DVD industry in crisis as sales slump, but 007 still ranks as best-seller

Sales and rentals of DVDs and Blu-ray discs fell by 7% to $10.9bn in the first nine months of this year compared with last year, according to the industry body The Digital Entertainment Group; and the British Video Association says DVD sales fell 5.6% last year. The fall was most severe in new-release titles, which account for 25% of the market, with sales crashing 15% in 2009 - reports the Guardian.

The home entertainment experience is being transformed, with content delivered on-demand through web-enabled set-top boxes, games consoles, and now the iPad, which has stolen the DVD's crown as the fastest-adopted consumer device. The recession has driven consumer spending towards cheaper rentals, depriving studios of those juicy box-set profits.

The effect on James Bond is clear to see, as a complete box set of 22 films was slashed to £49.99 just this week by Amazon - an amazingly low £2.27 per film!

But 007 still ranks as one of the safer bets for DVD success. The last two Daniel Craig films rank highly in the top selling DVD and Blu-Ray charts of all time in the UK:

Top 10 DVD sales (UK)

1 Mamma Mia! (Universal Pictures UK)
2 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Entertainment in Video)
3 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Entertainment in Video)
4 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Walt Disney)
5 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Entertainment in Video)
6 Shrek 2 (Paramount)
7 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Walt Disney)
8 Casino Royale (Sony Pictures)
9 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros)
10 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner Bros)

Top 10 Blu-ray sales (UK)

1 Avatar (20th Century Fox)
2 The Dark Knight (Warner Bros)
3 Star Trek 11 (Paramount)
4 Transformers 2 (Paramount)
5 Quantum of Solace (20th Century Fox)
6 2012 (Sony Pictures)
7 The Hurt Locker (Lionsgate)
8 Casino Royale (Sony Pictures)
9 Iron Man (Paramount)
10 Terminator: Salvation (Sony Pictures)



Discuss this news here...