Blu-ray Sales, July 28-August 3: Noah Sails to Number One

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Blu-ray Sales, July 28-August 3: Noah Sails to Number One

Posted August 7, 2014 08:37 AM by Josh Katz

For the week that ended on August 3rd, Paramount Home Entertainment's Noah took the top spot on the Blu-ray-only and overall package-media rankings. Director Darren Aronofsky's ambitious take on the story of Noah's ark courted much controversy in its reimagining of the Biblical text, and the respective critical and commercial responses certainly reflect the film's divisive nature. Its 68% Metacritic score is loaded with reviews that either love or loathe the picture, and that tension carries over to the domestic and foreign box-office grosses; in North America, Noah earned $101 million, a figure that doesn't fully cover its estimated $125-million production budget, but overseas it racked up an additional $258 million. Last week, Noah had a Blu-ray market share of 51%.

Next up on the Blu-ray-only and overall package-media lists was Twentieth Century Fox's The Other Woman. This female buddy-comedy netted Fox a tidy profit last April; despite receiving somewhat of a critical drubbing (its Metacritic score stands at 39%), the modestly budgeted (at $40 million) feature went on to earn almost $84 million domestically and over $110 million in foreign markets. The Other Woman had an HD market share of 25% and sold 30% as many Blu-rays as Noah and 61% as many total units.

Finally, Sony's Heaven Is for Real rounded out the top three spots on both the Blu-ray-only and overall package-media sales charts. An adaptation of Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent's bestselling novel, Heaven Is for Real demonstrated the commercial benefits of producing films for a faith-based audience. While the critical reception to Heaven Is for Real was fairly so-so (its Metacritic score is 47%), the public response was far more positive - the $12-million feature grossed over $91 million domestically. On the Blu-ray-only list, Heaven Is for Real sold 21% as many discs as Noah and had a Blu-ray market share of 24%. Regarding the overall package-media chart, the Greg Kinnear-starring drama sold 46% as many total units as Noah.

Top Ten Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 08/03/14:
  1. Noah
  2. The Other Woman
  3. Heaven Is for Real
  4. Rio 2
  5. The LEGO Movie
  6. Transcendence
  7. Sabotage
  8. Frozen
  9. The Protector 2
  10. 300: Rise of an Empire
Top Five Home Media Sellers for Week Ending 08/03/14 (% of Blu-ray's Market Share Noted):
  1. Noah (51%)
  2. The Other Woman (25%)
  3. Heaven Is for Real (24%)
  4. Rio 2 (35%)
  5. The LEGO Movie (34%)
Top Five Blu-ray 3D Sellers for Week Ending 08/03/14 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):
  1. 300: Rise of an Empire 3D (7%)
  2. How to Train Your Dragon 3D (7%)
  3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 3D (6%)
  4. The Protector 2 3D (5%)
  5. Rio 2 3D (5%)