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 and Blu-ray Releases for August 7th, 2012

August 7th, 2012

This is not a really slow week on the home market this week, as we have The Lorax coming out, and it was the highest-grossing animated film of the year, until Brave overtook is very recently, so it should be a big seller on the home market. Unfortunately, it is the only major release of the week. There are some other releases worth checking out, a few worth picking up, but very few that are contenders for Pick of the Week. High Fidelity is a great movie, but its Blu-ray debut is Shovelware. Personally, I think Spaceballs is really underrated, but this is not the first time it has been released on Blu-ray and double-dips are rarely Pick of the Week material. In the end, I'm going with My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Royal Pony Wedding, because I liked the first DVD release more than I thought I would. More...

Featured Blu-ray Review: Clue

August 3rd, 2012

When Clue came out in 1985, there was a bit of buzz surrounding its release, but mostly dealing with the gimmick. There were three endings shot for the film and each theater only got one, so different crowds saw different endings with different killers being revealed. That's a rather unique gimmick, but sadly it wasn't enough to bring in moviegoers and the film failed to make an impact at the box office. It has since developed a bit of a cult following. Now more than 25 years later it is coming out on Blu-ray. But were the initial reactions appropriate? Does it deserve its wider appeal on the home market? Anyway why the hell do the British call it Cluedo? More...