Worldwide Gross: $848,754,768
The sixth and final film in the saga, and the third in the series' chronological order, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith felt The Force at the box office. Fans can view the George Lucas creation in 3D when the series heads to theaters beginning in February 2012. Revenge of the Sith is set for a 2014 3D release.
VIDEO: Comic-Con 2011: 'Star Wars' Fans Get First Look at Deleted Scenes
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Blu-ray-enabled households now total 33.5 million, with consumer spending on the high-definition packaged-media format up 58 percent in the quarter, compared with the same period last year. The surge is due in part to a 60 percent jump in sales of catalog Blu-ray releases, led by Star Wars, Citizen Kane, Scarface and The Big Lebowski, among others.
Electronic sellthrough of new-release movies increased 13 percent in the quarter.
Overall, sellthrough for DVD and Blu-ray movies declined 4 percent to more than $1.7 billion, compared with $1.8 billion last year. When combined with electronic sellthough, sales of movies dropped less than 3 percent from the same period last year.
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In addition to electronic sellthrough, transactional video-on-demand increased nearly 5 percent to $419 million, compared with $400 million last year. Subscription streaming revenue topped $255 million.
Traditional brick-and-mortar video store rental revenue dropped more than 28 percent to $353 million from $495 million last year. It marks the first time that transactional VOD revenue surpassed traditional video store rental revenue. At the same time, subscription rental of DVD/Blu-ray increased nearly 5 percent to $607 million from $579 million. Kiosk revenue, which includes Redbox and Blockbuster Express, surged 23.3 percent to $414 million, compared with $335 million last year.
Total rental revenue, excluding VOD, declined 2.4 percent to $1.37 billion from $1.4 billion. With VOD, total rental revenue declined less than 1 percent to $1.79 billion from $1.8 billion.
Heading into the all-important fourth quarter, the DEG is confident that theatrical blockbusters entering the retail channel, including Captain America: The First Avenger, Cars 2, Cowboys & Aliens, The Hangover Part II, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2, The Help, Kung Fu Panda 2, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Smurfs and Water for Elephants, will continue the positive trend into 2012.
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