The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers extended DVD edition got off to a good start Tuesday, selling 750,000-1 million units during its first 24 hours in release. The Day 1 mark is significant in that the boxed set carries a higher price than previous releases. But it is not record setting, as was expected by several national video buyers.
Meanwhile, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest film hit retail and rental shelves one day after his inauguration as governor of California. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines topped both the national rental and DVD sales charts and took the No. 2 position in weekly VHS sales.
The Disney/Pixar animated adventure Finding Nemo took the No. 1 VHS sell-through slot.
Warner Home Video’s well-planned release of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines appears to have paid off, with the sci-fi thriller earning an estimated $14.8 million in rental revenue alone during its first five days on rental shelves.
New Line’s debut of Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd was the nation’s No. 3 rental for the week ending Nov. 16. The comedy took the No. 5 position of VideoScan’s First Alert weekly sales chart during the same frame.
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde performed well at both the rental and retail counters during its sophomore week in release, earning an estimated $6.28 million last week for a 12-day haul of $14.3 million in rental revenue alone. The MGM comedic sequel fell from its debut at No. 2 to No. 4 on VideoScan’s weekly sales chart for the week ending Nov. 16.
Meanwhile, Universal’s The Hulk dropped to No. 4 on VideoScan’s First Alert VHS weekly sales chart from the previous week, where it held the No. 2 position, and dipped two spots to No. 6 on VideoScan’s weekly DVD first Alert sales chart during the same frame. At the rental counter, the film earned an estimated $3.11 million last week for a 19-day cume of $23.6 million.
