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GRINCH SPREADS
XMAS HOLIDAY CHEER
Copyright 2001 www.tombraiderchronicles.com
[ November 28th 2001 ]
Universal
has yet another holiday hit on its hands, as Dr.
Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas swiped $145
million in DVD and VHS sales and rental revenue
last week, making it the second highest-grossing,
live-action title of all time just behind Titanic.
Universal
Studios Home Video president Craig Kornblau says
the studio sold some 8.5 million units of the
movie, including a record 3 million DVDs - of
which 500,000 were bought by retailers to be used
as rental copies. Another 4 million copies of
the VHS edition were purchased along with an additional
million units snatched up by rental stores. The
movie was released on video on November 20.
By comparison,
20th Century Fox's Titanic pulled in $170 million
in video sales during its first week on store
shelves. Only Disney's The Lion King - the top-grossing
'toon of all time as well as the biggest-selling
video ever - can claim a similar feat, but that
was before the DVD era. The film earned more than
$340 million from video sales, selling more than
20 million copies in its first week of release
in February 1995.
Independent
sales and rental figures for the Thanksgiving
holiday won't be released until December. But
if the numbers hold, it would mean that Jim Carrey's
turn as the hairy green holiday killjoy in just
one week will have practically matched The Grinch's
$260 million total box-office run from last year.
Producer
Brian Grazer spins the numbers as proof that consumers
are in the mood for some holiday cheer. "I believe
that it did well because, more than ever, the
moviegoing and buying public is looking for a
good feeling about the holidays and the extraordinary
and original performance of Jim [Carrey] as the
Grinch just add to what was already a positive
experience," Grazer told the Hollywood Reporter.
Grazer
says he's now considering getting director Ron
Howard together with Carrey to record an audio
commentary that would accompany a future DVD release
of The Grinch. The Grinch's record grip on the
green follows another not-so-jolly green giant
who muscled his way into video stores. Universal
Home Video's Shrek, released in partnership with
distributor DreamWorks earlier this month, gobbled
up some $110 million in combined DVD and VHS sales.
Shrek also was the previous recordholder for best
first-week DVD sales, moving about 2.5 million
copies.
The fractured
fairy tale, and DVD releases of Star Wars: Episode
I - The Phantom Menace (about 2.2 million DVDs
sold) and The Mummy Returns (about 2 million discs
sold), have marked a fantastic fall for the DVD
format. Other big sellers have included Tim Burton's
new Planet of the Apes, The Godfather trilogy,
Snow White, Dumbo, On the Waterfront, Dr. Zhivago,
Citizen Kane and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Additional
holiday titles include: Jurassic Park III, Lara
Croft: Tomb Raider, Rush Hour 2, Scary Movie 2
and Pearl Harbor which should all find their way
into Christmas stockings this year.
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