Blu-ray Sales, Mar. 19-25: The Muppets Dance to the Top

Posted March 30, 2012 08:29 AM by Josh Katz

Disney's newest reimagining of The Muppets scored the highest spot on both Blu-ray and overall package media sales for the week ending on March 25th, garnering 52% of its sales totals from the HD format. The family-friendly comedy enjoyed a healthy box office run - it grossed over $88 million on top of a projected $45 million budget - and its strong small-screen debut suggests a promising future in the home media market.

However, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment also had a lucrative week, thanks to its successful counter-programming measure. Appealing to an older demographic, the distributor premiered David Fincher's R-rated Girl with the Dragon Tattoo adaptation at the number two slot on both the Blu-ray and overall package media charts. The film sold 78% as many total units as The Muppets and actually saw more of its figures come from the HD format than the puppet adventure did; 55% of Dragon Tattoo copies moved were Blu-rays. Still, many analysts believe that continued the mystery-thriller's continued good fortune on home media will help ensure Sony's commitment to its proposed Lisbeth Salander franchise, considering that the $90 million picture only scored a domestic box-office earning of just over $102 million.

Universal Studios' decision to release Hop last week potentially illustrates some of the perils that occur when two family-themed features try to court the same audience at the same time; Hop did not perform at the same level that The Muppets did, arriving well behind both The Muppets and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Blu-rays and overall package media units sold. Consumers bought 60% as many copies of the Easter-set adventure as they did The Muppets, and only 36% of those numbers came from Blu-ray. However, given that Hop streeted on a Friday instead of on Tuesday, one could also attribute those lower figures to a smaller sales window rather than to Muppets competition.

Top Ten Blu-ray Sellers for Week Ending 03/25/12:

Top Five Home Media Sellers for Week Ending 03/25/12 (% of Blu-ray's Market Share Noted):

Top Five Blu-ray 3D Sellers for Week Ending 03/25/12 (Per % of Total Unit Sales):

Source: Home Media Magazine | Permalink |

News comments (11 comments)

PossumPete

Mar 30, 2012

You can't blame Hop's performance on the Muppets. It's just a bad movie.

Top contributor

LloydChristmas

Mar 30, 2012

glad to see Tinker Tailor up so high

scarface16

Mar 30, 2012

Come on guys, let's make Dragon Tattoo no.1! I want to see the damn sequels!

Top reviewer

thephantomcat

Mar 30, 2012

I happily purchased both the Muppets and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo last week. I friend of mine rented it on Redbox and he didn't even finish watching it. He was thoroughly disgusted by the rape and revenge scenes. I think it just might not be the type of movie of regular people can watch. He didn't care for the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, either.

atomik kinder

Mar 30, 2012

Even though Hop may be a horrible movie, you forget it was released on Friday, not Tuesday. It was on sale for fewer days.

Top contributor

joshkatz0186

Mar 30, 2012

@atomik kinder...

Good point regarding the Friday street date. The post now reflects that information.

Top reviewer

Top contributor

zoodermin

Mar 30, 2012

Very glad for The Muppets and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo debuts. Bought both of them. Great films.

Top reviewer

middleman6573

Mar 30, 2012

"Still, many analysts believe that the mystery-thriller needs to continue to do well on home media in order for Sony to continue its proposed Lisbeth Salander franchise, considering that the $90 million picture only scored a domestic box-office earning of just over $102 million."

This is misleading. Sony has already committed to a follow-up, and the movie also did well overseas.

scarface16

Mar 30, 2012

@middleman6573: Not exactly. While Sony did say that they "plan" on making the sequels, they have yet to actually green light them. The film's budget was $90 million and the marketing costs were pretty substantial, like around $50-100 million. And while it did make $231 worldwide, the profit wasn't as substantial was they had initially hoped. They have said that assuming they can "achieve better economics," they will go ahead with the sequels. But they are currently waiting to see how the film does on dvd/blu ray before making any decisions. Budget cuts, plus the arguments that David Fincher had with Sony during the production of the film, seem to suggest that the likely hood of Fincher returning to direct the last two films is unlikely.

mjcavinder

Mar 30, 2012

sick....

Canvas of Flesh

Mar 30, 2012

Good on The Muppets. The wife surprised me with that blu-ray last Friday because I said I wanted to see it. It really is a really wonderful homage.

I kind of skipped on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I loved the original version, but I'm just not a very big fan of any of Fincher's films. Seven is good but I felt that none of his other titles were very enjoyable.