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.

Theater counts: Deadpool & Wolverine claw their way back to widest release

August 29th, 2024

It was one and done for Alien: Romulus as the most widely available film in the land, as Deadpool & Wolverine is back in familiar territory, once again taking the top spot as this weekend’s widest film. The film was also back on top of the box office, taking in $18.3 million for a 31-day domestic total of $577.2 million. Despite falling to second place, Romulus still enjoyed a weekend haul of $16.3 million, for a 10-day North American total of $72.8 million. This weekend we see six new wide releases make their entrance into theaters for the Labor Day weekend, providing moviegoers with an abundance of variety, surely to fit nearly anyone’s taste. More...

Theater counts: Romulus ends Deadpool’s reign as widest release

August 22nd, 2024

A new contender took the top spot at the weekend box office last weekend, as Alien: Romulus debuted to just over $42 million from 3,885 theaters in its opening foray. The latest in the Alien franchise, Romulus overtook its studio kinsman, as Deadpool & Wolverine slipped to second after a stint of three weekends topping the chart. This weekend not only sees a trio of wide releases arrive in theaters, but could witness a return to number one at the box office for Deadpool & Wolverine. We’ll have our full prediction tomorrow, but the theater counts released today give us some pointers. More...

Weekend box office: Alien takes off with $42 million

August 18th, 2024

Alien: Romulus blasted into theaters over the weekend with a final reported box office of $42 million—just a little ahead of 20th Century Studios’ Sunday-morning projection of $41.5 million, and not too far behind our Friday-morning prediction of $49.3 million. Not accounting for inflation, this is the second-best opening for a movie in the Alien franchise, behind Prometheus. More...

Weekend prediction: Alien looking to deliver another good weekend in theaters

August 16th, 2024

Alien: Romulus looks set to give us another busy weekend in theaters, with the sci-fi actioner in with a shot at opening with $50 million. Deadpool & Wolverine and It Ends with Us will be battling it out for second place, and the top three should deliver over $100 million between them. More...

Theater counts: Alien: Romulus can’t unseat Deadpool & Wolverine as widest release

August 15th, 2024

It was another stellar weekend for Deadpool & Wolverine at the domestic box office, as the film secured over $53 million and currently enjoys $511 million in 20 days of big screen play. This weekend, we will see what its studio cousin can do as Alien: Romulus arrives in theaters, along with a trio of other wide releases sure to fit nearly every film buff’s desire. More...

Theater counts: Deadpool & Wolverine three-peats as widest release

August 8th, 2024

After two weeks of dominance at the box office, Deadpool & Wolverine is still pulling in remarkable numbers during both weekend and weekday showings. The sequel crossed the $900 million mark worldwide on Wednesday and should find itself as the newest member of the $1 billion club at the weekend’s close. The film will have to fend off three newcomers, however, if it wants to remain atop the domestic box office podium. More...

Alien: Romulus trailer

March 25th, 2024

The latest from the Alien franchise opens exclusively in theaters on August 16. Full movie details.

More...

Featured Blu-ray Review: Terminator 2: Judgment Day

July 17th, 2018

Terminator 2: Judgment Day has been released on the home market countless times. I mean that literally, as I’m not even going to bother to count. Amazingly, I’ve never actually reviewed this movie, despite owning three different versions of the movie on DVD / Blu-ray. I did review the original movie, twice, so it is about time I reviewed this one. More...

Home Market Releases for August 15th, 2017

August 16th, 2017

Alien: Covenant is the biggest release on this week’s list, but the franchise is off its peak and has been for a long time. As for Pick of the Week contenders, there are not a lot of them. If I were to stretch the definition, Food Wars: Season One is great, if you are into that subgenre of Anime. Descendants 2 is arguably better than the original, but the DVD isn’t going to really appeal to those outside the target audience. That leaves The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: 50th Anniversary Blu-ray as the clear winner for Pick of the Week. More...

In Defense of Rotten Tomatoes

July 4th, 2017

I’ve seen a lot of people attacking Rotten Tomatoes recently saying it is bad for the movie business. Some even point to Transformers: The Last Knight as proof that the site can ruin a film’s box office chances. Besides that charge, the other two main complaints I’m hearing over and over again are A.) Rotten Tomatoes is a very shallow site, especially the Tomatometer. And B.) It is killing in-depth critical examination of movies. I’ll tackle those claims below. More...

International Box Office: Pirates Sail International Waters with $208.4 million

June 1st, 2017

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales dominated the international box office earning five times more than the rest of the top five combined. The film pulled in $208.4 million in 54 markets and had $271.4 million worldwide by the end of its first weekend. Its biggest single market was China, where it earned $68.55 million over the weekend. This is bigger than its domestic opening. While this is impressive, it is only the third biggest opening in China for a Disney film, behind Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. On the other hand, the film had a big opening in Russia with $19.10 million, which is the biggest opening weekend in that market of all time. However, it wasn’t all good news, as the only market left to open in is Japan, so it will have to rely on long legs to continue its run. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Pirates Sinks Lower with $78.47 million, Takes 2017 With It

May 31st, 2017

Memorial Day long weekend wasn’t as potent as expected as both new releases struggled. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales led the way with $78.47 million over four days. This marks the third year in a row where no film released on Memorial Day long weekend earned at least $100 million over four days. I’ve heard some talk that this means it is losing its importance as a long weekend. However, I think the actual answer is much simpler, as it is also the third weekend in a row where no wide releases have earned overall positive reviews. I don’t think the box office power of Memorial Day has dropped since X-Men: Days of Future Past came out. I just think the quality of films has dropped since then. Speaking of lack of quality, Baywatch was DOA earning just $27.71 million over five days and unlike Dead Men Tell No Tales, it likely won’t do significantly better internationally. Despite both new releases struggling, the holiday helped the overall box office grow 14% from last weekend to $141 million. Unfortunately, this was 14% lower than the same weekend last year. 2017 still maintains its lead over 2016, but that lead as slipped to 2.6% or $110 million at $4.46 billion to $4.35 billion. More...

Friday Estimates: Dead Men Tops Chart, but Struggles, with $23.40 million

May 27th, 2017

As expected, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales earned first place at the Friday box office. Unfortunately, it missed the low end of expectations with $23.40 million, putting it on pace for a $62 million three-day weekend and a $73 million total opening. The film’s reviews are just 32% positive, putting it in a tie with On Stranger Tides for worst in the franchise. On the other hand, the film earned an A minus from CinemaScore compared to a B plus for the previous installment, so that should help its legs a little. That said, the film cost $230 million to make, so unless it is a monster hit at the international box office, there’s little hope the sequel teased in the end credits will happen. More...

Weekend Predictions: Will New Releases Make a Splash, or are They Dead in the Water?

May 25th, 2017

It’s Memorial Day long weekend, which is historically one of the best long weekends at the box office all year. However, this year the two new releases are far from the best. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales has the worst reviews in the franchise and its domestic box office will likely be the same. Sadly, Baywatch’s reviews are even worse. That said, they should still finish one-two over the weekend, while Alien: Covenant and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 will be in a race for third place. It likely won’t be close. Meanwhile, this weekend last year, X-Men: Apocalypse and Alice Through the Looking Glass opened one-two during the weekend with results that are similar to what Dead Men Tell No Tales / Baywatch are expected to make. I don’t know if 2017 will win in the year-over-year comparison, but it should be close. More...

International Box Office: Dangal Dominates China in Groundbreaking Run

May 25th, 2017

Dangal became the first Indian film to have its biggest single market not be India. It earned first place in China with $34.22 million over the weekend for totals of $113.55 million in China, $185.6 million internationally, and $198.0 million worldwide. It will shortly become the second Indian film to earn more than $200 million worldwide. More...

Weekend Wrap-Up: Aliens Crash, but Still Top Chart with $36.16 million

May 23rd, 2017

As expected, Alien: Covenant earned first place on the weekend box office chart. However, it had a strange journey there. Everything, Everything earned more during its opening weekend than it cost to make, which is great news for the studio. On the other hand, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul will be the last entry in this franchise for a long time. Meanwhile, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 became only the second film released in 2017 to hit $300 million domestically. Unfortunately, the good news didn’t outweigh the bad news and the overall box office fell 10% from last weekend to $122 million. Compared to last year, the weekend box office was 11% lower. Fortunately, 2017 still has a $130 million lead over 2016 at $4.23 billion to $4.10 billion, so there’s no reason to panic. More...

Weekend Predictions: Can Aliens Invade First Place?

May 18th, 2017

Alien: Covenant is looking to unseat Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 for top spot on the box office chart this weekend. Meanwhile, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul and Everything, Everything are just trying to survive in counter-programming roles. The prognosis for those two is mixed. Meanwhile, this weekend last year, there were five films that earned more than $10 million over the weekend. This year, there might be only two. Hopefully the new releases aren’t that bad, while the holdovers don’t completely collapse. If this happens, 2017 could win in the year-over-year comparison for the second weekend in a row. If not, then 2017's winning streak will end at one. More...

2017 Preview: May

May 1st, 2017

April is over and thank god for that. The Fate of the Furious is currently the only film that was better than a midlevel hit, while Going in Style might end up being the second-biggest release of the month. On the low end, there were seven films on last month’s list that didn’t even manage to open in truly wide release (2,000 or more theaters). Fortunately, May looks a lot brighter. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 should dominate the chart and get the month off to a fast start. Furthermore, every week there’s at least one film with a reasonable chance of earning $100 million domestically. Additionally, last May wasn’t particularly strong, so that should help 2017 overall. Granted, Captain America: Civil War earned more than $400 million, so the month got off to a fast start, but films struggled the rest of the way. The second-biggest film was X-Men: Apocalypse at just $155 million, while only one other movie, The Angry Birds Movie, earned more than $100 million. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 should at least be competitive with Captain America: Civil War, allowing 2017 to win thanks to its superior depth. More...

Featured Blu-ray Review: Aliens: 30th Anniversary

October 17th, 2016

The original Alien movie can be described as a haunted house movie set in space, only with an alien instead of a supernatural entity attacking the cast. Aliens, on the other hand, loses nearly all of its tension and instead goes for an action-oriented approach. Does it work? Oh hell yeah. This is one of the best films from the 1980s and it is a must have. Is this 30th Anniversary Blu-ray worth picking up if you have the box set? That’s an interesting question. More...

Featured 3D Blu-ray / DVD Review: Jurassic World

October 29th, 2015

(As we mentioned previously, we've run out of images for Jurassic World, so we're reduced to using less than official images. I know I promised Corgis dress as dinosaurs, but I couldn't find any really good pictures. I did find a picture of Guinea Pigs dressed as dinosaurs, which might be even cuter. So thanks to Reddit user guineapigsarethebest for letting us use your picture.)

Jurassic World became the biggest hit of the year and one of the biggest hits in the history of the box office. On the other hand, its reviews were not that good with the term "dumb" used repeatedly, even in the positive reviews. Is it dumb fun? Is it just plain dumb? More...

Note: This list contains actors who appeared in at least two movies in the franchise.

Note: This list contains people who contributed to at least two movies in the franchise.