Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News.

For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. The consumer spending estimate is based on the average sales price for the title in the retailers we survey.

We refine our estimates from week to week as more data becomes available. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. Figures will therefore fluctuate each week, and totals for individual titles can go up or down as we update our estimates.

Because sales figures are estimated based on sampling, they will be more accurate for higher-selling titles.

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for February 22nd, 2011

February 22nd, 2011

It's a pretty good week on the home market, all things considered, with two $100 million first-run releases on this week's list. On the other hand, there doesn't feel like a whole lot of depth and there are about as many featured reviews as other releases, if you count late reviews and ones where I'm still waiting on the screeners. One of these late reviews, Megamind could be the Pick of the Week, but I'm giving the Blu-ray one last chance to arrive before its release on Friday. More...

Contest: It's the Journey that Matters

February 18th, 2011

There could be a bit of a race for top spot next weekend, but it is possible that neither new release will be the winner. I'm not sure which new release will have the best shot, but Drive Angry is opening in more theaters and appears to have stronger buzz, or at least louder buzz. Plus one of our prizes this week is a road trip movie, so its the target film for this week's contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Drive Angry . Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win a copy of Thelma and Louise on Blu-ray. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will also win a copy of Conviction on Blu-ray. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More...

Featured Blu-ray Review: Thelma and Louise

February 16th, 2011

Thelma and Louise came out in 1991 and was one of the best-reviewed movies of the year. It earned six Oscar nominations, winning for Best Original Screenplay, while it became a fixture in the culture. It's been referenced, and parodied, more times that I can remember. It made its debut on Blu-ray a couple weeks ago and because it is such a famous movie, the review is almost more about the Blu-ray than the movie. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for February 8th, 2011

February 8th, 2011

Wow. It's a bad week for DVD / Blu-ray releases. While there are a number of first run releases, none of them exactly shout Pick of the Week. The best bet as far as first run releases goes is Paranormal Activity 2, but the screener hasn't arrived yet. Same goes for Thelma & Louise, which is making its Blu-ray debut this week. So in the end I went with Doctor Who: Story 63: The Mutants as the pick of the week. Great story, powerful message, and lots of extras. More...