Nielsen VideoScan/Home Media Magazine: Blu-ray/DVD/HD DVD Stats (Updated Weekly)

[admin]

HMM didn't publish the missing week's numbers, but some of the figures can be worked out for the latest figures (since it provides % change compared to previous week).

For the week ending 23rd November 2008, here are the stats:

Percentage of Top 20 titles by disc volume:
N/A

All sales by $ volume (Percentage of Total Sales):
Blu-ray sales down 7.78% compared to last week, total spending: $18.6 million (9.44%)
DVD sales up 2.14% compared to last week, total spending: $178.45 million (90.56%)

I think my arithmetic is correct, but the drop in Blu-ray sales has me a bit worried that I may have made a mistake somewhere, but I've double checked everything. The increase in DVD sales was also smaller than expected, but at least it didn't drop. I can only guess that WALL-E and Tropic Thunder's sales figures weren't included until next week's data (see below). Overall though, the figures look quite normal, with the DVD/BD sales ratio roughly the same as the previous week. I wish HMM would go back and publish these results, because I don't trust my numbers

[admin]

For the week ending 30th November 2008, here are the stats:

Percentage of Top 20 titles by disc volume:
Blu-ray vs DVD: 10% vs 90%

All sales by $ volume (Percentage of Total Sales):
Blu-ray sales up 48.83% compared to last week, total spending: $27.68 million (6.69%)
DVD sales up 116.50% compared to last week, total spending: $386.35 million (93.31%)

You can read the latest digital edition of HMM with the above stats here:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom292114QPM/index.php?startid=1

A huge jump in DVD sales, but a somewhat smaller increase in Blu-ray spending. Again, I'm not quite sure if some error has been made in the published results, because of the discrepancy between disc volume and dollar volume (Blu-ray actually cheaper than DVD?).

The link below contains the top 20 selling Blu-ray titles of the week as well as the ratio of Blu-ray movies to DVD movies for individual titles for that week (it's not an "all time" stat). HMM is back publishing top 20 results, so the stats are useful again. As expected, Hancock was number one, with Transformers also up to 2, possibly due to some kind of pricing change. WALL-E was third and Tropic Thunder a respectable 7th. The 3 disc version of WALL-E also made the top 10.

WALL-E's stats are very interesting to look at, because 2 different Blu-ray versions were released at the same time, which I think has never happened before (or if it has, it's very rare). Despite the single disc version selling many more copies than the 3 disc version on Blu-ray, the single disc's sales ratio is only 7.85%, meaning the single disc DVD version outsold it by almost 13:1. But if you look at the 3 disc special edition, it had a huge 35.47% sales ratio, which means it was only outsold by the DVD version by less than 3:1. It seems that Blu-ray is still very much attractive to the niche element of the market place, those people that will buy the best and most expensive editions over the no frills version. Early adopters, movie enthusiasts, and people like that (myself included). This goes someway to explain why DVD sales more than doubled, where Blu-ray sales did less well.

Tropic Thunder's sales ratio was 10.51%, which is reasonable, but not as high as say Indy 4 or Iron Man.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom292114QPM/index.php?startid=8

Next week's new releases include The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The X-Files movies, The Shawshank Redemption, Wanted and the first time on Blu-ray Austin Powers collection.

[dr_ml422]

It's going to be very interesting in about 3 weeks when we see how TDK will do on Blu-ray. Lots of people I know including myself thought it was ok but not that great, especially seeing it the 2nd time around. Like you mentioned though, the enthusiasts will help show the discrepancies in regards to any special sets coming out, especially if TDK comes out with one. Many followers I've talked with as well as DVD guys are getting leary of the whole Blu-ray campaign as it passes on. My friend regrets purchasing the Blu-ray drive for his PC which of course was close to G$$$ if more at the time. He's smelling flop here as well. Well if it's 2012 until the final verdict than there's still time for both parties to see which way it'll actually go.

Funny I hope waiting until the holidays doesn't hinder TDK or Blu-ray in general because of the economy. People get what they usually want no matter what, but some have already spent on their holiday gifts.

Admin if a new format does replace Blu-ray whether hi-def or not, I guess to some extent compatible w/hi-def TV's, do you see the people behind the Blu-ray drives coming out w/firmware to adjust to the new format? Or are they looking at cutting their losses and accepting w/e comes? The consumer that is.

[admin]

I think as optical technology goes, I don't think there will be a new format that will compete with Blu-ray. Blu-ray will have to compete with downloads, streaming (like from Netflix, Blockbusters), and flash drive based delivery.

The flash drive based delivery system would require download kiosks at stores where you can download movies to your drive (or buy a new drive) and store it in a standalone player or media server (the same hardware can be used to download directly from the Internet). 32GB flash drives are already dropping quickly in price, to around $USD 70 - that's only $10 more than a 50GB BD-RE (rewritable), but it's much more portable and much more durable. Many people already use flash drives in place of DVDs for many tasks, so I can see this trend continuing into high density storage.

If you look at the components of a typical computer, apart from the fans and such, the only two parts that still have mechanical properties is the optical drive and the hard-drive. Intel and others are coming out with solid state storage, so in 3 year's time, only the good old optical will be a reminder of the history of computing.

[dr_ml422]

I've been wondering about how many more DVD capacity cases will I be able to store in my apt.. Now that you mentioned this I'm definitely going to start researching and going this route. Guess this> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1228...googlenews_wsj is the beginning of what we're looking at in regards to your post. Seagate says their holding off for now as far as solid state drives. Doesn't surprise me as most businesses in this type of industry either take the plunge like Intel's doing or wait to see what comes out to make theirs even better.

In the future we'll probably be carrying around a pc in a key chain that is wireless w/the option to plug into a wall. Only thing that'll be lacking is the medium to watch it on which they'll think of also. On that note I see a external hd or one of these flash drives to store my collection really soon. The stand alone storage player is going to also have to be in my sights. One needs something to play the media with.

Blu-ray might not have any competition, but they might not need it because there won't be any if they can't stay in the market at a profitable rate. I seriously doubt they'll keep it out if only 10-30% of the population decides to go that route after they even out w/the prices of formats or services now in use. You really see them making out and staying?

I really opened up pandora's box when I made digital media a hobby. This computer business reminds me of potato chips and tatoos. Rarely do you eat just one chip after you open up a bag, or have one tatoo after your first one.


Admin I'm going to research some storage methods and post back w/any questions. This morning I had a rude awakening. There was a fire in my building downstairs in the Chinese restaurant and I had to evacuate the premises. If it would of spread my whole collection would of gone up in smoke with no storage to back me up. So I definitely am going to get on the ball with this and will need help either through the fellas or yourself. Don't matter as you guys have come through as always.

[admin]

For the week ending 7th December 2008, here are the stats:

Percentage of Top 20 titles by disc volume:
Blu-ray vs DVD: 11% vs 89%

All sales by $ volume (Percentage of Total Sales):
Blu-ray sales down 14.58% compared to last week, total spending: $23.64 million (8.95%)
DVD sales down 37.73% compared to last week, total spending: $240.59 million (91.05%)

You can read the latest digital edition of HMM with the above stats here:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom989253CRT/index.php?startid=1

Drops in both DVD and Blu-ray sales possibly due to end of Black Friday sales, but kinder to Blu-ray than DVD. The week's release include Wanted at number 1, followed by Narnia (Prince Casapian), Step Brothers, Hancock and the collector's edition of Narnia. X-Files was at 12th.

Due to sales of older titles, none of these made the top 20 in terms of sales ratio (although number 20 was at a high 67%).

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom989253CRT/index.php?startid=6

Next week will be a bit slow, with almost no hit Blu-ray titles except for this little movie called The Dark Knight

(the bit about no other movies is true though, Dumb & Dumber being the top box office release not including another edition of I Am Legend. I guess nobody wanted to come up against TDK)

[dr_ml422]

None of those mentioned made the top 20 so we don't know which movies sold how many copies and what the total cost was for the sale of those, including all sales by $ volume. Still a bit elusive to say the least. The rest of the industry also pretty savvy as to not release anything together with TDK. Lot of hype behind that movie because of Ledger's death, so business wise not good idea to try and bring out another movie at same time. I bet something else will come out close to the end of the year though.

Imho Ironman better, and even The Incredible Hulk was good. TDK pushed theirs back themselves and tried to come close to not only Black Friday, but Xmas as well. Talk also about re-releasing TDK in theatres also. Shame. One has to pass for other's to profit at their expense. The more things change the more they remain the same.

That giant coming next year will decide who's boss. Terminator.

[admin]

For the week ending 14th December 2008, here are the stats:

Percentage of Top 20 titles by disc volume:
Blu-ray vs DVD: 14% vs 86%

All sales by $ volume (Percentage of Total Sales):
Blu-ray sales up 157.07% compared to last week, total spending: $60.78 million (11.64%)
DVD sales up 91.83% compared to last week, total spending: $461.51 million (88.36%)

You can read the latest digital edition of HMM with the above stats here:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom753378YRT/index.php?startid=1

Amazing numbers, for both Blu-ray and DVD, easily the best week in the whole year (well since I've started keeping track of the stats anyway). Because The Dark Knight was such a huge title that people will buy on all formats (not just on Blu-ray), the Blu-ray sales ratio is actually lower than that of when Iron Man was released which still stands as the record for Blu-ray this year (15.68%). Well done to Warner and Paramount, the two companies that actively supported HD DVD, to come up with the most popular Blu-ray releases so far.

As mentioned last week, nobody dared to release anything else this week of significance, and they were wise to do so. TDK completely obliterated last week's number one title, Wanted (and index score of 100 to 5.04 for Wanted!). The BD market share data is the same as last week, with lots of older titles in the top 20 so one can't tell how much TDK actually sold on Blu-ray compared to DVD. I don't know if the data collection/display has changed or not, because the BD market share data table used to be show the week's new releases, rather than just a bunch of catalogue titles.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom753378YRT/index.php?startid=18

Next week's releases included The Mummy 3, Death Proof, Planet Terror, Mamma Mia!, and some catalogue titles.

[admin]

For the week ending 21st December 2008, here are the stats:

Percentage of Top 20 titles by disc volume:
Blu-ray vs DVD: 11% vs 89%

All sales by $ volume (Percentage of Total Sales):
Blu-ray sales down 23.84% compared to last week, total spending: $46.51 million (11.73%)
DVD sales down 24.2% compared to last week, total spending: $349.84 million (88.27%)

You can read the latest digital edition of HMM with the above stats here:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom782249PMN/index.php?startid=3

The Dark Knight is still selling, and again this week's top seller, outselling "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" by a 3 to 1 margin.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom782249PMN/index.php?startid=11

No major new releases for the next week of stats since it's the holiday period.

[dr_ml422]

Thnx for the update on the holidays. I thought HMM took a break in the stats, but it was the studios that took one. I'm not one for too much sentiments really, so I think giving Ledger the Oscar to me on account of his early departure might be a lil too much. They're already talkin Oscar for the Joker. Let me tell you Grand Torino is a very good flic. The acting and plot were pure Eastwood as always. Just saw the trailers for Terminator tonight and it looks like a big winner soon coming. After this Bale might never need to lift another finger, not that after TDK he would of had too either. Wow 2 big bb not a year apart.

[admin]

For the week ending 4th January 2009, here are the stats:

Percentage of Top 20 titles by disc volume:
Blu-ray vs DVD: 16% vs 84%

All sales by $ volume (Percentage of Total Sales):
Blu-ray sales down 39.28% compared to last week, total spending: $24.33 million (15.48%)
DVD sales down 56.09% compared to last week, total spending: $132.83 million (84.52%)

You can read the latest digital edition of HMM with the above stats here:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom823310ZDC/index.php?startid=1

A week's worth of results are missing due to the holidays, but The Dark Knight is still the number one selling title, although sales of Eagle Eye were neck to neck. This is actually one of Blu-ray's better weeks, where its drop in sales were less than that of DVD. A recent survey showed that Blu-ray buyers are very much different from DVD buyers: most were male, and most buy more expensive titles and this data still suggest early adopters and video gamers are the main customers of Blu-ray. This perhaps goes to explain why Blu-ray titles still sell well when DVDs do not, as the demographic is less prone to seasonal variations and the effect it has on pricing.

The top 20 tables are here. The BD market share table is still dominated by Blu-ray catalogue title sales.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom823310ZDC/index.php?startid=9

Pineapple Express, Friday Night Lights, Disaster Movie are the scheduled releases for next week's stats. Also being released is The Last Emperor.

[admin]

For the week ending 11th January 2009, here are the stats:

Percentage of Top 20 titles by disc volume:
Blu-ray vs DVD: 13% vs 87%

All sales by $ volume (Percentage of Total Sales):
Blu-ray sales down 23.1% compared to last week, total spending: $18.71 million (14.45%)
DVD sales down 16.6% compared to last week, total spending: $110.78 million (85.55%)

You can read the latest digital edition of HMM (January 19-25 Issue) with the above stats here:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom155403KBM/index.php?startid=1

TDK is finally off the number 1 spot, taken by Pineapple Express. It is still the second most popular title of the week. Overall, it's still a quiet week and that's set to continue as next week's releases, Mirrors and Superhero Movie being the top picks, are also quite low key.

The top 20 tables are here. The BD market share table is still dominated by Blu-ray catalogue title sales, most notable being the newly released "The Last Emperor" topping the charts.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom155403KBM/index.php?startid=7

[dr_ml422]

Are the figures still skewed because of the quantity of quality movies sold as opposed to the whole amount being equated into the stats? Looks like it as there isn't always going to be a block buster release on Blu-ray all the time.

[admin]

For the week ending 18th January 2009, here are the stats:

Percentage of Top 20 titles by disc volume:
Blu-ray vs DVD: 12% vs 88%

All sales by $ volume (Percentage of Total Sales):
Blu-ray sales down 43.55% compared to last week, total spending: $10.56 million (9.69%)
DVD sales down 11.20% compared to last week, total spending: $98.37 million (90.3%)

You can read the latest digital edition of HMM (January 26 Issue) with the above stats here:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom903367WCX/index.php?startid=1

TDK back on top again due to lack of big releases this week (second spot was still last week's number 1, Pineapple Express). The top 20 BD share charts have been modified to only include the top 50 best selling Blu-ray titles, which makes sense because if some obscure title sold 2 copies on Blu-ray and none on DVD (or wasn't even released on it), then Blu-ray's share would be 100%, but it would mean nothing. Interesting to see that TDK's share is at a high 30.80%, while Planet Earth is still the "must-have" Blu-ray title to really show off the qualities of Blu-ray. It's also interesting to note that most (all?) of the titles in the top 20 are guy flicks. The charts can be seen here:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom903367WCX/index.php?startid=13

Next week's big release is the previously HD DVD exclusive (and bundled with the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive) King Kong. This should help the Blu-ray share go up, as I don't think there are many that are still buying this movie on DVD. Saw V, Unfaithful, The Pink Panther and 13 Going on 30 round off the other notable releases.

[admin]

For the week ending 25th January 2009, here are the stats:

Percentage of Top 20 titles by disc volume:
Blu-ray vs DVD: 17% vs 83%

All sales by $ volume (Percentage of Total Sales):
Blu-ray sales up 48.27% compared to last week, total spending: $15.66 million (12.57%)
DVD sales up 10.77% compared to last week, total spending: $108.96 million (87.43%)

You can read the latest digital edition of HMM (February 2 Issue) with the above stats here:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom692007DFC/index.php?startid=3

Another good week for Blu-ray, largely thanks to (the Blu-ray exclusive new release) King Kong and the new release Max Payne. 89.62% of all King Kong movie sales this week were on Blu-ray, and we're almost at the one year anniversary of the death of HD DVD, and it is appropriate that the title once bundled with every Xbox 360 HD DVD drive would be the one helping out Blu-ray now.

May Payne is very interesting because it sort of flopped at the box office and I didn't expect it to sell well, since I didn't even add it to the "new releases next week" paragraph for last week's entry. But it is doing very well on Blu-ray. It being based on a video game, and the majority of Blu-ray owners being PS3 owners, might be the connection here. Time to re-release Van Damme's Street Fighter on Blu-ray?

TDK is still in second place in the Blu-ray sales charts. I hope Sony/BDA has sent a gift basket, and a big cheque, to Warner Bros. because no other studio has helped Blu-ray moe than Warner, whose decision to go Blu-ray exclusive is what gave Blu-ray victory in the HD format war, and TDK giving Blu-ray a very healthy market segment. Maybe a smaller gift basket to Paramount, for Iron Man, too.

For the BD market share, the week's top release May Payne enjoyed 20% of the market, which is much improved from previous top releases that usually attracted around 10%. People are buying replacements for their existing DVD versions for certain titles it seems. King Kong, Band of Brothers, and to a lesser degree, Transformers, are all "old" releases that are selling well on Blu-ray (89, 85, 66 percent sales going to Blu-ray respectively). The complete BD share chart can be seen here:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom692007DFC/index.php?startid=11

Another big week for catalogue titles, with Universal's Bourne Trilogy available on Blu-ray for the first time. Other big catalogue releases include Zodiac, Groundhog Day, Any Given Sunday.