Blu-ray Disc Sales Figures Discussion - Part II

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by GizmoDVD

First we get it sold more then 500k, then we hear 700k, then 800k, then 1.2 Million. Now we are getting its 7.2 Million sales combined (DVD and Blu-ray) and now they are counting copies sold to rental stores. There are 5000 Blockbusters in America and lets say each store got, at minimum 100 DVD copies (if not way more) so there goes 500k DVDs and assuming they got 5 BD copies each, another 25k to Blu-ray. Not counting Hollywood Video, Netflix, Blockbuster Online and Mom and Pop stores. Its becoming a very long joke that we are all apart of. We will never know how many copies Iron Man sold unless Paramount brings each point out (This includes copies picked up and purchased by customers NOT rental stores, online rentals, Red Box etc). Ridiculous. These charts serve very little purpose since most of us can't even figure out what they actually mean and who they are and are not counting. The rest is just a big guessing game.

The only "official" word we have heard from Paramount thus far has been the 500K. The other numbers you add up to the discussion to prove your point aren't any more credible than your prediction on another forum that Iron Man will sell 200 000+. So, what you heard from other than Paramount sources hardly matters.

Furthermore, adding business sales to the overall ratio isn't a new practice nor it is as misleading as you want it to be. It is a fraction of the sales ratio which has always been considered. At least by those who know what they are talking about.

To sum it all up, as Kefrank notes above, Iron Man sold incredibly well with the initial rough numbers Paramount revealed still intact.

Pro-B

[chanster]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

A very possible scenario:



Pro-B

I think its funny you ridicule others for their posting of scenarios, but you post a quote from an unnamed person, most likely just another message board user and call that "very possible" Now how can that be? For reference, see post #102 in this thread.

[rexinnih]

I'm not sure what the actual numbers are but if Iron Man becomes the first BD to sell a million, I am sure there will be some kind of press release from Paramount. Seem to remember the Matrix was the first DVD to sell a million and there was some announcements around that.
Either way, congrats to Paramount on a fine and best selling disc.

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by BuckNaked2k

Who really cares if Blu-ray remains niche?

I mean, this is an enthusiast forum, right? I think it's kind of cool that Blu-ray is an enthusiasts' format, kind of like the way Laser Disc was (which I never got in on). I like being the only person I know who has Blu-ray, perhaps even the only one who knows what the hell Blu-ray is!

It seems like the format has gained enough traction to stick around for the long-haul, and we are seeing some pretty good catalog titles being released. Of the 374 Feature Films I own, 100 are either available or announced on Blu-ray, around 27%.....not too shabby for a format only two years old.

Blu-ray remaining niche means less of a rush for studios to get out catalog titles, especially ones that won't sell more then a few thousand copies. It doesn't bother me too much since my taste points towards Hollywood releases, but I can easily see how people would hope Blu-ray takes off to see more movies in High Def.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by chanster

I think its funny you ridicule others for their posting of scenarios, but you post a quote from an unnamed person, most likely just another message board user and call that "very possible" Now how can that be? For reference, see post #102 in this thread.

The post makes it very clear that Paramount released only one "official" number. Everything else, including the post you quote, are speculations and I have certainly referred to them as such. Other posters have not.

Pro-B

[namja]

I'm sure we will hear more official numbers from Paramount soon enough.
Until then, let's keep official numbers and speculations separate and not bicker too much.
Thank you.

namja
Moderator, DVD Talk Forums

P.S. Any way you look at it, Iron Man had phenominal sales.

[Qui Gon Jim]

Originally Posted by BuckNaked2k

Who really cares if Blu-ray remains niche?

I mean, this is an enthusiast forum, right? I think it's kind of cool that Blu-ray is an enthusiasts' format, kind of like the way Laser Disc was (which I never got in on). I like being the only person I know who has Blu-ray, perhaps even the only one who knows what the hell Blu-ray is!

It seems like the format has gained enough traction to stick around for the long-haul, and we are seeing some pretty good catalog titles being released. Of the 374 Feature Films I own, 100 are either available or announced on Blu-ray, around 27%.....not too shabby for a format only two years old.

I agree with every word of your post. There are some here that are on some kind of crusade, and anytime anything is pointed out that emphasizes BDs niche status, the original poster is attacked and defamed as having nothing good to say. These people NEED to see BD replace DVD. Weird.

If they feel comfortable being whored out by the BDA to make these bullshit charts seem like good news, that's fine. They just need to be prepared to be called on it by those who haven't built their four-story BD shrine just yet.

To some it is just a media format.

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by Qui Gon Jim

I agree with every word of your post. There are some here that are on some kind of crusade, and anytime anything is pointed out that emphasizes BDs niche status, the original poster is attacked and defamed as having nothing good to say. These people NEED to see BD replace DVD. Weird.

False dichotomy FTW!

It is possible for a product not to replace the incumbent product and still not be niche.

Some of us are satisfied with Blu-ray becoming mainstream. Why? Because then available content will improve. Otherwise I might be waiting for a long time for the movies I love to be released on BD.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Qui Gon Jim

I agree with every word of your post. There are some here that are on some kind of crusade, and anytime anything is pointed out that emphasizes BDs niche status, the original poster is attacked and defamed as having nothing good to say. These people NEED to see BD replace DVD. Weird.

If they feel comfortable being whored out by the BDA to make these bullshit charts seem like good news, that's fine. They just need to be prepared to be called on it by those who haven't built their four-story BD shrine just yet.

To some it is just a media format.

I personally have very little interest in 90% of the titles that are currently released on Blu-ray so, yes, I am very much looking forward to the day when all of the niche fears are put to rest. This is the reason why I also desired to see a unified market - a strong family of distribs with an even stronger catalog of diverse films.

Pro-B

[Suprmallet]

Originally Posted by Qui Gon Jim

I agree with every word of your post. There are some here that are on some kind of crusade, and anytime anything is pointed out that emphasizes BDs niche status, the original poster is attacked and defamed as having nothing good to say. These people NEED to see BD replace DVD. Weird.

If they feel comfortable being whored out by the BDA to make these bullshit charts seem like good news, that's fine. They just need to be prepared to be called on it by those who haven't built their four-story BD shrine just yet.

To some it is just a media format.

Simultaneously, people can express the hope that Blu-ray will become more than niche without being degraded, either. This post seems needlessly antagonistic.

[Breakfast with Girls]

Not much of a niche if the selection only consists of new releases.

[Qui Gon Jim]

Originally Posted by Suprmallet

Simultaneously, people can express the hope that Blu-ray will become more than niche without being degraded, either. This post seems needlessly antagonistic.

Quite true. I suppose I hope BD becomes more than it is, but I have to be honest; I am pretty happy with where the format is now. I don't need to see it overtake DVD, and I doubt it ever will. Call that antagonistic if you like, but I call it realistic. As long as titles keep coming that I want, I don't give a damn if all my neighbors buy into BD. It is a non-factor for me. It would help pricing, but I don't feel the need to own every single thing that comes out anymore, so if I spend more per title, but get fewer titles, it all works out.

There are two members who actively patrol this board waiting with baited breath to slam and attack anyone who has any critical word for BD. They post these spin-filled press releases that anyone with a hint of common sense sees right through. You want antagonistic, look at their posts.

[Suprmallet]

You know what they say, attack the post, not the poster.

[Mr. Cinema]

"Paramount scored big on the national home video sales chart for the week ending Oct. 19, with "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" debuting at No. 1 and "Iron Man" still perched at No. 2 its third week in stores.

The two summer theatrical blockbusters scored the same one-two finish on the Blu-ray Disc sales chart."

"Looking ahead, Universal's "The Incredible Hulk" is poised to be the top seller this week, with sales of nearly 2 million units on Tuesday, its first day in stores, according to studio estimates. More than 14% of those sales were on Blu-ray."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...f78d01fdbefdc1

[GizmoDVD]

Ugh. That means people actually spent money on Indy IV...that's a big disappointment.

Looks like Hulk already sold 250k then.

[Mr. Cinema]

Iron Man has now sold 850,000 copies.

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/new...-revenue-13827

[GizmoDVD]

From 10/11/08

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

http://www.the-numbers.com/dvd/chart...y/thisweek.php

They show Iron Man selling just over 5 million dvds. If you take the 17+% market share total from the Nielsen numbers, the BD total would be just over 878,000 copies. BD revenue for the week was $26.84 million. If you pick an average selling price of around $26 for Iron Man and multiply that by the 878,000 total, you get around $22.8 million. And we see from the chart, the rest of the top 20 didn't sell well at all.

Today, 11/7/08

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

Iron Man has now sold 850,000 copies.

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/new...-revenue-13827

This is exactly why I hate the %. When people try and estimate we get wrong figures thanks to the Nielsens not providng actual real numbers and instead silly %.

[The Bus]

If there is one sector that is sure to ride out the economic downturn in some comfort it has to be business punditry. Today's instalment in Things That Will Be Either Better Or Worse In The Next Financial Cycle comes from the HD3 Conference in LA, where a panel of entertainment execs discussed how the Blu-Ray format might suffer as the credit crunch begins to bite.

Sony may have won the format wars - seeing HD-DVD driven before them and hearing the lamentation of its early adopters - but longer term the discs may go the way of the Betamax and it's all that pesky economy's fault.

"The economy is the biggest challenge, because there are just so many pieces to the Blu-ray puzzle that consumers face," said Disney's Lori MacPherson, "You need the high-definition television set, you need the player, you need the cables, you need the software . . ."

And films. You definitely need films. The price of which compared to DVD, streaming and downloads might also be a factor.

"We're all constantly looking at (disc) pricing," said Rich Marty from Sony, "What it amounts to is that we'll wait until after the fourth quarter and see how it goes."

Reuters via Kotaku

---

OK, I'm not buying any titles this quarter.

One example of the ridiculous pricing I ran across was this, on DDD:

Reign Over Me (BD): $22
Reign Over Me (DVD): $7.50

All prices approx after discount.

[Drexl]

Well, one of the problems there is that they're not reducing the prices on new releases in a timely manner. Reign Over Me was released over a year ago, and it's still priced as a new release. Heck, there are titles from 2006 that are still priced as new releases.

Anything should be reduced after it's out for 6 months, maybe even as shortly as 4 months.

[GizmoDVD]

Originally Posted by Drexl

Well, one of the problems there is that they're not reducing the prices on new releases in a timely manner. Reign Over Me was released over a year ago, and it's still priced as a new release. Heck, there are titles from 2006 that are still priced as new releases.

Anything should be reduced after it's out for 6 months, maybe even as shortly as 4 months.

For some reason BDs do not follow the cycle like DVD does. I still laugh when I see some DVDs at $4.99 while the year old BD is still $24.99.

[pmreed]

I've been sitting on the sidelines since HD-DVD, which I supported, bit the dust. I'd been watching the decline in BD player pricing with interest as I'd been planning on buying a player for some time. Hardware is certainly affordable now, but software seems to be dearly priced. I think I'll just stay on the bench a bit longer 'til BD discs become more reasonabe. I hope that BD numbers do climb, as I expect an increase in sales volume will ultimately lead to falling prices for the movies. Not at once as the big players try to recoup their early losses from the format war and pay off the capitalization required to support the manufacturing effort, but down the road as they realize lower pricing is the only chance they have to sell their way out of a niche marketplace.