Blu-ray, Online Sales Keeps German Home Entertainment Market Sunny

BERLIN – Stronger sales for Blu-ray DVDs and soaring VOD revenues kept the German home entertainment market humming in the first quarter of 2012.

Official figures released Thursday show German home entertainment revenues hit $478 million (€382 million) in the first three months of this year, only slightly below last year’s figure of €384 million, itself the second-best quarterly result of all time in the territory.

Home video direct-through sales dropped $2.5 million to $393 million (€314 million). But blockbuster sales for Blu-ray discs – which were up 29 percent to nearly $90 million in the first quarter – helped make up for most of the decline. Online sales also shot up, jumping 57 percent to just under $12 million.

Rental revenue actually increased for the first time in years, creeping up to $89 million (€71 million) from €70 million over the same period last year. The boost came entirely from VOD rentals, which posted a 50 percent year-on-year increase to $15 million (€12 million).

The top selling titles in Germany in the first quarter of 2012 were Til Schweiger’s romantic comedy Kokowaah, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1. On the rental side, Cowboys & Aliens, Hangover 2 and The Three Musketeers topped the list.