blu-ray were the first to break the top 20.

Pirates and Spider-Man will likely go even higher. Not sure if HD-DVD really has a "killer app" to drive sales this year at all.

I remember Batman Begins hitting the top 20....

Batman Begins didn't come close 50, let alone 20. Superman Returns on HD DVD was the first sub 100 title I can think of and it went down to 33. The best HD DVD ranking to date has been Departed at 19.

Pirates and Spider-Man will likely go even higher. Not sure if HD-DVD really has a "killer app" to drive sales this year at all.

This is THE major problem for the hd-dvd format.....all the killer apps are appearing on Blu Ray. There cant be anyone out in HD land that isn't impressed with how well Casino Royale is doing, and the films you mention above will sell till the cows come home. When the format war is settled Casino Royale will be remembered as the first hammer blow to fall :cool:

Casino Royale reminds me a little bit of The Matrix on DVD ... I think that was really the first movie on DVD that really drove that format.

Casino Royale on Amazon UK has now climbed to number 12, We might see this burst the top 10 in the UK as well :D :D

This is THE major problem for the hd-dvd format.....all the killer apps are appearing on Blu Ray. There cant be anyone out in HD land that isn't impressed with how well Casino Royale is doing, and the films you mention above will sell till the cows come home. When the format war is settled Casino Royale will be remembered as the first hammer blow to fall :cool:
The real problem can be directly traced to the top 20 blockbusters of 2006 being heavily BLU.

That's not to say that this will persist in 2007, though at this point, I can see Warner and Paramount having more good movies in the pipeline, while I still don't see major blockbusters from Universal or Weinstein. The blu exclusive weighting might go down over the lopsided 2006 numbers, but Ghost Rider and 300 are likely to be in top 20 boxoffice for 2007 given the numbers so far, and Spiderman 3, PotC3 and F4:2 are likely to place high on that list too.

The 2007 top grossing movies are more likely to be heavily blu, but likely not the outright massacre that 2006 turned out to be.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2006

I think Universal's "big" movies in the pipeline are a third installment of the Meet The Parents/Fockers "trilogy". There's also The Incredible Hulk, but that's 2008 I think and who really knows how that will turn out.

Spider-Man 3, Pirates 3 ... goes without saying those will be monsterously huge for Blu-Ray.

I think Universal's "big" movies in the pipeline are a third installment of the Meet The Parents/Fockers "trilogy". There's also The Incredible Hulk, but that's 2008 I think and who really knows how that will turn out.

Spider-Man 3, Pirates 3 ... goes without saying those will be monsterously huge for Blu-Ray.

Is Bourne Ultimatum 2007 too? I figured this might make it to top10, though there's a whole bunch that's supposed to be out 2007 from sony/BV/Fox that should make it tough to crack top 10.

I think Evan Almighty and Bourne Ultimatum are Universal's best bet to crack top 20. But I suspect Warner and Paramount might gain one or two more top20 box office movies.

Here's the pending Universal movies with 2007 released dates.

Charlie Wilson's War (2007) ... Distributor (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
Leatherheads (2007) ... Distributor (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
American Gangster (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (all media)
The Golden Age (2007) ... Distributor (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
We Own the Night (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
The Kingdom (2007) ... Distributor (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
How I Met My Boyfriend's Dead Fiancée (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
Alice (2007/I) ... Distributor (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
Evan Almighty (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical), Distributor (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
Georgia Rule (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
Tournament of Dreams (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical)

http://imdb.com/company/co0005073/

Bourne Ultimatium should do well.

Good ... but not nearly enough. I think HD-DVD's big hope was that WB/New Line would at least continue to pump out HD-DVD titles and keep them effectively exclusively on HD-DVD for a few months at least (ie: Harry Potter, LOTR, etc.).

Is Bourne Ultimatum 2007 too? I figured this might make it to top10, though there's a whole bunch that's supposed to be out 2007 from sony/BV/Fox that should make it tough to crack top 10.

I think Evan Almighty and Bourne Ultimatum are Universal's best bet to crack top 20. But I suspect Warner and Paramount might gain one or two more top20 box office movies.

Here's the pending Universal movies with 2007 released dates.

Charlie Wilson's War (2007) ... Distributor (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
Leatherheads (2007) ... Distributor (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
American Gangster (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (all media)
The Golden Age (2007) ... Distributor (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
We Own the Night (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
The Kingdom (2007) ... Distributor (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
How I Met My Boyfriend's Dead Fiancée (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
Alice (2007/I) ... Distributor (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
Evan Almighty (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical), Distributor (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
Georgia Rule (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
Tournament of Dreams (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007) ... Distributor (2007) (USA) (theatrical)

http://imdb.com/company/co0005073/

Thanks for posting the list. Glad to see I won't be missing anything I'd want to watch.

I'm a fair weather fan in the HD wars so I gotta say I hope BR blows HD-DVD out of the water soon. No way BR is going to go away anytime soon now that CR hit #8 in amazon's ranking so early in the format's release.

I'm a fair weather fan in the HD wars so I gotta say I hope BR blows HD-DVD out of the water soon. No way BR is going to go away anytime soon now that CR hit #8 in amazon's ranking so early in the format's release.Right now it's showing as #7. :cool:

Right now it's showing as #7. :cool:
It was at #6 this morning.

Thanks for posting the list. Glad to see I won't be missing anything I'd want to watch.

I don't know about that. I think another Bean movie would be sweet ;)

In the past two days, Amazon has sold 1000 copies of Casino Royale (this does not include pre-orders).
Not bad.

It was at #6 this morning.

Wow! Anyone think it could break into the Top 5? That would be significant. I wonder if the Pirates of the Carribean movies or Rocky Balboa might do something similar when they come out.

Of course, it's also interesting to see that no other HD title is above a disc of Baby Einstein on Amazon's ranking.

Thanks for posting the list. Glad to see I won't be missing anything I'd want to watch.

Heh, I have not heard of any of those movies

Heh, I have not heard of any of those movies
Me neither. That's why I figured I wouldn't be disappointed not getting to see any of them.

Wow! Anyone think it could break into the Top 5? That would be significant.

Breaking the Top 10 for DVDs and staying there for several days now is NOT significant? ;)

I meant it would be more significant if it made it that high. There is usually a big selling difference between number 5 and number 6. Sales volume is usually not linear compared to the ranking number.

I meant it would be more significant if it made it that high. There is usually a big selling difference between number 5 and number 6. Sales volume is usually not linear compared to the ranking number.

yes that's true, that it will be more significant, I agree...
but to be honest who on earth thought, just 2-3 weeks ago, that we will have blu-ray title as number #6... yes there was big chance to enter TOP 20, or maybe TOP 15, but I was not that optimistic about entering TOP 10 :)

and that did big smile on my face :)

Marek

Wonder how long it would take for a blu/hd release to beat out the WS Dvd release (same title).

Probably not for a few years right?

Wonder how long it would take for a blu/hd release to beat out the WS Dvd release (same title).

Probably not for a few years right?Won't take much longer than DVD overtook VHS.

Wonder how long it would take for a blu/hd release to beat out the WS Dvd release (same title).

Probably not for a few years right?
Overall, yes, quite a few years. On Amazon, who knows? They seem to sell a much higher percentage of HD content than most traditional retail outlets.

If you search this site for Batman Begins it hit #26 on Amazon. Whether you want to believe those posters at the time is up to you.

Batman Begins didn't come close 50, let alone 20. Superman Returns on HD DVD was the first sub 100 title I can think of and it went down to 33. The best HD DVD ranking to date has been Departed at 19.

Overall, yes, quite a few years. On Amazon, who knows? They seem to sell a much higher percentage of HD content than most traditional retail outlets.

Good point. Lots of us order from them, because they are cheaper, reliable, and have full stock. Here in Canada, I cannot reliably go to any B&M (Walmart, BB, etc.) and find a new title in stock -- I tried and have since given up. Additionally, the online variants here (Amazon.ca, bestbuy.ca, futureshop.ca), don't have full catalog, nor good pricing.

I think that milestone will be achieved within a year.