'Avengers' Dominates First Week on Blu-Ray, DVD

5:14 PM PDT 10/3/2012 by John Latchem, Home Media Magazine

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Joss Whedon's superhero hit sold 34 times as many copies as the No. 2 title, "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns — Part 1."

After a massive haul at the box office that tallied more than $623 million at U.S. theaters, Marvel’s The Avengers is unsurprisingly dominating the home video market.

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The Joss Whedon-directed superhero film, distributed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, easily topped the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert chart, which tracks overall disc sales, as well as the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart for the week ended Sept. 30.

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The tremendous success of The Avengers helped bring all five of Marvel’s precursor films back into the First Alert top 25: Thor at No. 8, Captain America: The First Avenger at No. 13, Iron Man 2 at No. 14, The Incredible Hulk at No. 19 and the first Iron Man at No 23. The five films also reappeared on the top 20 Blu-ray chart.

All told, 72% of Avengers’ unit sales came in the Blu-ray Disc format, a record high for a new-release theatrical on disc in which both DVD and Blu-ray formats were equally available; 23% of total Avengers sales were of the pricier 3D Blu-ray combo pack.

The Avengers sold more than 34 times as many copies as the First Alert No. 2 title, Warner’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns — Part 1, a direct-to-video animated adaptation of Frank Miller’s 1986 graphic novel. Returns also debuted at No. 2 on the Blu-ray chart, with 71% of its sales coming on the high-def format.

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Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman, which topped First Alert the previous two weeks, held on for No. 3 on both charts.

Among other new releases, the first season of TV series American Horror Story, from Fox, bowed at No. 4 on First Alert its first week, and No. 9 on the Blu-ray chart.

Fox’s Bond 50 boxed set of 22 James Bond films debuted at No. 4 on the Blu-ray chart, a nice performance for a multidisc collection that carries a price tag north of $100. Bond 50 landed at No. 11 on First Alert,with 91% of its unit sales coming on Blu-ray.

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With Avengers delayed to rental outlets, Home Media Magazine’s weekly rental chart was topped for a second week by Lionsgate’s The Cabin in the Woods, the horror-comedy hybrid written by Whedon. Universal’s Battleship, coming off its kiosk embargo, rose to No. 2.

For complete DVD and Blu-ray sales and rental charts, visit HomeMediaMagazine.com.