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.

DVD Sales: Braving the Competition

January 15th, 2013

Catching up on the home market, we see that the top of the November 18th DVD chart was dominated by new releases, with three of them in the top five. This includes Brave with a very impressive opening of 2.16 million units / $34.51 million. This was enough to place in the top ten for 2012, and it has already climbed several more spots. More...

DVD Sales: Not So Amazing Start

December 9th, 2012

It was a soft week for new releases on the DVD sales chart and the holdovers were not a lot of help. The Amazing Spider-Man did earn first place, but with an unimpressive opening of 536,000 units / $9.62 million. There are two mitigating factors here. Firstly, the film will likely perform much better on Blu-ray. Secondly, it was released on Friday, so it had a shortened opening week. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Campaign Comes Out on Top

December 7th, 2012

There were not many new releases to reach the top ten of the Blu-ray sales chart this week, or even the top thirty. However, we did have a new number one as The Campaign earned first place with 196,000 units sold and $4.17 million in revenue. This is not a good start, but at least its opening week Blu-ray share was strong for a comedy at 38%. More...

DVD Sales: A Secret No More

December 4th, 2012

Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings held off the new releases, all two of them, earning first place on the DVD sales chart with 360,000 units / $7.19 million for the week for totals of 1.12 million units / $20.04 million after two. Selling 1 million units is an impressive feat for a direct-to-DVD release. More...

International Box Office: Twilight is Breaking the Bank

November 21st, 2012

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 opened internationally and dominated the chart with $199.45 million on 13,400 screens in 61 markets during its first weekend of release. It opened in a number of major markets, scoring first place in all of them. In the U.K., the film made $25.20 million on 558 screens, while it also topped $20 million in Russia with $21.97 million on 1,366. In France, the film pulled in $16.56 million on 823 screens, while in Brazil it earned $12.24 million on 1,213 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $17.87 million. In Spain it made $11.76 million on 1,052 screens over the weekend and $12.11 million including previews. It earned $10.58 million on 856 screens over the weekend in Italy for a total opening on $13.34 million. Mexico was close behind with $9.94 million on 2,642 screens over the weekend and $12.29 million in total. It didn't hit the $10 million market in South Korea; in fact, it barely earned first place there with $5.91 million on 665 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $7.17 million. A local hit, A Werewolf Boy was right behind, but more on that below. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Wings Sparkle on High Definition

November 15th, 2012

Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings was one of six new releases to reach the top 11 on the Blu-ray sales chart this week. It was surprisingly strong for a direct-to-DVD release aimed at kids selling 424,000 units and generating $12.10 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 36%. More...

DVD Sales: Not-So Secret of Her Success

November 14th, 2012

Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings continues the franchise's impressive run on the home market leading all new releases earning first place on the DVD sales chart. It sold 756,000 units and generated $12.85 million in opening week sales. This is amazing for a direct-to-DVD release. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Mad Money for Madagascar

November 5th, 2012

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted was one of seven new releases to reach the top 20 on this week's Blu-ray sales chart. It took first place with 768,000 units / $15.36 million for an opening week Blu-ray share of 45%. This is good for a digitally animated kids movie. In fact, this wouldn't be bad if it were an action film. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for October 23rd, 2012

October 23rd, 2012

There are not a lot of major releases on this week's list. The biggest box office hit was Magic Mike, which did cross $100 million, but I'm not sure its target audience is going to support it on DVD and especially not on Blu-ray Combo Pack. According to Amazon.com, Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings is the best selling new release, and the DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and 3D Combo Pack are selling very well. However, while that film is absolutely worth picking up, the Pick of the Week goes to The Invisible War on DVD. It could be an Oscar winner next year. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings

October 21st, 2012

The Character of Tinker Bell is one of the most famous is all of animation history. First appearing in Peter Pan almost 60 years ago, the character became the defacto mascot for Walt Dinsey since then. In 2008, Tinker Bell was released direct-to-DVD and despite some trepidation, the film earn amazing reviews and was a big hit on the home market. This year, the four direct-to-DVD release comes out, but will Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings live up to the previous releases? Or is the franchise getting tired. More...