New Releases ‘Fury,’ ‘Book of Life’ Top Home Video Sales Charts
Once again, new releases dominate the upper rungs of the national home video sales charts.
For the week ending Feb. 1, four of the five top-selling discs are new theatrical releases – just as in the prior week.
Sony Pictures’ “Fury” took the top spot on both the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert chart, which tracks overall disc sales, and Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart. The World War II drama starring Brad Pitt earned $85.8 million in theaters during its fall 2014 release.
Debuting at No. 2, also on both charts, was 20th Century Fox’s “The Book of Life,” an animated comedy produced by Guillermo del Toro. The film grossed $50 million in theaters, the same as its budget, and in its first week in stores sold more about 46% as many copies as “Fury.”
The No. 3 film on both charts also is a new release: Warner’s “The Judge,” a drama about a big-city lawyer (Robert Downey Jr.) who returns to his hometown only to find his father (Robert Duvall), the town’s judge, accused of murder. The film generated $47.1 million during its U.S. theatrical run and earned one Oscar nomination, for Duvall, as best supporting actor. “The Judge” sold 40% as many units as “Fury” its first week in stores.
The fifth season of the hot PBS TV series “Downton Abbey” debuted at No. 5 on First Alert (and No. 7 on the Blu-ray chart).
Universal Studios’ “Lucy,” which debuted at No. 1 on both sales charts last week, slipped to No. 4 on both charts.
Rounding out the top five on the Blu-ray sales chart was Warner’s “Justice League: Throne of Atlantis,” which debuted at No. 8 on First Alert.
Nielsen research shows that “Fury” generated 52% of its first-week sales on Blu-ray, compared to about 46% for “Book of Life,” 39% for “The Judge,” 26% for “Downton Abbey: Season 5” and 60% for the new “Justice League” cartoon.
On Home Media magazine’s rental chart for the week, “Fury” easily debuted at No. 1 (Sony is one of three majors that lets Netflix and Redbox have its new releases as soon as they are released). The prior week’s top rental, Universal Pictures’ “A Walk Among the Tombstones,” slipped to No. 3, right behind 20th Century Fox’s “The Maze Runner,” which remained at No. 2.
Rounding out the top five rentals: Sony Pictures’ “The Equalizer” at No. 4 and Warner’s “This Is Where I Leave You” at No. 5, both down a notch from the prior week.
Thomas K. Arnold is editorial director of Home Media magazine, http://www.homemediamagazine.com.
Top 20 Nielsen VideoScan First Alert chart for the week of 2/1/15:
1. Fury (new)
2. The Book of Life (new)
3. The Judge (new)
4. Lucy
5. Downton Abbey: Season 5 (new)
6. Gone Girl
7. The Boxtrolls
8. Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (new)
9. Annabelle
10. The Equalizer
11. Guardians of the Galaxy
12. Frozen
13. A Walk Among the Tombstones
14. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Tough Love
15. The Grand Budapest Hotel
16. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
17. Maleficent
18. The Maze Runner
19. Before I Go to Sleep (new)
20. The Drop
Top 10 Home Media Magazine rental chart for the week of 2/1/15:
1. Fury (new)
2. The Maze Runner
3. A Walk Among the Tombstones
4. The Equalizer
5. This is Where I Leave You
6. No Good Deed
7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
8. Boyhood
9. The Remaining (new)
10. Guardians of the Galaxy
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