‘True Grit’ Shoots to the Top

15 Jun, 2011 By: Thomas K. Arnold

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Paramount Home Entertainment rode off into the sunset as the big winner once again, as True Grit, the much-ballyhooed Coen Brothers remake of the John Wayne Western, topped all three national home video charts its first week in stores.

True Grit made such a splash on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart for the week ended June 12 that it outsold its nearest competitor, the Sony Pictures comedy Just Go With It, by a nearly 3-to-1 margin. Both films belong to the $100 million-plus club: True Grit grossed $171 million in U.S. theaters, while Just Go With It, with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, earned $103 million.

On Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc chart, True Grit fared even better, outselling second-ranked Just Go With It by a nearly 4-to-1 margin. True Grit generated 53% of its first-week sales from Blu-ray Disc, Nielsen data shows.

The previous week’s top-selling disc, HBO’s True Blood: The Complete Third Season, slipped to No. 4 on the overall sales chart and No. 6 on the Blu-ray Disc sales chart.

Warner Home Video also scored big with its animated Green Lantern: Emerald Knights direct-to-video release, which shrewdly arrived in stores 10 days before the theatrical debut of the big-budget live-action tentpole Green Lantern. Buzz for the new film was so great that the DTV release debuted at No. 3 on both the overall sales chart and the Blu-ray Disc sales chart.

On Home Media Magazine’s video rental chart, True Grit again emerged on top, with Just Go With It at No. 2. The previous week’s top rental, Summit Entertainment’s Drive Angry, slipped to No. 3.

 

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