Blu-ray Sales, July 30-August 5: Batman and Hatfields Fight for Number One

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Blu-ray Sales, July 30-August 5: Batman and Hatfields Fight for Number One

Posted August 9, 2012 10:41 AM by Josh Katz

For the third week in a row, Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise has dominated both theatrical and home media markets; The Dark Knight Rises continues to outrank other films at the box office, while Batman Begins and The Dark Knight retain strong positions on the Blu-ray sales rankings. Batman Begins is, once again, number one and has a robust HD market share of 71%, and The Dark Knight now resides at number three, selling 87% as many discs as its predecessor and enjoying a 61% Blu-ray market share.

The Batman entries' primary competitor is Sony Pictures Home Entertainment's Hatfields & McCoys. This fact-based miniseries premiered on the History Channel earlier this year to great critical and commercial acclaim - the Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton-starring drama became the most watched non-sports telecast in advertising-supported cable television history - and its Blu-ray debut certainly evinced a similar degree of viewer anticipation. On the Blu-ray rankings, Hatfields & McCoys opened at number two, forcing The Dark Knight into third place and selling 96% as many copies as Batman Begins. While the miniseries sold well among available Blu-rays, it did garner a markedly smaller HD market share than either The Dark Knight or Batman Begins; only 34% of its total units sold came from the high-definition format.

However, the overall package media rankings shifted the placement of these three somewhat. On that list, Hatfields & McCoys led at number one, with The Dark Knight in second place and Batman Begins just behind it. The differences in sales amounts between the titles was far more pronounced; The Dark Knight sold 51% as many total units as Hatfields & McCoys, and Batman Begins managed only 60% as many units. These figures were a far cry from the Blu-ray-only list, and they also made room for The Three Stooges, which remained in the top five for its third week of sales, as did Warner Bros.' action-comedy Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

Top Ten Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 08/05/12:
  1. Batman Begins
  2. Hatfields & McCoys
  3. The Dark Knight
  4. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
  5. Total Recall
  6. The Mel Brooks Collection
  7. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
  8. Wrath of the Titans
  9. The Bourne Trilogy
  10. American Reunion
Top Five Home Media Sellers for Week Ending 08/05/12 (% of Blu-ray's Market Share Noted):
  1. Hatfields & McCoys (34%)
  2. The Dark Knight (61%)
  3. Batman Begins (71%)
  4. The Three Stooges (20%)
  5. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (41%)
Top Five Blu-ray 3D Sellers for Week Ending 08/05/12 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):
  1. Rio 3D (18%)
  2. John Carter 3D (15%)
  3. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 3D (13%)
  4. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs 3D (13%)
  5. Wrath of the Titans 3D (10%)