Blu-ray Sales: December 17-23: Oppenheimer Continues to Dominate in Fifth Week

Posted January 3, 2024 04:26 PM by Sean Greenwood

For the week that ended on December 23rd, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment's Oppenheimer (2023) kept the top spot on the Blu-ray-only chart in its fifth week. 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 had an HD share of 70% and 34% of units sold from the 4K UHD format.

Remaining in second place on the Blu-ray-only chart in its second week is Universal's Five Nights at Freddy's. An adaptation of the horror video game series of the same name, Five Nights at Freddy's was made for just $20 million and opened in October 2023 to generally negative critical response, but shocked the box office by opening at number one with an $80 million haul, especially impressive given that the PG-13 film was simultaneously available for streaming. Although the film dropped precipitously afterwards, it continued to make money, remaining at the top of the box office again in its second week, with over $19 million. Altogether, the film grossed some $137 million domestically and $289 million worldwide. This week, Five Nights at Freddy's sold 82% as many Blu-ray units as Oppenheimer, with an HD share of 61% and 9% of units sold from the 4K UHD format.

Rising to third place on the Blu-ray-only chart is Walt Disney Home Entertainment's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. 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. This week, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny sold 57% as many Blu-ray units as Oppenheimer, with an HD share of 53% and 12% of units sold from the 4K UHD format.

Elsewhere on the charts, Universal's The Exorcist: Believer was the week's top new release, at No. 6 on the Blu-ray-only chart and No. 6 on the UHD Blu-ray chart, with an HD share of 57% and 21% of units sold from the 4K UHD format.

On the UHD Blu-ray chart, Disney's Avatar 4K and Avatar: The Way of Water 4K, both of which received new Collector's Edition re-releases this week, came in at Nos. 2 and 4, respectively, while Shout Factory's JFK 4K (1991) split the two and came in at No. 3. Outside the top ten UHDs, Shout's The Dead Zone 4K (1983) and Arrow Video's The Warriors 4K (1979) came in at Nos. 18 and 19, respectively.

Top Ten Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 12/23/23:

Oppenheimer (2023)
Five Nights at Freddy's
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Barbie
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
The Exorcist: Believer
Expend4bles (The Expendables 4)
The Equalizer 3
John Wick: Chapter 4
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Top Ten UHD Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 12/23/23:

Oppenheimer 4K (2023)
Avatar 4K
JFK 4K (1991)
Avatar: The Way of Water 4K
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 4K
The Exorcist: Believer 4K
Five Nights at Freddy's 4K
Barbie 4K
Expend4bles 4K (The Expendables 4)
The Creator 4K (2023)

Top Five Home Media Sellers for Week Ending 12/23/23 (% of Blu-ray's Market Share Noted):

Oppenheimer (2023) (70%)
Five Nights at Freddy's (61%)
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (53%)
Barbie (59%)
Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (23%)

Top Blu-ray 3D Sellers for Week Ending 12/23/23 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):

Top Five UHD Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 12/23/23 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):

Avatar 4K (95%)
Avatar: The Way of Water 4K (41%)
Oppenheimer 4K (2023) (34%)
The Mandalorian: The Complete Second Season 4K (2020) (26%)
Fast X 4K (25%)

Source: Media Play News | Permalink |

News comments (9 comments)

Top reviewer

Top contributor

The Debts

Jan 03, 2024

#Oppensweep

Top contributor

jaws3dfan

Jan 03, 2024

Oppenheimer should sweep the Oscars but somehow I feel like Barbie will be the big winner.

Top contributor

Just Myself

Jan 03, 2024

When did the two most highly overrated summer movies become the Oscar frontrunners? God, what an abysmal year for cinema..

Top reviewer

Top contributor

dobyblue

Jan 03, 2024

I wish I knew how to make pretentious comments

Top reviewer

Wtdk

Jan 06, 2024

Not surprised Oppenheimer is dominating again. Sounds like folks are looking for adult entertainment (no not porn). Refreshing. On a side note, I enjoyed Barbie, too and really liked Indy.