Lionsgate: ‘Now You See Me’ Tops on Home Entertainment Charts

17 Sep, 2013 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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It’s not just about werewolves, vampires and hunted teens at Lionsgate.

The Santa Monica, Calif.-based mini-major Sept. 17 said robbery thriller "Now You See Me" ranked tops on the DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and cable and satellite transactional video-on-demand charts, in addition to No. 1 on iTunes, Vudu.com and Xbox through the week ending Sept. 15.

Now You See Me, which stars Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, is the story of an elite FBI squad pitted in a game of cat and mouse against a super-team of illusionists who claim to steal from corrupt businesses. 

The movie generated $300 million–plus at the worldwide theatrical box office. Now You See Me was released into retail channels Sept. 4, after launching early on electronic sellthrough during the Labor Day weekend. It has already generated more than 1.6 million reported and estimated digital and on-demand transactions, including 70% in HD.

More than 40% of the Summit Entertainment title's undisclosed packaged media sales were in Blu-ray.

“We’re very pleased that Now You See Me ranked No. 1 across the board,” Ron Schwartz, Lionsgate president and GM of home entertainment sales and distribution, and Jim Packer, president of worldwide television and digital distribution, said in a joint statement. “The title … [underscores] our commitment to utilize digital, on-demand and packaged media to offer our consumers a broad spectrum of choice.”

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the follow-up to the Lionsgate’s successful teen franchise, “The Hunger Games,” is slated for theatrical release Nov. 22. The title, along with “The Twilight Saga” franchise, home entertainment and TV businesses, have contributed to more than triple Lionsgate's stock price this year.

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