'Matrix' milestone
1.5 mil DVD's sold in record-breaking week
The Warner Home Video sci-fi title has generated $23.4 million in sales since its release as a sell-through DVD on Sept. 21.
Setting another record, Warners has sold 780,000 units, or 52% of its "Matrix" video shipments, in the DVD format during its first week of sales --the most for a DVD title to date in that time period, according to VideoScan, whose figures don't include sales online, where the title is also expected to be a big seller.
Video e-tailer Reel.com said it alone has sold 50,000 units.
First week consumer DVD sales of "Matrix" tripled total sales of Par's "Titanic" and Disney's "Armageddon." "Titanic" was released on DVD three weeks ago, a year after the pic's bow on VHS.
No cannibalizing
The DVD's performance signals that studios can generate considerable profits and sales by releasing a DVD title day-and-date with its VHS rental counterpart -- a strategy that has raised eyebrows in the industry. Studios and vidstore chains fear that the practice would undercut revenues from rental.
Warners is releasing "Matrix" on VHS as a special edition Nov. 23, tightening the window between rental and sell-through to nine weeks.
"Matrix" reached the 1 million unit mark only two years after DVD first bowed in the marketplace. ("Titanic" was the first title to break the 1 million unit barrier on DVD.) By contrast, it took 11 years before a VHS title, "Top Gun," hit the mark, even with an installed base of 41 million players, according to VideoBusiness magazine. There are currently 2.6 million DVD players in U.S. homes.
DVD revolution
"DVD has not only revolutionized home entertainment, it's changed the threshold for success in the market," said Warren Lieberfarb, prexy of Warner Home Video. " 'The Matrix' is the perfect example of DVD's market potential."
DVD sales should also prove strong for DreamWorks' "Saving Private Ryan," New Line's "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," U's "The Mummy" and animated classics from Disney, among others.
Since the format's bow in late 1997, more than 2.6 million DVD players have made their way into consumers' homes, along with 60 million discs. More than 4,000 DVD titles are now available from every major studio for sale or rent.
