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Three new releases debuted in the top three positions on the national home video sales charts the week ending June 16 as studios continue to crank out the hits and near-hits in the hopes of snagging some youthful eyeballs now that school’s out for summer.
Walt Disney Studios’ well-received Oz the Great and Powerful, from director Sam Raimi, snatched an easy victory atop both the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert chart, which tracks overall disc sales, and Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart.
The fantasy film, which grossed $234.2 million in U.S. theaters, generated 46% of its first-week sales from Blu-ray Disc.
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The No. 2 spot on both charts went to Paramount’s Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, a fantasy actioner based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale that earned $55.7 million in theaters. Overall, Hansel & Gretel sold about 60% as many copies as Oz, Nielsen data shows, although on Blu-ray Disc the film fared markedly better, selling 73% as many high-def discs as Oz. The better showing on Blu-ray Disc reflects the fact that Hansel & Gretel generated 56% of its first-week sales from the high-definition disc format.
Lionsgate’s Snitch, a Dwayne Johnson (aka “The Rock”) thriller that earned $42.9 million in U.S. theaters, debuted at No. 3 on the First Alert chart and No. 4 on the Blu-ray Disc chart, behind sophomore A Good Day to Die Hard, from 20th Century Fox. On First Alert, Good Day to Die Hard finished the week at No. 4, after bowing at No. 2 the prior week.
Several older titles also remain high up on the sales chart, or else have reappeared, thanks to retail promotions timed to coincide with the start of summer vacation. Warners’ Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey moves back up to No. 9 in its 13th week of release, from No. 28 the prior week; MGM’s Skyfall ended the week at No. 10, up from No. 42 the prior week.
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On Home Media Magazine’s rental chart for the week, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters debuted at No. 1 and Snitch came in at No. 2. Both are distributed by studios that deliver new releases to all rental outlets, with no holdback for Netflix and Redbox.
Cloud Atlas, from Warner Bros., shot up to No. 3 on the rental chart as its 28-day embargo from those two rental outlets came to an end.
Oz the Great and Powerful debuted at No. 4.
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