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: March 31st, 2013: Lincoln Feels Miserable(s)

May 19th, 2013

There were quite a few new releases to reach the upper echelon of the March 31st, 2013 edition of the Blu-ray sales chart. Lincoln was the best of these earning first place with 496,000 units / $14.24 million during its first week of release for a Blu-ray share of 38%. This is really good for a drama. More...

DVD Sales: March 31st, 2013: Lincoln Leads and Holdovers Soar

May 19th, 2013

The week of March 31st, 2013 was a strange week on the home market, as it contained Easter weekend. Easter sales helped a lot of older releases rise on the DVD sales chart. Even so, a new release, Lincoln, led the way with 818,000 units / $15.62 million. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for March 26th, 2013

March 27th, 2013

It is a shallow week on the home market. Lincoln is coming out and should dominate the sales chart, but after that, there's almost nothing to talk about. Given its reviews and its Awards Season success, it is the easy choice for Pick of the Week, right? Not so fast. I'm still waiting for the screener. Speaking of late reviews, Skyfall finally showed up and despite not coming out this week, or this month, I'm giving the Blu-ray Combo Pack Pick of the Week honors. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Box Office Falls as Moviegoers Wait for The Hobbit

December 10th, 2012

Skyfall returned to the top of the box office chart, which is fitting, because it was the last film released that truly beat expectations at the box office. The only wide release this week, Playing For Keeps, barely remained above the Mendoza Line and failed to reach the top five. The overall box office fell 30% to just $80 million. Ugh. There are a couple of pieces of good news we should focus on. Firstly, $80 million is still 7% higher than this weekend last year. Secondly, it was enough to push 2012 over the $10 billion market. At the moment, the total box office for 2012 is $10.02 billion, which is 6% higher than 2011 had managed at the same point in the year. By this time next week, 2012 might be ahead of 2011's final figure of $10.28 billion. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Dawn Still Breaking Bank

December 3rd, 2012

It was a close race for top spot as The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 just held off Skyfall by less than $1 million. Unfortunately, the best new release, Killing Them Softly, failed to match low expectations, while The Collection barely managed a spot in the top ten. The overall box office fell 45% to $114 million. However, as sharp as that decline was, it was still 41% higher than the same weekend last year and December begins with 2012 ahead of 2011 by 5.9% at $9.91 billion to $9.36 billion. More...

Weekend Estimates: Killing Has Soft Opening

December 2nd, 2012

The weekend after Thanksgiving is not known for its box office prowess, and this year is proving no different. Most films in the top 10 are down around 50% from last weekend, and the new wide releases are both falling short of their respective distributor's hopes. Killing Them Softly is headed for a $7 million debut, according to Weinstein, which is Brad Pitt's worst wide opening since Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas back in 2003, and worst live action wide release since 1994's The Favor. Meanwhile, LD Distribution is projecting $3.4 million for The Collection in 1,403 theaters, which is less of a surprise, but still a disappointment. With those two misfires, the top of the chart is once more populated by Breaking Dawn, Part 2 and Skyfall, which are essentially neck and neck at this point, with Twilight topping $250 million domestically this weekend and Bond set to reach that landmark in the next few days. More...

Weekend Predictions: Holdovers are Killing New Releases

November 30th, 2012

Like last weekend, holdovers will again dominate the new releases this weekend. However, one could argue the headline is inaccurate, as Killing Them Softly is really the only new film opening truly wide, so it should be "release", singular. The Collection is opening in more theaters than originally anticipated, perhaps enough to grab a spot in the top ten, but it is not opening truly wide. That said, there are some who think The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 will relinquish top spot at the box office with some thinking Skyfall will regain the title, while others think Lincoln will climb to first place. This weekend last year was a total disaster with the best new release playing in just 10 theaters. This year we should be a little stronger at the top and with a lot more depth. More...