Blu-ray Sales, August 4-10: Divergent Rises to the Top

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Blu-ray Sales, August 4-10: Divergent Rises to the Top

Posted August 14, 2014 01:37 PM by Josh Katz

For the week that ended on August 10th, Summit and Lionsgate Home Entertainment's Divergent took the top spot on the Blu-ray-only and overall package-media rankings. This film adaptation of author Veronica Roth's bestselling YA novel performed solidly in theaters this year, though it lacked the kind of widespread support that the Hunger Games and Twilight franchises found; despite earning over $274 million worldwide (on top of an estimated $85 million production budget), Divergent did not greatly impress critics, garnering a 48% score on Metacritic. Last week, Divergent had a Blu-ray market share of 51%.

Next up on the Blu-ray-only and overall package-media lists was Pure Flix's God's Not Dead. As with Sony's Heaven Is for Real, this drama demonstrated the commercial benefits of producing films for a faith-based audience. While the critical reception to God's Not Dead was not enthusiastic (its Metacritic score is 16%), the public response was far more positive - the $2-million feature grossed over $60 million domestically. On the Blu-ray-only list, God's Not Dead sold 21% as many discs as Divergent and had a Blu-ray market share of 30%. Regarding the overall package-media chart, the Kevin Sorbo-starring drama sold 36% as many total units as Divergent.

Finally, Disney and Dreamworks' Need for Speed rounded out the top three spots on both the Blu-ray-only and overall package-media sales charts. A movie version of the popular EA video game series, Need for Speed struggled to connect with audiences when it premiered last March. The $66-million feature grossed only $43 million domestically (though it performed better overseas with a $159 million international gross), and critics mostly shrugged at the car-racing actioner as well, as indicated by its 39% Metacritic score. Need for Speed had an HD market share of 44% and sold 20% as many Blu-rays as Divergent and 24% as many total units.

Top Ten Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 08/10/14:
  1. Divergent
  2. God's Not Dead
  3. Need for Speed
  4. Noah
  5. Oculus
  6. Heaven Is for Real
  7. Rio 2
  8. The Other Woman
  9. The LEGO Movie
  10. Frozen
Top Five Home Media Sellers for Week Ending 08/10/14 (% of Blu-ray's Market Share Noted):
  1. Divergent (51%)
  2. God's Not Dead (30%)
  3. Need for Speed (44%)
  4. Noah (46%)
  5. The Other Woman (23%)
Top Five Blu-ray 3D Sellers for Week Ending 08/10/14 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):
  1. 300: Rise of an Empire 3D (7%)
  2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 3D (6%)
  3. Rio 2 3D (4%)
  4. The Protector 2 3D (4%)
  5. Despicable Me 2 3D (4%)