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 - Monster Headache on Sales Chart

October 20th, 2009

It's a bit of a mess on the DVD Sales chart this week as there are two releases that can claim top spot. We have Monsters vs. Aliens repeating on top with 721,000 units for the week giving it totals of 2.96 million units and $51.51 million. However, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released this week and sold an estimated 1.5 million units of their DVD/Blu-ray combo pack. This is where things get confusing. The studio has decided to declare these as Blu-ray units. That's enough to be the number one selling DVD for the week, and enough to be one of the best selling Blu-rays of all time. The latter is probably the reason Disney did this, and it could really boost Blu-ray player sales over the holiday shopping season. More...

DVD Rentals - Year is Number One

October 20th, 2009

There were several new releases to reach the top 30 on this week's rental chart, including Year One, which took top spot with roughly double the rentals of Monsters vs. Aliens. More...

DVD Releases for October 6th, 2009 - Part II

October 6th, 2009

Not a bad week for the home market with top-notch releases in nearly every category: classics, limited releases, TV on DVD, direct-to-DVD, etc. Every category, except first run releases, as the biggest theatrical hit to make its home market debut this week is Year One, which was a serious box office disappointment. There are several DVD Pick of the Week contenders, starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which makes its Blu-ray debut in a number of different packages (Snow White Packaging, Witch Packaging, Collector's Book, Plush Gift Set, or Limited Edition Collector's Set) Also in contention is Red Dwarf - Back to Earth on Blu-ray, Anvil! - The Story of Anvil on DVD, and Trick 'r Treat on either DVD or Blu-ray. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is obviously the best, but all four deserve DVD Pick of the Week honors. With plenty of spotlight reviews, the list has to be split into to and the first part can be found here. More...

DVD Releases for October 6th, 2009 - Part I

October 6th, 2009

Not a bad week for the home market with top-notch releases in nearly every category: classics, limited releases, TV on DVD, direct-to-DVD, etc. Every category, except first run releases, as the biggest theatrical hit to make its home market debut this week is Year One, which was a serious box office disappointment. There are several DVD Pick of the Week contenders, starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which makes its Blu-ray debut in a number of different packages (Snow White Packaging, Witch Packaging, Collector's Book, Plush Gift Set, or Limited Edition Collector's Set) Also in contention is Red Dwarf - Back to Earth on Blu-ray, Anvil! - The Story of Anvil on DVD, and Trick 'r Treat on either DVD or Blu-ray. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is obviously the best, but all four deserve DVD Pick of the Week honors. With plenty of spotlight reviews, the list has to be split into to and the second part can be found here. More...

New Movie US Release Dates - July 22, 2007

July 21st, 2007

This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Big Stan, Valkyrie, Monsters vs. Aliens and more. More...

New Movie US Release Dates - November 12, 2006

November 12th, 2006

This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Halloween, Saw 4, The Incredible Hulk and more. More...