'Hangover' Hangs On To Top Spot on Sales Chart

The year is ending with quite a “hangover.” Warner Home Video’s The Hangover hung on to the No. 1 spot on the national home video sales chart for the second consecutive week, beating back a stiff challenge from high-profile newcomer District 9, from Sony Pictures.
 
District 9, the acclaimed alien film with $115.5 million in theatrical receipts, debuted at No. 2 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart for the week ending Dec. 27, selling about 61% as many units as The Hangover did in its second week in stores.
 
District 9 did manage to debut at No. 1 on Home Media Magazine’s rental chart as well as the Nielsen VideoScan Blu-ray Disc chart, with The Hangover slipping to No. 2 after debuting in the top spot the previous week.

In rental stores, The Hangover still managed to generate 72% as much rental action as District 9, even though it was no longer the hot new title in stores. Similarly, The Hangover during the week moved nearly 90% as many Blu-ray Disc units as District 9, even though District 9 is tailor-made for the Blu-ray Disc crowd and generated 41% of first-week sales from the high-definition version, according to Nielsen VideoScan research.
 
Elsewhere on the charts, Universal Studios’ Inglourious Basterds hung on strong its second week in stores, slipping just one notch, to No. 3 from No. 2, on all three charts.
 
Family Guy: Something, Something, Something, Dark Side, from 20th Century Fox, debuted at No. 6 on the First Alert sales chart, a promising start for the made-for-video release given the proliferation of recently released theatrical features.