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October 28, 2011
Year-over-year unit sales comparisons for physical disc sales continued to improve through the month of September as a selection of great catalog titles debuted on BD, adding a boost to the sales of the first major summer tentpoles to arrive on home video. According to IHS Screen Digest analysis of Nielsen VideoScan data total year-to-date video sales to US consumers, which ended the month of August trailing 2010 by -10.3%, finished the month of September down just -9.4%.
Transformers: The Dark of the Moon shot to the top of the sales charts on the strength of its initial release week, selling well over a million units in just the first three days following its debut on Friday, September 30. By the end of its first full week, it had sold through 1.6m units, generating over $30m for distributor Paramount. And after selling 400,000 units in its initial three days at retail, Star Wars sold an estimated first-week total of 520,000 units (for comparison purposes, 'first week sales' for Friday releases combine units sold during the initial weekend plus the first full week of sales). Because of the higher price point for Star Wars: The Complete Saga it was the top September title in dollar terms, with estimated first-week revenue to Fox of $40m. Universal's Bridesmaids was a break-out hit, selling an estimated 430,000 BD units in its first week at retail, an exceptionally strong performance for a character-based comedy that primarily targeted a female demographic. When DVD sales are added it was actually the number two title for the month.
While overall US disc sales are still dominated by DVD, when it comes to the major hit feature films we're now seeing top titles with over 50% BD sales in their first week at retail. Most major titles now have BD versions that include a DVD in the box, often including digital copy as well, and video consumers are showing a willingness to pay a little more for what they perceive as significant extra value. A few titles are still being offered with the option of a BD/DVD combo or a BD-only SKU; the BD-only version is often offered at a lower price point. A handful of titles have released with two BD SKUs at the same price, each of which contains a DVD in the package, the only difference being the packaging: one is sold in DVD-style packing but includes a BD as well, the other is sold as a BD with a DVD copy. Older catalog titles are achieving healthy sales by putting a BD, a DVD and digital copy in one box and pricing for impulse buys at $14.99 and below. As the practice of including a BD in most video SKUs takes hold, we'll see a significant shift in the BD-to-DVD sales ratios, as IHS Screen Digest counts any SKU with a BD copy as a BD sale.
The combination of Universal's Fast Five video debut with the BD release of Disney's The Lion King and The Lion King 3D and the first full week of sales for Transformers: The Dark of the Moon continued to drive sales gains in the first week of Q4, pushing the year-to-date comparison of discs sold for the week ending October 9 to -9.2% (see link to table, 'BD and DVD weekly cume unit sales comparisons'). After roaring back to life in its theatrical 3D release, earning over $90m at the box office through October 19 (according to Box Office Mojo), the combined BD and BD3D releases of The Lion King and The Lion King 3D plus the 3D Lion King Trilogy sold over 1m units in their first week at retail, while Fast Five sold an estimated 790,000 BD units - 52% of its total first-week disc sales.
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