Iron Man blasts out on Blu-ray

Bravestime · 10-07-2008, 08:10 PM

Quote:

OCT. 7 | Iron Man is enjoying superhero Blu-ray Disc strength, tracking as the top format debut to date at Best Buy and other retailers.

An average of about 20% of Iron Man’s total unit sales are on Blu-ray, according to retail sources, though in some instances, its share goes as high as 50%. By comparison, the Blu-ray portion for many recent popular titles, including I Am Legend, logged about 9% of sales in the format, according to Adams Media Research.

One industry source said Iron Man Blu-ray sales range from 10% to 30% of the title’s total sales, varying by retailer. In some isolated cases, including at retailers Amazon.com and DeepDiscount.com, Iron Man’s Blu-ray version is selling more briskly than one or more of the film’s standard DVD SKUs.

Paramount Home Entertainment bowed Iron Man on Sept. 30. The studio has not yet commented on the title’s sales.

According to retailers, one key reason behind the movie’s success on Blu-ray is its appeal to comic book, special effects and videogame fans—the crowd most likely to be early adopters and own PlayStation 3 consoles, which playback Blu-ray discs.

The title also is attractively priced at $39.99, the same price as the standard two-disc special edition. And with Blu-ray offering extensive format-exclusive Web interactivity, consumers seem happy to upgrade to the more advanced version, retailers said.

“In week-one sales, this is our biggest Blu-ray title ever,” said Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas. “This was a tentpole title for the format. If you have a Blu-ray player, this is the title that you want to get.”

Lucas is confident that Iron Man’s Blu-ray power bodes well for the entire format going forward.

“I think it’s a sign that Blu-ray adoption is reaching a point where there is excitement around certain titles that fit well in the format,” he said. “This is now becoming an expected format, where on new release Tuesday, people are now coming and looking for the movie on Blu-ray.”

Iron Man also is the best first-week Blu-ray performer for airport retailer InMotion Entertainment, regional chain Newbury Comics and online seller DeepDiscount.com.

In its first week on sale at In Motion, Iron Man sold through 75% of its Blu-ray copies and 50% of its total copies. Typically, InMotion sells 35% of a title’s copies during that frame.

“This is the first Blu-ray title to crack our Top 10 DVD sellers for the week,” said Steve Torr, InMotion director of software purchasing and rental services. “I hope it’s a sign of the future for Blu-ray.”

Iron Man’s Blu-ray sales represented 20% of the total 1,800 copies sold across Newbury’s 28-store chain. That is double the usual Blu-ray portion for titles sold at the retailer. Iron Man’s Blu-ray sales just about equaled Newbury’s first-week sales of the two-disc standard DVD version of Sex and the City: The Movie.

DeepDiscount.com consumers purchased twice as many copies of Iron Man on Blu-ray than the two-disc standard version, and Blu-ray accounted for 50% of the title’s total sales.

“The two-disc [standard for Iron Man] is just $1 dollar less than its Blu-ray,” said David Barker, VP of e-commerce marketing at DeepDiscount.com owner Infinity Resources, referring to the site’s retail pricing. “I think the two-disc [fan-oriented] buyer is trading up—this is the first person who is converting to Blu-ray anyway.”

At Amazon.com, the Blu-ray Iron Man SKU wound up topping its two-disc and single-disc standard versions in its overall top DVD sellers chart. After its first week, Iron Man is the top-selling Blu-ray title of 2008 at the retailer.

“Amazon.com has had other Blu-ray movies highly ranked, but we have never before seen a Blu-ray title dominate the top seller rankings for an extended period like Iron Man,” said Amazon.com spokeswoman Tammy Hovey. “A handful of other Blu-ray titles have outsold the standard-def version, but Iron Man is by far the most significant. Iron Man Blu-ray has been in the Top 10 of Amazon’s DVD bestseller list since early September and has been ranked No. 1 or No. 2 most of the last two weeks.”

Link: http://www.videobusiness.com/article...?desc=topstory

eapleitez · 10-07-2008, 08:16 PM

"The title also is attractively priced at $39.99"

Here's a hint for the author, THAT AIN'T AN ATTRACTIVE PRICE! Plus, no one is buying it at that price anyway.

ack_bak · 10-07-2008, 08:27 PM

All I can say is if the BD version of Iron Man sells even close to 20% of the DVD sales the numbers will be much bigger than I expected. I was hoping for 10%. Friday is looking more and more interesting...

ack_bak · 10-07-2008, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eapleitez

"The title also is attractively priced at $39.99"

Here's a hint for the author, THAT AIN'T AN ATTRACTIVE PRICE! Plus, no one is buying it at that price anyway.

Haha. I know. When I read that I kept thinking whatever they are paying this author it is way too much if he thinks $39.99 is an attractive price.

Bravestime · 10-07-2008, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ack_bak

All I can say is if the BD version of Iron Man sells even close to 20% of the DVD sales the numbers will be much bigger than I expected. I was hoping for 10%. Friday is looking more and more interesting...

That's the most telling info in this article. If it's true, then this sounds good for blu-ray.

Bravestime · 10-07-2008, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eapleitez

"The title also is attractively priced at $39.99"

Here's a hint for the author, THAT AIN'T AN ATTRACTIVE PRICE! Plus, no one is buying it at that price anyway.

Yeah, good thing the actual price isn't that high.

Dave J · 10-07-2008, 08:43 PM

A very good showing for the blu-ray release. Hopefully the B&M chains will take notice of the very high blu-ray sales percentages for Iron Man as compared to that of the DVD release at online retailers Amazon and Deep Discount. Those B&M retailers are driving potential sales away with their very low discounts off MSRP as is clearly shown by the Nielsen VideoScan numbers cited in this article. They need to get their pricing inline or else the will lose further market share to them or to Wal-Mart once they really get serious about merchandising blu-ray.

ack_bak · 10-07-2008, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave J

A very good showing for the blu-ray release. Hopefully the B&M chains will take notice of the very high blu-ray sales percentages for Iron Man as compared to that of the DVD release at online retailers Amazon and Deep Discount. Those B&M retailers are driving potential sales away with their very low discounts off MSRP as is clearly shown by the Nielsen VideoScan numbers cited in this article. They need to get their pricing inline or else the will lose further market share to them or to Wal-Mart once they really get serious about merchandising blu-ray.

Dave for most titles I have to agree. Best Buy, Target, Circuit City, etc will try and price gouge with "sales" of $29.xx.

At least with Iron Man Best Buy got their act together and charged $25.xx. The same price as Amazon and most online retailers. Makes you wonder how many copies they could have moved had they priced it like I Am Legend which was $18-20 at most stores on release week..

Bravestime · 10-07-2008, 08:59 PM

I agree about the pricing of BD movies. BD could sell some many more movies if they would drop the prices at a resonable price. $25.00 and better for a new release is too much, IMO. Over $30 is way too high.

Dave J · 10-07-2008, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ack_bak

Dave for most titles I have to agree. Best Buy, Target, Circuit City, etc will try and price gouge with "sales" of $29.xx.

At least with Iron Man Best Buy got their act together and charged $25.xx. The same price as Amazon and most online retailers. Makes you wonder how many copies they could have moved had they priced it like I Am Legend which was $18-20 at most stores on release week..

I wasn't aware that Best Buy was that aggresive with their retail price. Perhaps the lesson has already been learned and, hopefully, the sales results from Iron Man have solidified that decision for them going forward.

mytime · 10-07-2008, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bravestime

I agree about the pricing of BD movies. BD could sell some many more movies if they would drop the prices at a resonable price. $25.00 and better for a new release is too much, IMO. Over $30 is way too high.

I have np with $25 for a new release. Would like to see $15 to $20 become the norm.

mytime · 10-07-2008, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave J

I wasn't aware that Best Buy was that aggresive with their retail price. Perhaps the lesson has already been learned and, hopefully, the sales results from Iron Man have solidified that decision for them going forward.

That's where I got my copy and for that price. Sold out at Walmart last Fri and they had it for $29.

Bravestime · 10-07-2008, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mytime

I have np with $25 for a new release. Would like to see $15 to $20 become the norm.

Absolutely, but unfortunately I don't think we'll see that anytime soon. I really like to see the BD movies within $4.00 of the DVD version. Also, the old catalog movies that have been transfered to BD should definitely not be over $25, and honestly should be less than $20. These are not new releases, IMO, should be priced as such. Some are priced lower, but most are priced above $20.
I believe reducing these prices will definitely increases BD movie sales.

Dave J · 10-07-2008, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mytime

That's where I got my copy and for that price. Sold out at Walmart last Fri and they had it for $29.

There are only a few DVD/Blu-ray releases a year that sell in the high millions during their first week of release and, for that matter, first day of release. Most retailers should be tripping over each other, especially the electronics/media stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.), to offer the best retail price possible to attract those consumers. It's a difficult task to attract customers as it is so if there is a product available that you know consumers will be making a special trip to pick up on release date you want them to make that purchase at your store in the hopes they will purchase other items as well. If blu-ray can tap into that very same vein that DVD has enjoyed as a loss-leader all these many years then we will certainly benefit as a result.

mytime · 10-07-2008, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bravestime

Absolutely, but unfortunately I don't think we'll see that anytime soon. I really like to see the BD movies within $4.00 of the DVD version. Also, the old catalog movies that have been transfered to BD should definitely not be over $25, and honestly should be less than $20. These are not new releases, IMO, should be priced as such. Some are priced lower, but most are priced above $20.
I believe reducing these prices will definitely increases BD movie sales.

I agree. The old catalog releases should be priced lower. Now we both know that some of those old titles will be considered "must haves" and will command a higher price. Case in point, if the Star Wars movies are ever released on BD I imagine if will be at a premium price.

10-07-2008, 08:16 PM	#2
eapleitez High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 389	"The title also is attractively priced at $39.99" Here's a hint for the author, THAT AIN'T AN ATTRACTIVE PRICE! Plus, no one is buying it at that price anyway. __________________ HD DVD: 159 BD: 59 JVC HD-56FN97 Toshiba HD-A2 Sony PS3 80GB Nintendo Wii Sega Dreamcast Radiient Calypso 5.0 speakers BIC HT-63 rear surrounds BIC H-100 Denon AVR-888 Harmony One remote

10-07-2008, 08:59 PM	#9
Bravestime Supporter of HiDef Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Aiken, SC Age: 53 Posts: 4,414	I agree about the pricing of BD movies. BD could sell some many more movies if they would drop the prices at a resonable price. $25.00 and better for a new release is too much, IMO. Over $30 is way too high. __________________ Life is Short, Watch a Movie

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10-07-2008, 08:27 PM	#3
ack_bak Hidef Junkie Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 2,416	All I can say is if the BD version of Iron Man sells even close to 20% of the DVD sales the numbers will be much bigger than I expected. I was hoping for 10%. Friday is looking more and more interesting...

10-07-2008, 08:43 PM	#7
Dave J Destination Danger! Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 302	A very good showing for the blu-ray release. Hopefully the B&M chains will take notice of the very high blu-ray sales percentages for Iron Man as compared to that of the DVD release at online retailers Amazon and Deep Discount. Those B&M retailers are driving potential sales away with their very low discounts off MSRP as is clearly shown by the Nielsen VideoScan numbers cited in this article. They need to get their pricing inline or else the will lose further market share to them or to Wal-Mart once they really get serious about merchandising blu-ray.