11 million Blu-ray discs sold in two years as popularity increases
In the two years since the Blu-ray high definition disc format launched, it has sold over 11 million film discs, according to recent research from the Redhill Group.
That’s still a minuscule proportion of total DVD sales for the same period, but the figures numbers suggest that the format is gaining in popularity as more new and catalogue titles make their way to the Blu side.
Sales for the first four months of 2008 have increased fourfold over the same period last year, and the top three selling Blu-ray titles of the year so far – “I Am Legend”, “3:10 to Yuma”, and “No Country For Old Men” – each took between eight and ten per cent of total disc sales (including DVD). Some recent catalogue titles, including “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”, “300”, “Planet Earth: The Complete Collection” and “Casino Royale” took on average a quarter of total disc sales.
That’s all before other hits arrive on Blu-ray, such as “Transformers” which will finally launch on 2nd September.
No doubt Blu-ray backers will enthuse greatly over the continuing success of their format, while others may take a more measured approach, based on these statistics. At first glance, they’re encouraging, but it has to be remembered that the format is young, has a very small global market share, and faces potential threats from other formats.
(Via HDTV UK)
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