Lionsgate’s horror sequel Saw II buzzed through the competition to take the top spot on both the preliminary national DVD sales chart and the video rental chart for the week ending February 19.
On VideoScan’s First Alert DVD sales chart, Saw II easily beat two other new theatrical releases distributed on video by Buena Vista: the Sony Pictures fantasy Zathura (No. 4) and the Miramax Films drama Proof (No. 10).
While a film’s strong sales typically means lower rental demand, Saw II proved a big hit in rental stores as well. The film topped Home Media Retailing’s video rental chart for the week ending February 19, with estimated rental earnings of $9.1 million, nearly $2 million more than second-ranked Just Like Heaven, a DreamWorks romantic comedy that was the previous week’s top renter.
Saw II, which cost just $4 million to make, earned $87 million in theaters, nearly $32 million more than the original Saw.
The No. 2 spot on First Alert goes to Buena Vista’s first-season DVD set of Grey’s Anatomy, while the previous week’s top seller, Bambi II, also from Buena Vista, remains in high demand at No. 3.
