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Rental spending was projected to remain flat at $3.9
billion, while DVD sales were pegged at $6.8 billion, down 3%. One reason for the decline in consumer spending could be
the overall weaker box office value of first-half DVD releases,
off about 9% year-over-year. "Happy Feet" was the top-selling DVD released in the first
six months with sales of 8.6 million units. The top-selling DVD in first-half 2006, "The Chronicles of
Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," sold 11.8
million units, while the top seller at the halfway mark of
2005, "The Incredibles," sold about 16.1 million. "Happy Feet"
and "Incredibles" were March releases, while "Narnia" came out
in April. With a U.S. box office gross of $291.7 million, "Narnia"
was the biggest theatrical release of the three. "Incredibles"
followed at $261.4 million, with "Happy Feet" next at $197.9
million. The No. 2 spot on the first-half 2007 top DVD sellers list
went to "Night at the Museum," which sold an estimated 6.6
million units. "The Departed," powered by its best picture Oscar win, was
No. 3 with estimated sales of 5.1 million units, followed by
"Open Season" with estimated sales of 4.2 million units. The remake of "Charlotte's Web" sold an estimated 3.8
million units to take the No. 5 spot, followed by "The Pursuit
of Happyness" (3.7 million units) and "Casino Royale" (3.6
million). Rounding out the top 10: two Disney direct-to-video
releases: "Cinderella III: A Twist in Time" (3.5 million units)
and "Peter Pan" (3.4 million units); and "Flushed Away" (3.2
million units). According to Nielsen VideoScan data, which do not include
Wal-Mart, "Happy Feet" also was No. 1, followed by "Departed,"
"Museum," "Casino Royale," "Happyness," "Peter Pan," "Borat,"
"Open Season," "Charlotte's Web" and "Cinderella III." Reuters/Hollywood Reporter |
Consumers spent an
estimated $10.7 billion on home video in the first six months
of the year, down 2% from the year-ago period, according to
studio data and Home Media Magazine market research. 
