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.

Blu-ray Sales: Rio Returns to the Top

September 7th, 2011

As bad as it was on the DVD sales chart this week, it was worse on the Blu-ray sales chart. The best new release was a catalog title for a direct-to-DVD sequel, which is a terrible sign. As for the only bit of bright news on the chart, Rio returned to first place with 69,000 units / $1.48 million for the week and 1.51 million units / $33.23 million after four. More...

DVD Sales: Rio's Month Long Holiday on Top

September 7th, 2011

It was a tragic week on the DVD sales chart as none of the new releases were blockbusters. Rio remained on top of the chart for the fourth week of release, selling an additional 180,000 units and generating $2.70 million in revenue. In total, 2.76 million units have been sold with total revenues of $41.44 million. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for August 23rd, 2011

August 23rd, 2011

Summer is winding down, and while that means weaker box office numbers, it also means stronger home market releases. We are still a little early for summer blockbusters; however, TV on DVD releases are really heating up and will begin to dominate the scene. There are a few of those worth checking out, including NCIS: Season Eight, which is a contender for Pick of the Week. However, that honor goes to Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension. (An honorable mention also goes to Reboot: The Definitive Mainframe Edition, which finally arrived last week. It was worth the wait.) More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Bambi II

August 21st, 2011

I recently reviewed Fox and the Hound 2, the midquel to The Fox and the Hound. I found that film to be equal parts bad and unnecessary; however, The Fox and the Hound wasn't exactly a classic to begin with. On the other hand, Bambi is a classic, so Bambi II can fall well short of the original and still be a good movie. Is that the case? Can it beat expectations? Or is it just another unnecessary direct-to-DVD money grab? More...