DVD sales info for the DVD non-believers (thanks to Jim of NMBS)
newline.com
BLACK THURSDAY (AND FRIDAY, AND SATURDAY...)
(by Wendy Wilson)
Aliens delivered again this year, with retailers reporting that
sales of Columbia TriStar Home Video's Men in Black kept Thanksgiving weekend sales near 1996 levels, when Independence Day ruled the sell-through universe.
DVD software sales were also strong for retailers carrying
the format. Unit sales hit a record high of 72,000 copies for the week ended Nov. 30 in stores reporting to VideoScan, and cumulative DVD sales passed 1 million over the holiday weekend. Tower Records/ Video sold 11,000 to 12,000 DVD units over the four-day weekend, VP of video John Thrasher estimated. Brisk sellers for the chain included Warner Home Video's Batman & Robin and Blade Runner, and MGM Home Entertainment's GoldenEye.
DVD sales were also strong for Musicland stores, whose retail units include Media Play, On Cue and Suncoast Motion Picture Company. It reported Batman & Robin, GoldenEye, MGM's Dr. No and Republic Entertainment's Highlander among its top sellers.
VideoScan reported that Thanksgiving-weekend tape sales
fell about 6%, to 9.3 million units, in the more than 15,000 video specialists, music stores and mass merchants from which it collects sales information. However, Tower, Musicland, Kmart Corp. and Philadelphia-based TLA Video were among the retailers reporting increased sales over the Thanksgiving weekend due, in large part, to Men in Black. About 1.3 million copies of MIB sold through in stores that report to VideoScan.
Kmart surpassed expectations "by a little bit," said spokesman Dennis Wigent, with MIB, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas and The Lost World: Jurassic Park out in front for the family-friendly chain. Musicland reported overall Thanksgiving sales "ahead of last year and on plan," although it attributed the gain mainly to music and said the combination of Independence Day and Buena Vista's Toy Story made 1996's video numbers hard to beat. |
