For the week that ended on October 21st, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's
Barbie topped both the Blu-ray-only and overall packaged media charts in its debut. Greta Gerwig's film is set in Barbie Land, where Barbie and her fellow dolls live in harmony with Ken dolls, at least until Barbie has an existential crisis, leading her and Ken on a journey to the real world. Marking the first live-action adventure for the beloved fashion doll that debuted in 1959, expectations for
Barbie were high, with a large marketing campaign and a key summer release date. The film opened to critical acclaim, grossing over $162 million on its opening weekend and outperforming expectations. There was also a bit of serendipity, as
Barbie ended up releasing on the same weekend as
Oppenheimer, a three-hour biopic about the "father of the atomic bomb", J. Robert Oppenheimer, which was released by rival studio Universal Pictures, but which was also positioned to be a blockbuster due to the success of its director, Christopher Nolan. However, instead of the two films cannibalizing each other, a social media phenomenon developed which was dubbed "Barbenheimer", whereby people sought to see both films back-to-back as a double feature. The result was a combined weekend gross of over $246 million for both films. But
Barbie has also proved to be a juggernaut of its own, eventually grossing some $635 million domestically and over $1.44 billion worldwide so far, surpassing
The Super Mario Bros. Movie to become the highest-grossing film of 2023 to date. This week,
Barbie had an HD share of 62%, with 22% of units sold from the 4K UHD format.
Dropping to second place on both charts is Paramount Home Media Distribution's
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The latest film in the iconic robot franchise is a sequel to 2018's well-received
Bumblebee and is set in 1994, where the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, must team up with the Maximals (who originally debuted in the
Beast Wars: Transformers (1996-1999) TV series) to prevent the Terrorcons from bringing the planet-eater Unicron to Earth. Released in June 2023,
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts received mixed reviews and has grossed less than $439 million worldwide on a reported budget of about $200 million, becoming the lowest-grossing film in the
Transformers franchise so far. This week,
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts sold 40% as many Blu-ray units as
Barbie, with an HD share of 49% and 11% of units sold from the 4K UHD format.
Debuting in third place on both charts is Walt Disney Home Entertainment's
Haunted Mansion (2023). Disney's second attempt at a feature film based on the iconic attraction after
The Haunted Mansion (2003), starring Eddie Murphy, this new version was oddly released in the middle of a packed summer season at the end of July 2023. Lacking a big promotional push or a tie-in to the Halloween season,
Haunted Mansion opened in third place, behind the already-released
Barbie and
Oppenheimer, saw a lukewarm reception from critics and audiences alike, and has managed to scare up just over $67 million so far and only $117 million worldwide on a budget reportedly north of $150 million. The good news is that its home video prospects seem better, as this week,
Haunted Mansion sold 28% as many Blu-ray units as
Barbie, with an HD share of 80% and 13% of units sold from the 4K UHD format. Note that while the
Blu-ray was a wide release available at all retailers, the film's 4K UHD releases were retailer exclusives for
Disney Movie Club, along with a
Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook and
Walmart Exclusive with Enamel Pin.
Elsewhere on the charts, Universal's
The Last Voyage of the Demeter debuted at No. 4 the Blu-ray-only chart (no 4K UHD edition was available), while GKIDS and Shout Factory's anime film
Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time came in at No. 5 and Lionsgate Home Entertainment's
The Wicker Man (1973), which was issued on 4K UHD this week, came in at No. 8. Outside the top ten,
Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match came in at No. 11, while Shout Factory's
The Blob (1988), which also saw a 4K UHD release this week, came in at No. 12. Finally,
Tod Browning's Sideshow Shockers (1925-1932), a Blu-ray box set from the Criterion Collection, came in at No. 17.
Top Ten Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 10/21/23:
- Barbie
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
- Haunted Mansion (2023)
- The Last Voyage of the Demeter
- Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time
- Prey (2022)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- The Wicker Man (1973)
- Talk to Me (2022)
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Top Five Home Media Sellers for Week Ending 10/21/23 (% of Blu-ray's Market Share Noted):
- Barbie (62%)
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (49%)
- Haunted Mansion (2023) (54%)
- The Last Voyage of the Demeter (63%)
- Prey (2022) (69%)
Top Blu-ray 3D Sellers for Week Ending 10/21/23 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):
- Avatar: The Way of Water 3D (4.14%)
Top Five UHD Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 10/21/23 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):
- The Wicker Man 4K (1973) (99%)
- Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time 4K (53%)
- Prey 4K (2022) (44%)
- Zack Snyder's Justice League 4K (35%)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 4K (33%)