Prince Caspian Rules Sales

11 Dec, 2008 By: Thomas K. Arnold

Prince Caspian

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian was the top-selling DVD the week ended Dec. 7, but not without a fierce challenge from the Universal Studios actioner Wanted.

The films had similar box office earnings — $141.6 million for the “Narnia” sequel, and $134.3 million for Wanted — but the former came to DVD with an edge for sales, as a ‘PG’-rated family fantasy.

Still, Wanted managed to sell nearly 90% as many copies as Prince Caspian, according to Nielsen VideoScan First Alert numbers, despite an ‘R’ rating and a much older target audience. (Nielsen data includes most major retailers but not Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club.)

Wanted debuted at No. 2 on the First Alert sales chart but captured the top spot on Home Media Magazine’s rental chart for the week. A third new release, the Sony Pictures comedy Step Brothers, debuted as the week’s No. 2 renter, bumping the previous week’s top renter, Sony Pictures’ Hancock, to No. 3. Prince Caspian debuted at No. 4 on the rental chart.

Step Brothers bowed at a distant No. 3 on the sales chart, with the previous week’s top seller, Hancock, finishing at No. 5 its sophomore week in stores. The No. 4 position on the sales chart went to Disney’s Wall-E, which was No. 2 the previous week after debuting at No. 1 the week before.

On the Nielsen VideoScan Blu-ray Disc sales chart, Wanted easily took the top spot its first week in stores, outselling Prince Caspian by a margin of more than 2-to-1.