‘Bridesmaids’ Debuts at No. 1 on DVD Sales Chart

Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s Bridesmaids was the third summer tentpole to debut at No. 1 on the national home video sales charts its first week in stores, after actioners X-Men: First Class and Thor.

The film, which grossed nearly $170 million in U.S. theaters, took the top spot on both the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert overall sales chart and Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart for the week ending Sept. 25, generating $35 million in consumer spending its first five days in stores across all formats, physical and digital.

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What sets this victory apart from the others, however, is that Bridesmaids is a comedy that appeals mostly to women – and yet it generated more than 30 percent of its sales from the Blu-ray Disc version. Observers say this indicates Blu-ray Disc is accelerating its entry into the mainstream this quarter, noting that if sales trends hold up Bridesmaids will sell upwards of 1 million Blu-ray Disc units in its first window of release.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment president Craig Kornblau said the film’s “particularly astonishing performance on Blu-ray, and its overwhelming appeal among consumers, not only signifies a true coming of age for the format, but also effectively propels further the excitement around home entertainment category as the industry closes out a solid third quarter and heads into what is expected to be a markedly robust holiday shopping season.”

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Also making a strong showing its first week in stores is Walt Disney’s Spooky Buddies, the latest installment in the direct-to-video series of family-friendly movies about playful pups. Spooky Buddies debuted at No. 2 on First Alert, one notch ahead of 20th Century Fox’s Star Wars Blu-ray Disc collection, which remained at No. 3 its second week in stores. The previous week’s top seller, Paramount’s Thor, slipped to No. 4. On the Blu-ray Disc chart, Star Wars was No. 2 and Thor, No. 3. Spooky Buddies debuted at No. 6, with Blu-ray Disc accounting for 20 percent of total unit sales.

Bridesmaids won’t be available at Netflix or Redbox kiosks until a month from now, so the top spot on Home Media Magazine’s weekly rental chart remains Thor, which debuted at No. 1 the prior week. Paramount does not impose a 28-day holdback on its new releases from the two top rental outlets. Set Up, from Lionsgate, debuted at No. 2.