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: Hero Saves the Day

March 15th, 2015

New releases earned the top three spots on the DVD sales chart this week. This includes Big Hero 6, which opened in first place with 963,000 units / $14.44. This isn't at the same level as Frozen opened with, but it is already the second best selling DVD in 2015. More...

DVD Sales: Eight is Enough for DVD

March 8th, 2015

Every single film in the top five of the DVD sales chart were new releases, as were eight of the top ten films. Game of Thrones: Season Four earned first place with 241,000 units / $7.23 million during its first week of release. It is hard to be upset about that start. More...

Blu-ray Sales: Game of Thrones is Not Playing Around

March 8th, 2015

The top four films on this week's Blu-ray sales chart and nine of the top twenty were new releases. The number one release was Game of Thrones: Season Four, which sold 286,000 units and generated $9.98 million in sales. Its opening week Blu-ray share was 54%, which is incredible compared to the average TV on DVD release. Then again, Game of Thrones isn't the average TV show. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for February 17th, 2015

February 16th, 2015

This is the best week on the home market in a long time. Game of Thrones is one of the best TV shows on at the moment, if not the best TV show, and its DVD and Blu-ray is Pick of the Week material. Additionally, there are a few potential Oscar winners hitting the home market this week as well. On the down side, there is not a lot of depth. Birdman, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, and The Theory of Everything are all up for Oscars next weekend and all of them are worth picking up. Life Itself was snubbed by Oscar voters, but it too is a must have. However, in the end, I went with Game of Thrones for Pick of the Week. More...

Per Theater Chart: Sniper Still Calling the Shots

January 13th, 2015

There was only one new release in the $10,000 club, which left American Sniper with an easy victory. It pulled in an average of $144,880 in four theaters, making it the first film ever to earn an per theater average of $100,000 or more for three weeks. Second place went to A Most Violent Year with an average of $29,135, also in four theaters. Taken 3 was the best of the new releases with an average of $10,908, just ahead of Song of the Sea with an average of $10,470. More...

Per Theater Chart: 2015 Starts as 2014 Ended

January 6th, 2015

There were very few new films that came out during the first weekend of 2015, so it should come as no surprise that the per theater chart looked mostly the same as it did last weekend. This includes the top of the chart, American Sniper, which earned an average of $169,227 in four theaters, which is 7% higher than last weekend. That bodes well for its planned wide release later in the month. The best new release was A Most Violent Year, which opened with an average of $43,197, also in four theaters. This film should also expand significantly over the coming weeks. Selma was next with an average of $28,781 in 22 theaters. Inherent Vice earned an average of $15,712 in 16 theaters. It is expanding wide in just a few days, so this is a great result. Two Days, One Night was right behind with an average of $15,628 in two theaters. The Imitation Game was roughly even with last week with an average of $10,308. Leviathan rose earning an average of $10,300 in three theaters. More...

Per Theater Chart: American Shoots for the Top

December 31st, 2014

American Sniper led the way on the per theater chart with an estimated average of $152,500 in four theaters. This is the second best per theater average of the year, behind just The Grand Budapest Hotel and ahead of The Imitation Game. Second place for the weekend was Selma, which earned an average of $30,076 in 19 theaters during their Oscar-qualifying run. Two Days, One Night was a surprise entry in the $10,000 club earning an average of $24,118 in two theaters. It earned amazing reviews, but it didn't have as much buzz behind it as other film's that opening on Christmas. Into the Woods was the best of the wide releases in the $10,000 club earning an average of $12,726 in 2,440 theaters. Last week's winner, Inherent Vice, was next with an estimated average of $12,500 in 16 theaters. The overall box office leader, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, earned an average of $10,689, while The Imitation Game was right behind with $10,618. The final film in the $10,000 club was Mr. Turner with an average of $10,498 in 24 theaters. More...

Contest: Story Time

December 18th, 2014

Christmas is next week and as always, there are a number of films trying to take advantage of the holiday. This year, that number was supposed to be three, but The Interview has been pulled from the movie schedule indefinitely. That leaves Into the Woods and Unbroken and of the two, Into the Woods will very likely be the bigger film. As such, it is the clear choice for for the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Into the Woods.

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 The Brittany Murphy Story on DVD. 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 The Brittany Murphy Story on DVD. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

2014 Preview: December

December 1st, 2014

November is over and there are not a lot of positive things to say about what happened during the month. There were a couple of films that matched expectations, but there were no breakout hits and a few that missed expectations by wide margins. Granted, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 will top $300 million with relative ease, but that's still nearly $100 million lower than some people were predicting. The month ends with 2014 about $300 million behind 2013's pace and there's really no chance to catch up in December. That doesn't mean there are no films that will be worth watching in December. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies should at least earn $200 million, while $300 million is not out of the question. Additionally, there are several films that at least have a shot at $100 million at the box office, but not all will get there. At least this December and last December are on par with each other. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug topped $250 million while there were three others that topped $100 million. I think we will get the same result this month. Last year there were a lot more wide releases, but many of them bombed. I think this year the lack of competition will help more films reach their potential. More...