Blu-ray Sales, December 29-January 4: The Equalizer Eliminates the Competition

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Blu-ray Sales, December 29-January 4: The Equalizer Eliminates the Competition

Posted January 8, 2015 08:57 AM by Josh Katz

For the week that ended on January 4th, Sony Home Entertainment's The Equalizer took the top spot on the Blu-ray-only and overall package-media rankings. The big-screen iteration of the popular 1980s crime procedural, The Equalizer reunited Training Day collaborators Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington to fairly solid commercial success; despite garnering middling critical notices (The Equalizer's Metacritic score is 57%), the film grossed over $191 million worldwide on top of a $55-million budget. Last week, The Equalizer had a Blu-ray market share of 51%.

Next up on the Blu-ray-only and overall package-media charts was Marvel and Disney Home Entertainment's Guardians of the Galaxy. This goofy sci-fi adventure was somewhat of a surprise hit for its distributors when it premiered in August. Despite taking its cues from a cult Marvel property, Guardians of the Galaxy proved both critically and commercially successful, netting a Metacritic score of 76% and grossing over $332 million domestically. On the Blu-ray-only ranking, Guardians of the Galaxy sold 29% as many Blu-rays as The Equalizer (and garnered an HD market share of 52%), and on the overall package-media chart, the film moved 28% as many units as Sony's violent actioner.

Finally, Paramount Home Media Distribution's more family-friendly feature Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rounded out the top three spots on the Blu-ray-only and overall package-media rankings. The latest big-screen iteration of the popular comic-book heroes (after the original trilogy and the 2007 animated reboot), this new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made a big impact on the global box-office in August. Even with its unspectacular critical notices (its Metacritic score is 31%), the picture grossed over $477 million worldwide on top of its estimated $125-million budget. On the Blu-ray-only list, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sold 19% as many copies as The Equalizer and had a Blu-ray market share of 43%. Regarding the overall package-media chart, the CGI-heavy adventure moved 22% as many units as The Equalizer.

Top Ten Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 01/04/14:
  1. The Equalizer
  2. Guardians of the Galaxy
  3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  4. The Maze Runner
  5. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
  6. How to Train Your Dragon 2
  7. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
  8. The Expendables 3
  9. Maleficent
  10. Frozen
Top Five Home Media Sellers for Week Ending 01/04/14 (% of Blu-ray's Market Share Noted):
  1. The Equalizer (51%)
  2. Guardians of the Galaxy (52%)
  3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (43%)
  4. The Maze Runner (43%)
  5. Frozen (19%)
Top Five Blu-ray 3D Sellers for Week Ending 01/04/14 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):
  1. Guardians of the Galaxy 3D (19%)
  2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 3D (18%)
  3. Edge of Tomorrow 3D (11%)
  4. Godzilla 3D (10%)
  5. X-Men: Days of Future Past 3D (9%)