“Star Wars: Episode II- Attack Of The Clones” DVDs Are Flying Off Retail Shelves
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) – Consumers attacked video stores Tuesday to get their hands on the latest DVD installment of the Star Wars franchise, “Episode II: Attack of the Clones.”
Although Fox would not give actual sales figures, industry sources estimate the title may have sold about 4 million copies in the first 24 hours, for an estimated $75 million in retail value.
Although that doesn’t top the 7 million units claimed by Columbia for “Spider-Man” or the 5 million claimed by Disney for “Monsters, Inc.,” Fox said “Clones” is selling a higher percentage (more than 25%) of the units that were shipped to retailers than any title this year.
Columbia shipped 26 million copies of “Spider-Man” and Disney shipped 21 million copies of “Monsters, Inc.” while Fox shipped just 15 million units of “Clones.”
Part of the reason for strong sales of “Clones” is steep discounting by retailers, said Mike Dunn, executive VP of sales and marketing at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Not surprisingly, about 75% of the copies shipped and being purchased are on DVD.
Meanwhile, sources said sales of “Spider-Man” slowed considerably in the second week and even more this week, with the release of both “Clones” and the special edition of the first installment of “The Lord of the Rings,” and may not reach the lofty record-breaking heights, initially projected by Columbia, of more than 30 million units.
The special four-disc extended edition of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” is selling at many outlets for $25 (US). Sources say New Line shipped well under 1 million copies of the special edition after shipping an estimated 14 million-18 million units of the initial release in August.
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