Andre Yoskowitz
24 May 2007 15:07
In March, Sony issued a press release that stated that the Blu ray edition of "Casino Royale" had shipped over 100,000 units. Today, Warner Home Entertainment announced that their dual-format release of "The Departed" had surpassed that number, and had sold over 100,000 units.
Although the total sales are based on both Blu ray and HD DVD sales of the movie, 100,000 units sold is still a significant number for next gen movie sales.
"It's no accident that Warner is the first studio to reach this benchmark. We owe this success to a combination of great content and our decision to support both high definition formats... By releasing titles on HD DVD and Blu-ray, Warner Home Video not only increases our potential audience reach, but also offers consumers assurance that regardless of the format they choose they can enjoy our movies," said the statement.
Warner is not the only neutral studio, but so far it has been the most aggressive, releasing more titles than any other studio so far. Warner also noted they were planning to release a hybrid format entitled "Total Hi-Def" sometime later this year.
"High definition media represents an incredible opportunity for the industry, and we, as content providers, can help push mainstream adoption by producing in both formats and giving the consumer a simple choice," said the statement. "At a time when the home video business is flat and high definition media presents our best hope for near term growth, it is unfortunate that we as an industry continue to perpetuate consumer confusion."
Source:
HD Digest