Blu-ray Sales, August 11-17: Divergent Remains on Top

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Blu-ray Sales, August 11-17: Divergent Remains on Top

Posted August 21, 2014 07:35 AM by Josh Katz

For the week that ended on August 17th, properties aimed at a primarily YA audience dominated the Blu-ray-only chart. At number one on the Blu-ray-only and overall package-media rankings was Summit and Lionsgate Home Entertainment's Divergent. 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 43%.

Next up on the Blu-ray-only list was Disney's Muppets Most Wanted. The sequel to 2011's acclaimed The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted was a modest hit for the Mouse House. It garnered okay critical notices - its Metacritic score is 61% - and earned $78 million worldwide on top of its estimated $50-million production budget. On the Blu-ray-only list, Muppets Most Wanted sold 72% as many discs as Divergent and had a Blu-ray market share of 55%. Regarding the overall package-media chart, the film came in third place (behind Pure Flix's God's Not Dead) and sold 65% as many total units as Divergent.

Finally, Warner's Batman: Assault on Arkham rounded out the top three spots on the Blu-ray-only sales chart. This DTV effort - the latest from DCU Animated Studios - has found solid praise among animation fans. Blu-ray.com's own Kenneth Brown called Assault on Arkham "a twisted, entertaining, nearly R-rated blast of explosive fun, and that rare Batman production that doesn't focus on the Dark Knight. He's a bit player here, little more, and it makes for a fresh, violent plunge into the Gotham City underworld. The script isn't great, but it's decent enough, delivering a forced but fierce, sometimes funny mash-up of Batman's baddest baddies behaving badly." Assault on Arkham had an HD market share of 67% and sold 49% as many Blu-rays as Divergent. On the overall package-media list, the animated actioner came in fifth place (The LEGO Movie was in fourth) and sold 31% as many total units as Divergent.

Top Ten Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 08/17/14:
  1. Divergent
  2. Muppets Most Wanted
  3. Batman: Assault on Arkham
  4. The LEGO Movie
  5. God's Not Dead
  6. Bears
  7. Noah
  8. Hercules
  9. Tarzan
  10. Need for Speed
Top Five Home Media Sellers for Week Ending 08/17/14 (% of Blu-ray's Market Share Noted):
  1. Divergent (43%)
  2. God's Not Dead (26%)
  3. Muppets Most Wanted (55%)
  4. The LEGO Movie (35%)
  5. Batman: Assault on Arkham (67%)
Top Five Blu-ray 3D Sellers for Week Ending 08/17/14 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):
  1. 300: Rise of an Empire 3D (12%)
  2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 3D (5%)
  3. Rio 2 3D (4%)
  4. Despicable Me 2 3D (2%)
  5. Epic 3D (1%)