'Alexander,' 'Dalmatians' Discs Score Big for Disney

18 Feb, 2015 By: Thomas K. Arnold

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Walt Disney Studios snatched the two top spots on the national home video sales charts the week ended Feb. 15 with two family-friendly features that debuted on the big screen more than half a century apart.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, a live-action comedy with Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner that earned $66.9 million during its fall 2014 theatrical run, debuted at No. 1 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart, which tracks total Blu-ray Disc and DVD combined unit sales.

The animated classic 101 Dalmatians, which debuted on the big screen in 1961 but only became available on Blu-ray Disc with its recent "Diamond Edition" re-release, debuted at No. 2, selling a respectable 78% as many units as Alexander, Nielsen data shows.

On Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart, the order was reversed, with 101 Dalmatians bowing at No. 1 and Alexander scoring a distant No. 2 finish, selling just one-third as many high-definition discs as the animated classic.

Nielsen data shows that Alexander generated 26% of its first-week sales from Blu-ray Disc, while 101 Dalmatians generated nearly all its sales from the new Diamond Edition combo pack, which features the movie on Blu-ray Disc, DVD and Digital HD.

Lionsgate’s John Wick, a thriller with Keanu Reeves that earned just $43 million in theaters despite critical raves, slipped to No. 3 on First Alert after debuting at No. 2 the prior week.

Universal Pictures’ Dracula Untold, a reboot of one of the studio’s classic monster franchises, slid to No. 4 after bowing a week earlier at No. 1.

Rounding out the top five on First Alert was another sophomore, the 20th Century Fox romantic drama The Best of Me, a Nicholas Sparks adaptation that grossed $26.8 million in U.S. theaters and debuted a week earlier at No. 3.

On Nielsen’s Blu-ray Disc chart, John Wick and Dracula Untold also fell to No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, with the No. 5 spot going to the darkly comedic thriller Nightcrawler, a Universal release with a $32.4 million box office gross.

Nightcrawler bowed at No. 7 on the First Alert chart, behind Sony Pictures’ Fury. Nightcrawler generated 53% of its total unit sales from Blu-ray Disc, Nielsen data shows.

On Home Media Magazine’s rental chart for the week, 20th Century Fox’s Gone Girl shot up to No. 1 in its first week of availability at all rental outlets, including Netflix and Redbox, which had to wait a month to offer the film to their customers.

John Wick slipped to No. 2 after bowing in the top spot the previous week.

Fury fell a notch to No. 3, while the provocative Lionsgate thriller Addicted debuted at No. 4 after earning a modest $17.4 million in theaters.

Rounding out the top five was 20th Century Fox’s The Maze Runner, which slipped from No. 3 the prior week.

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