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: April 14th, 2013: Hobbit Stretches Its Legs

May 31st, 2013

Like the DVD sales chart, there were almost no new releases to find a place on the April 14th, 2013 edition of the Blu-ray sales chart. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey rose to the top of the chart 104,000 units / $2.60 million for the week and 1.93 million units / $45.02 million after four. More...

DVD Sales: April 14th, 2013: Bible Doesn't Resurrect Sales Numbers

May 31st, 2013

There were only three new releases to reach the top 30 on the April 14th, 2013 edition of the DVD sales chart and none of them reached the top five. This left the top five identical to last week. The Bible: The Epic Miniseries sold 161,000 units and generated $5.29 million in sales for the week, lifting its running tallies to 597,000 units / $19.60 million. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for April 9th, 2013

April 8th, 2013

It's another bad week on the home market. According to Amazon.com, the biggest release of the week is the fifth season of Merlin, which is a British TV show. Gabriel Iglesias' latest Stand-Up Concert DVD is right behind. The rest of the top five is filled with a canceled cable show and a poorly reviewed limited release. The best release of the week is Naked Lunch Criterion Collection Blu-ray, which is great, but not quite Pick of the Week material. (It is just too bizarre for most people.) Fortunately, Lincoln on Four-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack finally arrived and I was able to review it. Despite it not coming out this week, or this month, it is still the Pick of the Week material. It towers that high above this week's releases. I do hope more people check out Sexy Evil Genius on DVD than its sales ranking indicates. More...

Per Theater Chart: Gate Keeps Out Thief

February 13th, 2013

The Gatekeepers remained in first place in the per theater chart with an average of $14,024 in three theaters. The only other film to top $10,000 on the per theater chart was Identity Thief with an average of $11,000, which is amazing for a wide release at this time of year. More...

Limited Releases: Glimpse Inside the Limited Releases

February 8th, 2013

While there are a number of diverse limited releases this week, only two of them are earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. Those two are Lore and Caesar Must Die. Neither has a real shot at mainstream success, as foreign language films and documentaries rarely expand significantly. Hopefully they will at least find a receptive audience in the art house circuit. More...