Secondary Market

DVDs and Blu-rays might be on the decline, but the little silver disks still get marketed. The big sellers:

Top 10 DVD and Blu-ray Sales

1) “Ted” (Universal). Week 1.
2) “The Dark Knight Rises” (Warner Bros.). Week 2.
3) “The Bourne Legacy” (Universal). Week 1.
4) “Ice Age: Continental Drift” (Fox). Week 1.
5) “Brave” (Disney). Week 5.
6) “The Dark Knight Trilogy” (Warner Bros.). Week 12.
7) “The Avengers” (Disney). Week 4.
8) “Men In Black 3” (Sony). Week 3.
9) “The Amazing Spider-Man” (Sony). Week 6.
10) “Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted” (Paramount). Week 7.

What often gets overlooked, even as the sales of DVDs go south, is how important the market was (and still is?) for the health of entertainment unions' pension and health plans. Long ago, unions negotiated a small piece of the action in "secondary markets" for theatrical features. Disks for home viewing count as part of the market.

At the top of the home video sales boom (ten years back? Twelve?) the money that flowed from DVDs/Blu-rays strengthened the DGA's, SAG's, IATSE's and every other Hollywood labor organization's bottom line. For animated product, the cash flow is still sizable, because parents continue to buy animation disks by the truckload. Kids watch Madagascar and Ice Age over and over, so it makes sense to have a shelf of Disney, DreamWorks and Blue Sky features close at hand.

There are three full-bore animated features in this week's Top Ten, and a noticeable amount of animation in the seven live-action specimens. So it's small wonder that the field of animation continues to grow. The market is alive and ravenous.