Fourth 'Transformers' Movie Dominates Home Video Charts

8 Oct, 2014 By: Thomas K. Arnold

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Paramount's big sci-fi action sequel Transformers: Age of Extinction easily topped the national home video charts for the week ended Oct. 5.

The film, which earned $245.4 million in U.S. theaters and ranks as the year’s No. 4 movie in terms of box office gross, shot to the top of the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart, which tracks overall Blu-ray Disc and DVD combined unit sales, as well as Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart.

Universal's comedy Neighbors, which debuted at No. 1 on both sales charts the prior week, slipped to No. 2. According to Nielsen research, Neighbors sold just 12.8% as many copies its second week in stores as Age of Extinction moved its first week in stores. The disparity was even greater on Blu-ray, with Neighbors selling less than 6.8% as many units — which isn’t surprising, given that Age of Extinction, the fourth film in director Michael Bay's series based on Hasbro's "Transformers" toys, generated a whopping 63% of its total first-week unit sales from the high-definition format, compared with just 33% for Neighbors.

Age of Extinction also bowed at No. 1 on Home Media Magazine’s rental chart for the week, bumping Warner’s Blended, the prior week’s top rental, to No. 2.

Three other new releases also debuted in the First Alert top 10: Universal's Monster High: Freaky Fusion at No. 6, Universal's Chef at No. 7 and a Walmart-exclusive boxed set of all four “Transformers” films at No. 9.

Freaky Fusion, which bowed at No. 10 on the Blu-ray Disc sales chart, is the 10th "Monster High” TV movie. It hit home video a week before the movie's Oct. 6 air date and two weeks after its digital release.

Chef is the critically hailed comedy helmed by Jon Favreau and featuring an all-star cast that includes Dustin Hoffman, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson and Sofia Vergara. The film, about an out-of-work chef who launches a food truck business while at the same time attempting to bring his family back together, earned $31.4 million in theaters.

On Home Media Magazine’s rental chart for the week, Age of Extinction and Blended were followed at No. 3 by Marvel's Disney-distributed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, No. 4 by Sony Pictures’ Think Like a Man Too and No. 5 by 20th Century Fox’s The Other Woman.

Two other new releases, aside from Age of Extinction, made the top 10 on the rental chart: The Millennium comedy Are You Here bowed at No. 6 and Sony Pictures’ Sniper: Legacy debuted at No. 9.

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