For the week ending on November 18th, Walt Disney Home Entertainment's Brave topped the Blu-ray-only and overall package media charts. The latest release from Pixar Animation Studios, Brave had a slightly underwhelming theatrical showing when it premiered last summer; the animated adventure grossed only $236 million domestically on top of its estimated $185 million production budget. However, its strong initial showing on home media - the title had an HD market share of 51% - suggests the possibility of a second life for Brave, especially considering the number of Black Friday deals that involve the film.
The previous week's winner, Sony Pictures' The Amazing Spider-Man, came in at second place on the overall and Blu-ray-only media rankings. Director Marc Webb's reimagining of the blockbuster Spider-Man definitely suffered next to Brave; it sold 35% as many Blu-rays as the Pixar feature and 28% as many overall package media units. That said, the film still maintained a foothold in the top ten home media listings even with the recent releases of some high-profile titles, and it actually bested Brave in terms of its Blu-ray market share: 62% of its sales came from the HD format.
Finally, another new release, Universal Studios' Savages, occupied the number three position on the overall and Blu-ray-only sales charts. Director Oliver Stone's violent, histrionic return to gonzo filmmaking had a disappointing theatrical run, grossing just over $47 million on top of its estimated $45 million budget. However, thanks to Universal's canny counter-programming, the film cracked the top three on the home media lists; Savages moved 9% as many Blu-rays and total package media copies as Brave. Like The Amazing Spider-Man, it too had a robust HD market share - 56%.
That it made more than $200 million makes it sort of a triumph after Pixars last movie failed to achieve that benchmark, and Brave also was better reviewed although the praise wasn't quite as high as some of their best films. That being said, this never caught my interest. Billy Connolly's imitation of his daughter in the trailer pretty much summed up my impression of the movie. I am however happy for it's success.
51% is pretty low when compared to other big releases around 70%, but I guess it's decent . 62% on Amazing Spider-Man and 56% on Savages are both good.
