Sony Pictures Home Entertainment dominated the national home video sales and rental charts the week ended Jan. 23, as the crime thriller Takers gave the studio its second triple-play victory in as many weeks.
Takers, which stars Matt Dillon, Chris Brown and Hayden Christensen and generated $57.7 million in U.S. theaters, displaced The Social Network, also from Sony, in the No. 1 spot on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert and Blu-ray Disc sales charts as well as Home Media Magazine's rental chart.
The Social Network, buoyed by its eight Oscar nominations, including a nom for best picture, slipped to No. 2 on all three charts its sophomore week in stores.
A third Sony Pictures release, Salt, finished its fifth week in stores at No. 4 on the overall disc sales chart, behind six-week veteran Despicable Me, from Universal Studios, and No. 3 on the Blu-ray Disc sales chart.
Buried, a newly released thriller from Lionsgate, debuted at No. 3 on the rental chart. The film, which made just slightly more than $1 million in limited theatrical release, also bowed at No. 7 on the Blu-ray Disc sales chart, although on the overall sales chart it debuted outside the Top 20 (at No. 24). The film was only available in a Blu-ray/DVD combo configuration.
Blu-ray Disc continues to make gains on the road to mainstream adoption, accounting for 32% of first-week sales for Takers and 38% of second-week sales for The Social Network. Even Despicable Me, an animated film aimed at families, generated 27% of its unit sales last week from Blu-ray Disc.