Wolverine shows off Q4 DVD, Blu-ray potential
PHYSICAL: Kickoff title sets Blu-ray bar above 20%
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 9/24/2009
SEPT. 24 | PHYSICAL: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine flexed its muscle at retail, where heavy Blu-ray Disc sales are brightening stores’ holiday forecasts.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is Fox’s best-performing Blu-ray title to date.
The title is this year’s No. 1 Blu-ray in first-week unit sales, according to the studio. More than 20% of its copies were sold in the high-definition format, said Fox. That outdoes the industry average, which Rentrak’s Retail Essentials pegs at 12.5%.
The studio also is calling Wolverine its best-performing Blu-ray title to date, topping previous record holder Quantum of Solace, released in March. The studio would not specify DVD or Blu-ray unit sales or revenue.
“Wolverine launched this summer [season] in theaters and is now doing the same for the holiday season in home entertainment,” said Simon Swart, executive VP/general manager at Fox. “Wolverine is Fox’s biggest selling Blu-ray ever.”
The studio also reported that its IMDb.com movie database feature drew more hits than any past BD Live feature on a Fox title.
The title’s warm welcome by consumers brought sighs of relief to retailers. Through much of 2009, the recession has negatively impacted their businesses. Many stores have been hoping for a hot fourth quarter, which is packed with blockbusters through December. But many were still bracing for soft spending, considering the country’s ongoing difficult economic climate.
“Overall I would say that we are more optimistic than we were earlier in the year,” said David Barker, VP of e-commerce marketing at DeepDiscount.com parent Infinity Resources. “We’re starting to feel that maybe things are picking up. Hopefully we are starting to turn a corner here.”
InMotion Entertainment is upping its Blu-ray orders for Oct. 20 release Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in response to unexpectedly brisk sales for Wolverine.
“I have been conservative [with inventory,] but this gives me more confidence to step out a little,” said Steve Torr, director of software purchasing and rental services at InMotion.
He noted that his chain’s first-week sales of Wolverine were 25% Blu-ray, which is “one of the highest percentages of the year for a title.”
Retailers also are hoping for a boost from videogames. Nintendo will be lowering the price of its Wii by $50 to $199, effective Sept. 27. That follows a Sept. 1 $100 price chop to $299 for the PlayStation 3. The Beatles: Rock Band videogame sold a healthy 700,000 units worldwide in its first week in stores since its Sept. 9 bow, according to publisher MTV/Viacom.
Also plagued by the recession, the game hardware/software industry had previously turned in six consecutive monthly sales declines through August.
“This is our own little stimulus package,” said Andrew Craft, general manager for wholesaler VPD Games. “The price cuts have absolutely added a boost for the fourth quarter.”
