For the week that ended on December 9th, Walt Disney Home Entertainment's
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny took the top spot on the both the Blu-ray-only and overall packaged media charts in its debut. The fifth Indiana Jones film was the first in the series not to be directed by Steven Spielberg, with James Mangold taking the director's chair. However, series star Harrison Ford did return for the new film, which is set in 1969 and sees Jones and his goddaughter racing to recover an artifact that could alter time and change the outcome of World War II. The film opened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023, where Ford's performance received positive reviews, though reaction to the film as a whole was mixed. On its wide release in June 2023, the film topped the box office, but underperformed, grossing only some $83 million over the extended July 4th holiday weekend. Eventually,
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny managed over $174 million domestically and over $383 million globally, but with the film's extremely high budget of almost $300 million, it is unfortunately considered a box office bomb. Still, that hasn't dampened enthusiasm for the home video release, as this week,
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny had an HD share of 57% and 22% of units sold from the 4K UHD format.
Dropping to second place on both charts in its third week is Universal Pictures Home Entertainment's
Oppenheimer (2023). Based on the book
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2005),
Oppenheimer began production in 2021 at Universal Pictures, who won a bidding war for Nolan's screenplay, after he parted ways with Warner Bros. following the pandemic-impacted release of his previous film
Tenet in 2020. However,
Oppenheimer still displays the director's characteristic traits, notably the use of celluloid film, especially large formats like 65mm and IMAX film, the latter of which was used not just in color sequences, but in black-and-white footage, too. To that end,
Oppenheimer also became the first feature since
Tenet to receive a release on massive IMAX 70mm film prints, in engagements that only played at about 30 cinemas worldwide and necessitated the installation of specialized projection equipment to handle the IMAX film stock. In addition to its IMAX 70mm run,
Oppenheimer also saw releases on both standard 70mm and 35mm film prints for theaters which still had the capability to project film. As Nolan is a major proponent of the theatrical experience,
Oppenheimer also enjoyed an extended run in cinemas, grossing some $950 million worldwide and receiving widespread critical acclaim. This week,
Oppenheimer sold 72% as many Blu-ray units as
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, with an HD share of 70% and 38% of units sold from the 4K UHD format.
Coming in third place on the Blu-ray-only chart is Paramount Home Media Distribution's
Titanic (1997). Prior to its release in December 1997,
Titanic, which was the most expensive film made up to that point with a $200 million budget, had been considered a possible flop, especially after a planned July 1997 release date was missed because the film's visual effects were not yet completed. But when it opened in December 1997,
Titanic became a lasting hit, grossing some $28 million on its opening weekend, topping the box office and steadily drawing in viewers over the days, weeks and months in ways that very few films have ever done. Famously, its highest-grossing day in the US was Saturday, February 14th, 1998 (Valentine's Day), where it grossed over $13 million, despite already being in release for two months. Domestically,
Titanic was the number one film at the box office for fifteen weeks, until April 1998. Its original domestic run closed in October 1998 with over $600 million, while internationally, the film had made more than double that, at $1.2 billion. With a worldwide total of over $1.8 billion on its original release,
Titanic became the first film to break the $1 billion barrier and with subsequent re-releases in the years since, the film's total now stands at over $2.2 billion. So perhaps it isn't surprising that this week, with
Titanic finally released on the 4K UHD format, it has not only ended up with a top three spot on the Blu-ray-only chart and an HD share of 96%, but that 95% of units sold were from the 4K UHD format.
Elsewhere on the charts, Paramount's
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds- Season Two (2023) debuted at No. 6 on the Blu-ray-only chart, while Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's Blu-ray box set of
Babylon 5: The Complete Series (1994–1998) came in at No. 8. Lionsgate Home Entertainment's
Young Guns and Shout Factory's
Point Break (1991), both of which were also released on 4K UHD this week, came in at Nos. 10 and 15, respectively.
Top Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 12/9/23:
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
- Oppenheimer (2023)
- Titanic (1997)
- Expend4bles (The Expendables 4)
- Barbie
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds- Season Two (2023)
- The Equalizer 3
- Babylon 5: The Complete Series (1994–1998)
- Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
- Young Guns
Top Ten UHD Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 12/9/23:
- Oppenheimer 4K (2023)
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 4K
- Titanic 4K (1997)
- Young Guns 4K
- Point Break 4K (1991)
- Expend4bles 4K (The Expendables 4)
- Top Gun: Maverick 4K
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds- Season Two 4K (2023)
- Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One 4K
- John Wick: Chapter 4 4K
Top Five Home Media Sellers for Week Ending 12/9/23 (% of Blu-ray's Market Share Noted):
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (57%)
- Oppenheimer (2023) (70%)
- Barbie (52%)
- Expend4bles (The Expendables 4) (56%)
- Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (25%)
Top Blu-ray 3D Sellers for Week Ending 12/9/23 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):
- Avatar: The Way of Water 3D (6.43%)
- Titanic 3D (1997) (0.10%)
Top Five UHD Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 12/9/23 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):
- Point Break 4K (1991) (99.98%)
- Young Guns 4K (99.33%)
- Titanic 4K (1997) (95%)
- Top Gun: Maverick 4K (44%)
- Oppenheimer 4K (2023) (38%)