'Bambi' Thumps Way to Top

9 Mar, 2011 By: Thomas K. Arnold

---

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has done it again: taken a cinematic senior citizen, given it a first-class makeover for its Blu-ray Disc debut, and seen it go straight to the top of the national home video sales charts its first week in stores.

This time, it’s Bambi, the beloved 1942 animated classic about a young deer growing up alone in the forest after his mother is shot dead by hunters. The two-disc “Diamond Edition” combo pack, which includes the film on Blu-ray Disc as well as standard DVD, easily debuted at No. 1 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert and Blu-ray Disc sales charts for the week ended March 6.

The previous week’s top seller, Paramount/DreamWorks’ Megamind, dropped to No. 2 on both charts, selling 75% as many copies its sophomore week as Bambi.

Even though Bambi hasn’t been in theaters since a 1988 re-release, the film handily outsold several new theatrical features, including two from Sony Pictures: the Cher/Christina Aguilera vehicle Burlesque ($34.9 million), which bowed at No. 3 on both sales charts, and the actioner Faster ($23.2 million), which debuted at No. 4 on both charts.

Two other new theatrical features, both from 20th Century Fox, also debuted among the week’s top sellers. The romantic comedy Love & Other Drugs ($32.4 million) entered First Alert at No. 5 and the Blu-ray Disc sales chart at No. 7, while the rock-climbing adventure 127 Hours ($18.2 million) bowed at No. 7 on First Alert and No. 6 on the Blu-ray Disc chart.

On the rental side of the business, Faster took the No. 1 spot on Home Media Magazine’s weekly rental chart, thanks to its immediate availability across the rental spectrum. The previous week’s top rental, Megamind, slipped to No. 2.

Burlesque debuted at No. 6, but the two new releases from 20th Century Fox failed to place because of the studio’s 28-day delay in issuing discs to Netflix and Redbox. Two Fox titles that came out a month ago but only became available at Netflix and Redbox March 1 both belatedly debuted in the top 10, Conviction at No. 7 and Never Let Me Go at No. 10.

 

Bookmark it: