Blu-ray's Revenue Share still low in Pre-Avatar Sales


While the recent Blu-ray release of "Avatar" in 2D 1080p is expected to significantly bolster Blu-ray's share of the overall video disc pie, at least for a while, the highest-grossing movie of all time has yet to officially enter the Top 10 count.

Thus, without the mega-blockbuster in the mix, Blu-ray's revenue share remained at a lowly 12 percent (compared to standard DVD) for the week ending April 18.

While Blu-ray titles accounted for less than $16 million in sales for that week, it did represent a jump of more than 46 percent in Blu-ray sales over the same week a year ago, according to Home Media Research.

Standard DVD's remaining 88 percent translated into about $114.7 million in sales — down 11 percent over a year ago. Overall, Blu-ray and DVD sales for the week ending April 18 totaled just under $130.5 million.

(The next revenue tally to be released for the week ending April 25 will include the first four days of "Avatar" sales, which has already broken Blu-ray records.)