Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News.

For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. The consumer spending estimate is based on the average sales price for the title in the retailers we survey.

We refine our estimates from week to week as more data becomes available. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. Figures will therefore fluctuate each week, and totals for individual titles can go up or down as we update our estimates.

Because sales figures are estimated based on sampling, they will be more accurate for higher-selling titles.

Home Market Releases for January 15th, 2019

January 16th, 2019

The big fall releases are starting to come out on the home market. This week we get Halloween, which was a $100 million domestic hit. However, it is not among the best films on this week’s list. There are three Pick of the Week contenders on the week’s list. There’s the award-nominated Indie film, Madeline’s Madeline, the classic Notorious, and Bad Times at the El Royale, for which I finally got the review done. It was a coin-toss, but in the end, Madeline’s Madeline on Blu-ray won. More...

Contest: Mystery Abounds

February 10th, 2012

Next weekend, the widest release of the week will be This Means War; however, while the film opens on Friday, it has previews on Tuesday, Valentine's Day. I don't know how this will effect the film's box office numbers. I'm not even sure Tuesday's numbers will be kept separate from the weekend numbers. Because of this added complication, we are going to use Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance as the target film in this week's Box Office Prediction Contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Rebecca on Blu-ray. Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win a copy of Spellbound on Blu-ray. Meanwhile, an additional entrant will be chosen and they will win a copy of Notorious on Blu-ray. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for February 7th, 2012

February 7th, 2012

The biggest release of the week on the home market is The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1, which comes out on DVD and Blu-ray ... on Saturday. So you still have a few more days to wait. As for the best release of the week, that's Lady and the Tramp, which is making its Blu-ray and is our Pick of the Week. More...

Featured Blu-ray Review: Alfred Hitchcock Triple-Shot: Rebecca, Spellbound, and Notorious

February 5th, 2012

Continuing the Oscar theme today, we have a triple-shot from arguably the greatest director to never win an Oscar: Alfred Hitchcock. A couple weeks ago, Rebecca, Spellbound, and Notorious made their Blu-ray debuts. These are three of his earliest American films and combined they won three Oscars and nineteen nominations. So they were considered classics back then. But do they hold up today? And are the Blu-rays worth picking up? More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for January 24th, 2012

January 24th, 2012

There are three first run releases of note this week, including an Awards Season player, 50/50; the latest installment in a perennial horror franchise, Paranormal Activity 3; and big budget family film, Real Steel. Of those three, 50/50 is the best and a contender for Pick of the Week. Other contenders include Godzilla: The Criterion Collection on Blu-ray and Wings on Blu-ray. However, I'm going with a late arrival: Moneyball on Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack. More...