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: Living it Up in Beverly Hills

February 15th, 2011

Overall, new releases were rather weak, but we did see four films reach the top 30 on the sales chart this week, including a new number one. That film was Beverly Hill Chihuahua 2, which sold 712,000 units, generating $10.67 million in opening week revenue. Granted, this was half as many sales as the original, but that was a theatrical release and this was direct-to-DVD, so I think Disney has to be very happy with this release. In fact, they might be thinking franchise. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for February 1st, 2011

February 1st, 2011

There's still a lull when it comes to first-run releases on the home market with no major, or even midlevel hits coming out this week. In fact, the best-selling release according to Amazon.com is Alice in Wonderland on Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack, which is a contender for Pick of the Week. The other major contender is Let Me In on Blu-ray, which failed to find an audience despite impressing critics almost as much as the original did. I'm going to give the honor to Let Me In, but both are worthy contenders. More...

Social is still Popular with the People

October 11th, 2010

The race for top spot was pretty close this weekend with the first and second place films finishing within $1 million of each other. On the other hand, combined there were significantly weaker than last year's number one film, Couples Retreat. Because of this, it should come as no surprise that the overall box office was down, falling 2% from last weekend to $93 million and 15% from last year. 2010 still has a massive lead over 2009 at $8.31 billion to $8.04 billion, but year-over-year declines like this mean that lead is not safe. More...

Contest: Fred vs. Abby: Winning Announcement

October 7th, 2010

The winners of our Fred vs. Abby contest were determined and they are... More...

Most New Releases are Anti-Social

October 4th, 2010

October started in such a way that it feels like September was extended a weekend. The top film wasn't bad, but the other two wide releases bombed. Overall the box office brought in $95 million, which was down 6% from last week and 11% from the same weekend last year. 2010 is still ahead of 2009 by 4% at $8.19 billion to $7.90 billion, but if it were to lose 11% each weekend, that lead would evaporate by the end of the year. More...

Weekend Estimates: Social Network Has Three Million Friends

October 3rd, 2010

The Social Network connected with about three million moviegoers this weekend to top the box office chart with an estimated $23 million, according to Sony's Sunday estimate. While that's a very respectable start, interest in the movie was mainly concentrated in urban areas, particular on the coasts, and the movie was soft in the central United States. While stellar reviews should lead to good word-of-mouth, the film's limited demographic appeal certainly seems to have held it back from being a huge success. That said, this weekend's other openers are looking on in envy. More...

2010 Preview: October

October 1st, 2010

September is nearly over and the Fall box office season is about to begin in earnest. September wasn't too bad this year, with more films matching or exceeding expectations than missing them, and we managed to keep pace with last year, more or less. Can October do the same? Well, last year there was only one $100 million hit, Couples Retreat (not counting Paranormal Activity, which opened in September). We might not see any film hit $100 million this time around. In fact, we might not even see any that come all that close. On the other hand, there were also five wide releases that clearly bombed last year, and on that end, 2010 looks a lot better. Not every film that opens over the next five weekends will be a mid-level hit or better, but most should get there. More...

Countdown to Halloween Begins

September 30th, 2010

It's the beginning of October, so it should come as no surprise there are a couple of horror films are coming out. More surprisingly, a couple of films released this week are also earning Oscar- or near Oscar-worthy reviews. (There's only three films, so there's some crossover.) Direct competition between the films could hurt, but hopefully not so much that 2010 falls behind last year's pace. It's not like last year was explosive at the box office, as Zombieland just missed $25 million at the box office, and it was the clear winner. Will any of the wide releases top that figure? And will the overall box office help 2010 maintain its lead over 2009? More...

Contest: Fred vs. Abby

September 24th, 2010

The week our box office prediction contest features what could be two of the scariest kid to ever be featured in a movie. Abby from Let Me In, which is the target film in this week's box office prediction contest. And Fred Figglehorn, who is featured in our prizes, although if you look at box office cover, he looks more scared than scary. (Fred: The Movie was seen by 7.6 million people when it aired on Nick last week. 7.6 million!) In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Let Me In. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Fred: The Movie on DVD. Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a copy of Fred: The Movie on DVD. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...