Blu-ray Sales, August 26-September 1: Gatsby Climbs to the Top

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Blu-ray Sales, August 26-September 1: Gatsby Climbs to the Top

Posted September 5, 2013 07:13 AM by Josh Katz

For the week that ended on September 1st, Warner Home Entertainment's The Great Gatsby debuted at number on both the Blu-ray-only and overall package media charts. Director Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic underwent a rocky post-production schedule - costly reshoots caused Warner Brothers to change its initial release date from Christmas 2012 to May 2013 - and ultimately found box-office success; though its critical notices weren't exceptional (currently, its Metacritic total is 55%), The Great Gatsby grossed over $331 million worldwide on top of an estimated $105 million production budget. Of its home media sales figures, the film had a Blu-ray market share of 40%.

Next on the Blu-ray-only and overall package media rankings was a Paramount title: Pain & Gain. In many ways, this dark comedy was a departure for Transformers and Armageddon director Michael Bay; Pain & Gain, unlike his other pictures, is a docudrama, and a modestly budgeted one, at that - for the first time since 1995's Bad Boys, Bay was working with a budget under $30 million. These factors may have impacted its theatrical performance, as Pain & Gain made just under $50 million domestically and scored a Metacritic ranking of 45%. Still, its preliminary package media totals are solid. Pain & Gain sold 61% as many Blu-rays as The Great Gatsby (and had an HD market share of 37%) and 67% as many total units.

Finally, Twentieth Century Fox's Epic fell to third place on both the Blu-ray-only and overall package media charts. An animated adaptation of William Joyce's The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs, Epic managed a surprisingly robust theatrical run despite mediocre critical notices (the film's Metacritic total is 52%); the CGI adventure grossed over $253 million worldwide on top of a projected $100 million budget. On Blu-ray, Epic sold 47% as many discs as The Great Gatsby and had an HD market share of 36%. With regard to the overall package media list, it sold 52% as many units.

Top Ten Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 09/01/13:
  1. The Great Gatsby
  2. Pain & Gain
  3. Epic
  4. The Walking Dead: The Complete Third Season
  5. Sons of Anarchy: Season Five
  6. Super Buddies
  7. Olympus Has Fallen
  8. Oblivion
  9. G.I. Joe: Retaliation
  10. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Top Five Home Media Sellers for Week Ending 09/01/13 (% of Blu-ray's Market Share Noted):
  1. The Great Gatsby (40%)
  2. Pain & Gain (37%)
  3. Epic (36%)
  4. The Walking Dead: The Complete Third Season (40%)
  5. Super Buddies (20%)
Top Four Blu-ray 3D Sellers for Week Ending 09/01/13 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):
  1. Epic 3D (8%)
  2. G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3D (7%)
  3. The Great Gatsby 3D (4%)
  4. Despicable Me 3D (3%)