‘Finding Dory,’ ‘Deadpool’ Make Big Splash with Holiday Shoppers

The busy post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend proved no problem for Disney’s “Finding Dory” maintaining the top spot on the NPD VideoScan overall disc sales chart, which tracks combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc unit sales, and the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart the week ended Nov. 27.

The animated Pixar sequel had debuted a week earlier at No. 1 and showed no signs of slowing down despite deep discounts on other recent releases and catalog titles. The No. 2 overall title, Fox’s “Deadpool,” sold just 29% as many copies as “Dory.”

“Deadpool” seems to be the biggest beneficiary of holiday discount deals, jumping up from No. 20 the week before on the overall chart. The ‘R’-rated superhero comedy, which has been available on disc since May, jumped to No. 4 on the Blu-ray chart, up from No. 22 the week before.

Holding onto the No. 3 overall spot, and moving up to No. 2 on the Blu-ray chart, was Paramount’s “Star Trek Beyond,” which, like “Dory,” was a relatively new release with enough built-in fan appeal to hold onto what would be an expected chart position even without the Black Friday rush.

Rounding out the top five overall were Fox’s “X-Men: Apocalypse” at No. 4 (No. 3 on the Blu-ray chart) and Warner’s “Central Intelligence” at No. 5.

The No. 5 Blu-ray was Warner’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”

The top new releases both debuted in the 30s: Lionsgate’s action sequel “Mechanic: Resurrection” at No. 32 (No. 26 on the Blu-ray chart) and Universal Pictures’ critically acclaimed animated Oscar contender “Kubo and the Two Strings” at No. 37 (No. 21 on the Blu-ray chart). Blu-ray Disc accounted for 66% of total “Kubo” unit sales, compared with 44% for Mechanic.

Blu-ray accounted for 79% of “Finding Dory” unit sales, up from 70% in its first week.

Based on titles in the overall top 50, retail sales seemed to favor newer titles more than in years past, when catalog titles would reemerge to a higher degree on the charts. There were 11 titles in the top 50 released within the two months before Thanksgiving, compared with eight a year ago. And among deeper catalog titles, those older than two years, just 11 appeared in this year’s top 50, compared with 16 a year ago, which some industry observers contend reflects a trend among retailers to downsize their older in-store inventory in general.

On Home Media Magazine’s rental chart for the week, Universal Pictures’ “Bad Moms” took No. 1 after a three-week delay at Redbox rental kiosks (one week short of the typical 28-day delay some studios impose on new releases to the rental market). “Mechanic: Resurrection” debuted at No. 2, with “Dory” rising to No. 3.

Rounding out the top five rentals were 20th Century Fox’s “Independence Day: Resurgence” at No. 4 and Warner’s “The Legend of Tarzan” at No. 5.

John Latchem is Managing Editor of Home Media Magazine.

Top 20 NPD VideoScan First Alert, powered by Nielsen, chart for the week ended 11/27/16:

1. Finding Dory
2. Deadpool
3. Star Trek Beyond
4. X-Men: Apocalypse
5. Central Intelligence
6. Ice Age: Collision Course
7. Rio 2
8. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
9. The Angry Birds Movie
10. Ghostbusters: Answer the Call
11. Captain America: Civil War
12. Independence Day: Resurgence
13. Hotel Transylvania
14. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
15. Pitch Perfect 2
16. Epic
17. Hotel Transylvania 2
18. The LEGO Movie
19. Creed
20. Zootopia

Top 10 Home Media Magazine rental chart for the week ended 11/27/16:

1. Bad Moms
2. Mechanic: Resurrection (new)
3. Finding Dory
4. Independence Day: Resurgence
5. The Legend of Tarzan
6. Hell or High Water
7. Lights Out
8. Central Intelligence
9. Sausage Party
10. Ice Age: Collision Course

For complete sales and rental charts, visit HomeMediaMagazine.com.

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