'Moana' Sails to Top of Disc Sales Charts
16 Mar, 2017 By: Thomas K. Arnold
Moana, the latest musical fantasy from the Walt Disney Animation Studios, shot to the top of the national home video sales charts its first week in stores, bumping another Disney release, the Marvel superhero film Doctor Strange, to No. 2.
Moana debuted at No. 1 the week ended March 12 on both the NPD VideoScan First Alert sales chart, which tracks combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc unit sales, and the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart.
The film earned a respectable $247.7 million in U.S. theaters, with a worldwide theatrical take around $600 million.
Doctor Strange sold just 14% as many copies as Moana during the week, accourding to VideoScan, after a strong debut at No. 1 the prior week.
DreamWorks Animation's Trolls, distributed by 20th Century Fox, remained at No. 3 on both charts, while Lionsgate’s Oscar-winning Hacksaw Ridge (the biopic about a pacifist war medic won statues for Best Achievement in Film Editing and Best Achievement in Sound Mixing) slipped to No. 4 from No. 2 the previous week.
Rounding out the top five on the overall disc sales chart was the latest “Paw Patrol” TV cartoon, Pups Save the Bunnies, from Paramount. On the Blu-ray Disc chart, the No. 5 spot went to another Paramount title, Arrival, a sci-fi drama that came in at No. 6 on the overall disc sales chart.
Fox’s Jackie, a biopic about former First Lady Jackie Kennedy with Natalie Portman in the title role, debuted at No. 7 on the overall disc sales chart and No. 11 on the Blu-ray Disc sales chart.
VideoScan data shows that Moana generated 65% of its total unit sales from Blu-ray Disc, compared to 68% for Doctor Strange (which debuted a week earlier with 76% of total unit sales coming from Blu-ray Disc). Jackie generated 38% of its total unit sales from Blu-ray Disc. "Paw Patrol" is available only on DVD.
On Home Media Magazine’s rental chart for the week, Trolls shot up to No. 1 now that its 28-day holdback from Redbox is over, with Doctor Strange entering the chart at No. 2.
Hacksaw Ridge slipped to No. 3 after two weeks at No. 1, with 20th Century Fox’s Masterminds at No. 4 and Paramount’s Arrival at No. 5.