BLU-RAY SALES THREAD: Put all sales figures and comments here! - Page 375  

Originally Posted by rlsmith

My overall concern has been that the studios have been (until recently at least) doing everything possible to move to a streaming model and to damage theatrical and packaged in the process, even though the profits from those channels look to be more than the potential profits from streaming.

Consumers may well gravitate to streaming solutions but will never want to pay as much for them as they are willing to pay for theatrical and packaged. There is something fun about going out to the movies shown in a large theatre, and something interesting about owning a physical copy in nice packaging. If I have to watch films on streaming (shudder!), I certainly will not be paying much for the privilege.

Best Buy Offers 'Lorax' Plush

28 Feb, 2012
By: John Latchem


Best Buy's 'Lorax' Plush

One might expect the newly released discs of family titles Hugo and Puss in Boots would be perfect for bonus exclusives, but retailers were rather lax in that regard. The only exclusives for these titles were at Walmart, which had a low-cost, extras-free DVD version of Puss in Boots, and a Puss plush with copies of the DVD or Blu-ray. (For those keeping count, that equals seven different versions of Puss in Boots at Walmart).

Instead, the biggest promotion centered on new theatrical film The Lorax, with Best Buy offering a Lorax plush doll with the purchase of a select family title at $12.99. The selection included Despicable Me, E.T., The Cat in the Hat and more.

Another exclusive at Best Buy involved the new Justice League: Doom animated movie and a Flash figurine with the Blu-ray. A version without the figurine is $5 less.

Best Buy’s weekly ad circular touted several critically acclaimed films under the banner of RottenTomatoes.com, with a mix of new favorites such as The Social Network and classics such as Taxi Driver. Sony Pictures released most of the films on the list.

Best Buy also presented a promotion of $7.99 DVDs featuring Barbie and Strawberry Shortcake.

Ownership Makes a Comeback


27 Feb, 2012
By: Stephanie Prange




We can thank a glittering vampire for injecting some new vigor into the sellthrough business. The latest “Twilight” movie, Breaking Dawn — Part 1, sold 5 million disc units in its first 11 days of release, according to Summit Entertainment, which is owned by Lionsgate. The studio last week announced disc sales of the title are about 13% ahead of sales of the third film in the franchise, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, at the same point in its release.

Breaking Dawn — Part 1 helped push overall disc sales revenue for the week up almost 20% from the same week the previous year, according to Home Media Magazine research. The last up period was the week ended Nov. 12, which included the debut of another juggernaut, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2. The lesson: Consumers continue to collect the big hits in large numbers and are interested in owning them on disc.

Meanwhile, the cloud-based digital storage platform backed by five of the six major studios continues to add consumers (see story, cover). Consumers have redeemed UltraViolet digital rights to more than 1 million title copies, according to research firm IHS, with 50,000 new accounts opened since early January.

“One million [UV titles] may not sound like much compared to the 504 million movie discs sold in 2011,” said Tom Adams, analyst at IHS. “However, we have projected that only 19 million digital film files were sold during the entire year of 2011 by electronic sellthrough (EST) vendors like iTunes, Xbox Live and Vudu. This suggests that if UV can continue to gain momentum this year, it could encourage consumers to buy more movies.”

Also, considering the small number of films offering UltraViolet at the moment, it seems use of the service cannot help but pick up speed. I know UltraViolet has come up against a wave of criticism from consumers and industry observers, but the fact that it is gaining accounts in spite of that criticism is a very good sign — and an indication that consumers want to own, not just rent, content digitally. Where EST has faltered, UltraViolet may succeed.

Ownership is staging a comeback.

Universal Misses the Big Picture

1 Mar, 2012
By: Erik Gruenwedel


Universal Studios Home Entertainment president Craig Kornblau should know the halcyon days of DVD sellthrough aren’t coming back anytime soon.

It’s a rental market where consumers can watch new-release discs for $1.20 a night, with studios getting pennies on the transaction.

So why assist in the destruction of sellthrough (and studios’ bottom line) by extending — not lengthening — the 28-day embargo with Redbox? Why not join Warner Home Video in doubling the embargo to 56 days? After all, it was Warner that first windowed new releases to kiosks and by-mail subscription — a practice Universal and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment embraced.

Obviously, Universal thinks the current window has the right economics. But considering that operating cash flow at Universal Pictures plummeted more than 95% in 2011, is the status quo really working?

The studio recently said Oscar-nominated adult comedy Bridesmaids was the top transactional video-on-demand title in history, generating $40 million in revenue across multiple digital platforms, including iVOD, pay-per-view, hotel viewings and electronic sellthrough. The movie also generated $100 million in disc sales.

Those tallies — which approximated nearly 50% of the title’s domestic box office — began accumulating 28 days before Bridesmaids was officially available at Redbox.

Now suppose Bridesmaids wasn’t available at Redbox for 56 days — ignoring for the sake of argument any workaround program. A typical transactional VOD purchase generates seven times the margin of a kiosk or by-mail subscription rental. Sellthrough generates 20 to 30 times the margin of a kiosk or by-mail transaction.

Bridesmaids was a popular movie with enduring demand; why give it to the 99-cent store just four weeks after street date?

Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner Home Entertainment Group, was asked Feb. 29 why a consumer should pay $18 for a sellthrough title when a $2 (48-hour) rental edition existed down the street. Tsujihara said the only way to justify sellthrough was by creating scarcity of supply when demand is greatest — a basic tenet of supply-side economics.

“Otherwise, $2 beats $18 every time,” Tsujihara said.

Analyst: Disc-to-Digital Has to be Free for UltraViolet to Work


2 Mar, 2012
By: Erik Gruenwedel



Movie studios — led by Warner Home Entertainment Group — want to push consumers toward sellthrough and cloud-based digital locker UltraViolet by encouraging them to transfer their existing disc collections into digital files.

BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield believes Walmart could be the first retailer to announce a disc-to-digital service. He said studios want consumers to frequent authorized retailers to initiate digital transfers rather than in the home due to concerns multiple users could upload the same disc.

Kevin Tsujihara, president of WHEG, Feb. 29 told an invester group he envisions big-box retailers such as Walmart and Best Buy offering services whereby consumers could bring in their discs and have them transferred seamlessly into digital files stored in the cloud.

Tsujihara said there are about 10 billion movie discs in U.S. households (about 90 to 100 discs), of which he said about 20% are Warner titles when factoring in the studio’s market share in home entertainment.

Indeed, discs (DVD and Blu-ray) are not serialized, which means it would be impossible to determine if a disc being uploaded to the cloud was an original purchase, or traded or shared from someone else.

“If consumers want to steal and share digital versions of movies, that is incredibly easy today without the need for discs,” Greenfield wrote in March 1 post. “Whereas sharing/stealing via disc-to-digital would be far more complicated than a simple Google search.”

Greenfield says studios should enable consumers to transfer discs to digital files for free rather than estimated prices ranging from $1 to $3 per DVD and upwards of $10 to transfer into high-definition.

The analyst said that for UltraViolet to work in a market increasingly shifting toward low-margin rental options such as Redbox kiosks and subscription video-on-demand, consumers need extremely low barriers to entry.

“We believe disc-to-digital needs to be done at home at no cost to the consumer, including a free HD quality upgrade, if UltraViolet is to have any hope of success,” Greenfield wrote.

Separately, he said rollout of UltraViolet has to be accompanied by the price of electronic sellthrough for new movies dropping to $10 with day-and-date theatrical premium VOD priced from $20 to $30.

“In a world where a wide array of content is available anytime/anywhere at increasingly low prices (think iVOD, VOD, Redbox and Netflix) or even free, as part of existing subscriptions (think HBO GO, Showtime Anytime and Streampix), we believe buying is not worth [three to four times] the cost of renting,” Greenfield wrote.

Projections: Family Titles to Top the Charts

5 Mar, 2012
By: John Latchem



In it first full week in stores, DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots, distributed by Paramount, should have enough momentum to carry it to the top of the charts the week ending March 4. Its biggest competition among new releases is Paramount’s Hugo, which earned $69.5 million at the domestic box office and recently took home five Oscars.

On the rental chart, Hugo should debut on top, with Puss in Boots also performing strongly. Fox’s In Time is expected to jump into the top five after expiration of its 28-day kiosk embargo.

Fox Parties with Playboy for ‘Immortals’ Release


7 Mar, 2012
By: Chris Tribbey




LOS ANGELES — Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and his Playboy Mansion always throw good parties. Throw in a sexy blockbuster film like Immortals, and you’ve got a bash for the ages.

As much fun as 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s March 6 event was, the studio could have held an Immortals Blu-ray Disc release party in some random back alley. Fox would have still enjoyed the same launch-day success it had with this entertaining epic.

“Fox is the greatest partner to deliver [Immortals] into homes,” said Craig Flores, executive producer of the film, which pulled in more than $217 million at the worldwide box office. “I mean, look at this release party. Nobody needs to tell Fox what to do when it comes to promotion, or how to get home entertainment into the home.”

After just 24 hours in the market, the Immortals Blu-ray was tracking to be the best-selling disc thus far in 2012, Fox representatives said.

Approximately 50% of all first-day Immortals disc sales were of the high-def variety. That’s a far cry from a year ago, when new Blu-ray releases from the studio garnered less than 20% of the disc pie. It’s excellent news for Fox, which has been advertising Immortals as the first “must-own” Blu-ray of the year.

Fox released three disc versions of Immortals: DVD ($29.98), a Blu-ray combo with digital copy ($39.99), and a 3D Blu-ray combo with digital copy ($49.99). If action-adventure fans have 3D at home, there’s no question which version they should choose, Flores said.

“We had a huge [theatrical] release in 3D, so I think fans appreciate it that way,” he said. “People who have 3D in the home, all the more power [to them].”

Fox brought out plenty of talent for the event, though it was actor Bruce Boxleitner (Tron, Tron: Legacy) who extolled the virtues of 3D most succinctly.

“We’re expanding the way we tell stories now,” he said. “I know there’s a lot of speculation about what business [3D] will do, but I will tell you it’s spot on.” 3D receipts accounted for roughly two-thirds of the film’s opening weekend box office in November, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

On the Blu-ray versions, Fox includes more than an hour of bonus features, including an alternate opening, two alternate endings, a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes, a graphic novel and deleted scenes.

For Immortals actor Corey Sevier (Apollo), the first choice on what to watch after the movie is an easy one.

“I’m probably going to look for deleted scenes,” he laughed. “Because I hope I’m going to show up in a few of those. The alternate ending, opening. It’s going to be exciting.”

Originally Posted by cakefoo

Best selling disc of 2012...

What does that mean? Obviously it doesn't include DVD but they don't say that. So what else are they excluding? Other studios' Blu-rays?

On Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart, Hugo narrowly beat Puss in Boots for the top spot. Nielsen data shows that Hugo generated 51% of its total unit sales from the Blu-ray Disc version, as opposed to 39% for Puss.

'Puss' Tops Overall Disc Sales; 'Hugo' Tops Rentals and BD Sales
7 Mar, 2012
By: Thomas K. Arnold


Puss in Boots

Despite multiple Oscar wins, Paramount’s Hugo couldn’t topple DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots, also distributed by Paramount, from the top spot on the national home video sales chart the week ended March 4.

The Martin Scorsese-helmed family adventure film debuted at No. 2 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart, selling 78% as many discs as Puss in Boots did in its sophomore week.

Summit’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 held pat at No. 3, while the No. 4 spot went to another new release, Warner’s Justice League: Doom, an animated direct-to-video release.

Rounding out the top five was Warner’s The Bodyguard, which in the wake of star Whitney Houston’s Feb. 11 death has sold about 390,000 units, according to Home Media Research. The film is scheduled to make its Blu-ray Disc debut March 27. Two other movies starring Houston also moved up to the top 20: The Preacher’s Wife at No. 9 and Waiting to Exhale at No. 15.

On Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart, Hugo narrowly beat Puss in Boots for the top spot. Nielsen data shows that Hugo generated 51% of its total unit sales from the Blu-ray Disc version, as opposed to 39% for Puss.

Justice League: Doom debuted at No. 3, while Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp was down a notch at No. 4.

On Home Media Magazine’s rental chart for the week, Hugo also bowed at No. 1, while Puss in Boots repeated at No. 2. Twentieth Century Fox’s In Time, fresh off its 28-day holdback from Netflix and Redbox, zoomed up the rental chart to No. 3, from No. 63 the prior week.

The previous week’s top rental, Breaking Dawn, slipped to No. 4.

Originally Posted by Kosty

I'm sure they meant Blu-ray as the Twilight Saga release sold far more DVD+Blu-ray = OD total units.

Originally Posted by cakefoo

What I meant was, they had to be talking Blu-ray only, not DVD, not Blu-ray + DVD, etc. But what else are they talking? Are they seriously saying it is selling faster than the Twilight Blu-ray? Sure TL had only half the BD marketshare, but it still had a far larger box office and the series has been know to sell well on disc.

So what I was thinking was Fox were only referring to their Blu-rays.

Blu-ray Sales: Puss Rises Above Tower

Like it did on the DVD Sales Chart, Puss in Boots opened on first place on the Blu-ray sales chart. It sold 571,000 units generating $15.99 million in sales, and that's just from Friday through Sunday. Its opening Blu-ray share was 40%, which is excellent for a kid's movie.

Tower Heist opened in second place with 255,000 units / $5.10 million giving it a Blu-ray share of 39%, which is merely good, but not great.

Lady and the Tramp slipped a spot to third with 207,000 units / $5.22 million over the week giving it a total of 1.38 million units / $34.46 million after three. This is an excellent run for a catalog title.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 fell from first to fourth with 154,000 units / $3.55 million for the week giving it totals of 1.40 million units / $32.13 million after three. It is performing much better on DVD.

J. Edgar opened in fifth place with 69,000 units / $1.73 million. Its opening week Blu-ray share was just 18%, which is low even for a drama.

Weeds: Season Seven opened in sixth place with 46,000 units / $921,000, which was enough for an opening Blu-ray share of 27%. This is better than most TV on DVD earn.

The rest of the new releases were well back with The Son of No One opening in 15th place with just 22,000 units / $410,000. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 46%, which is surprisingly high.

Downton Abbey: Season One placed 24th with 11,000 units / $244,000. The Way only manged 26th place with 9,000 units / $178,000. It is a limited release and a drama, so it wasn't a prime Blu-ray release, but an opening week share of 14% is soft.

Overall Blu-ray sales rebounded this week up 54% in terms of units and 65% in terms of dollars when compared to last week. It was also higher compared to last year, albeit with gains of 8% / 30%.

DVD sales were essentially flat versus last week, while it was down versus last year, as has usually been the case for a long, long time. The overall Blu-ray share rose to 35% in terms of units and 45% in terms of dollars, which is a solid number all things considered. (There were no visually intensive Blu-ray Blockbusters, for instance.)

Next week new releases include Hugo and mostly nothing else. Puss in Boots might lead the way during its first full week of release. This is bad. Granted, last year's DVD sales were not super strong, but Bambi made its Blu-ray debut and sold more than 1 million units. I don't see 2012 matching that.


- C.S.Strowbridge


Date posted: 2012-03-07

Movies
Puss in Boots
Tower Heist
Lady and the Tramp
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1
J. Edgar
The Son of No One
The Way

DVD Sales: Boots Snatches Top Spot

Puss in Boots opened in top spot on the DVD Sales Chart despite coming out on Friday instead of Tuesday. Over the weekend, it sold 851,000 units generating $14.58 million in sales. As a point of comparison, Shrek Forever After sold about twice as many during its first week of release, but it was a Tuesday release and it came out during the heart of Christmas shopping season.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 slipped to second place with 489,000 units / $9.32 million over the week for a total of 4.29 million units / $78.09 million after two. This will likely be one of the best selling DVDs of the year, if not the best selling DVD of the year, because it is a blockbuster release with a fangirl demographic, which helps sales. However, its target audience is less likely to have made the leap to high definition, so its Blu-ray share will be lower, further boosting DVD sales.

Tower Heist earned third place in its debut with 400,000 units / $6.80 million. It really should have sold better than this, and its Blu-ray sales won't compensate for the weakness on the DVD chart. J. Edgar was next with 311,000 units / $4.66 million, which is not bad, given its disappointing theatrical run. In a ghoulish result, The Bodyguard rose to fifth place with 165,000 units / $987,000.

Weeds: Season Seven just missed the top five with 125,000 units, but placed fifth with $2.38 million. The Way was further back in 13th place with 55,000 units / $686,000, which is solid for a limited release. The Son of No One opened in 23rd place with 26,000 units / $414,000.


- C.S.Strowbridge


Date posted: 2012-03-07

Movies
Puss in Boots
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1
Tower Heist
J. Edgar
The Bodyguard
The Way
The Son of No One