“The Hangover Part III” comedy tops home video sales chart

PanARMENIAN.Net - Warner’s The Hangover Part III was the top-selling disc for the week ending Oct. 13, but just barely. The second sequel to the riotous drunken-escapade-in-Vegas hit movie debuted at No. 1 on Nielsen VideoScan’s First Alert sales chart, which tracks overall disc sales, DVD and Blu-ray Disc combined, The Hollywood Reporter said.

But the animated blockbuster The Croods, from DreamWorks, hung on strong, finishing a strong No. 2 its second week in stores and selling nearly 99 percent as many units as The Hangover Part III.

Meanwhile, on Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart, The Hangover Part III bowed at No. 2, right behind Walt Disney’s The Little Mermaid, which held on to the No. 1 spot for the second consecutive week. Released as a top-of-the-line Disney Diamond Edition, the 1989 undersea classic had never before been available on Blu-ray Disc.

The Little Mermaid slipped to No. 4 from No. 2 on the First Alert sales chart, behind Sony Pictures’ After Earth -- a sci-fi actioner starring Will Smith and his son, Jaden -- which grossed a disappointing $60.5 million over the summer, less than half its estimated budget, according to IMDb.

After Earth also debuted at No. 3 on the Blu-ray Disc sales chart, with The Croods close behind at No. 4, down from a No. 2 debut the prior week.

Rounding out the top five on the sales charts: The Purge, a clever drama about a future world in which all crime is legal for a period of 12 hours. Released by Universal Studios, the movie grossed $64.5 million in theaters and stars Ethan Hawke as the head of a wealthy family held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the criminal free-for-all. The Purge debuted at No. 6 on the Blu-ray Disc sales chart, behind Walt Disney’s Iron Man 3.

On Home Media Magazine’s rental chart for the week, After Earth debuted at No. 1, bumping This Is the End, which bowed in the top spot the prior week, to No. 2. Both releases are from Sony Pictures, one of the three major studios that doesn’t hold back new releases from key rental outlets Netflix and Redbox.

This Is the End, a black comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, grossed $101.5 million in U.S. theaters and finished the week at No. 8 on both the First Alert and Blu-ray charts, down from its No. 4 debut the previous week on both charts.