Holiday marks solid DVD sales

Discs help Amazon.com to best season yet

By Jennifer Netherby and Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 12/29/2005

DEC. 29 | The slowing pace of DVD sales had stores biting their nails as Christmas approached, but DVDs turned out to be a hot gift item.

Amazon.com and smaller video specialists said disc sales led by Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Warner Home Video’s March of the Penguins lit up the holiday season for DVD. Best Buy, Wal-Mart and other major retailers are expected to give details on holiday sales next week.

Amazon had its biggest holiday season ever. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, March of the Penguins and DreamWorks Home Entertainment’s Madagascar were among its top DVD sellers.

In the videogame category, Mario Party 7 for Nintendo GameCube, Sid Meier’s Civilization IV for PC and Microsoft’s Age of Empires 3 for PC were the top sellers. The heaviest shopping day for Amazon was Dec. 12, when customers ordered more than 3.6 million items, the retailer said.

Newbury Comics buyer Ian Leshin said, “We certainly saw a bit of a rise from last year, which was nice.”

The 40-Year-Old Virgin, out Dec. 13, was a big Newbury hit, with the regional New England chain stocking only the unrated version and selling more than 5,000 copies by Dec. 28. And Fox Sept. 27 release Family Guy Presents: Stewie Griffin—The Untold Story also was popular at the chain, which has moved 11,000 units of the title since its October release.

Even indie rentailer Scarecrow Video in Seattle reported hopping holiday sales of new titles.

“I don’t ever remember selling as many [new release] titles,” Scarecrow buyer Mark Steiner said.

Scarecrow conservatively ordered 15 copies of Universal’s Serenity, then had to get another 60 sent overnight to meet demand.

Retailers were less enthralled with Dec. 26 releases, including Buena Vista Home Entertainment’s Dark Water, Fox’s fourth season of The Shield and Universal’s American Pie Presents: Band Camp.

“People are just conditioned to come in on Tuesday, [and] I don’t think it was advertised well to come in on Monday,” Newbury’s Leshin said. “But we did get some traction for Band Camp.”

Scarecrow’s Steiner wished studios had released the films on Friday, Dec. 23, when people were still doing last-minute holiday shopping.

“They could have sold so many more copies that way,” Steiner said. “I just didn’t get it. People could have bought them for Christmas.”

The International Council of Shopping Centers estimated store sales were up 3.9% for the week ended Dec. 24. December sales are expected to be up 3% to 3.5%.