14 DAY TRIAL // The big surge in Blu-ray disk sales is something that speaks just as much about the instant popularity increase as it does about the previous lukewarm demand level.
People who were wondering about the relevance of Blu-ray's existence got their answer just now, as sales got a nice boost.
Until not too long ago, DVDs were still the primary medium of choice for the marketing of movies and, in more ways than one, they still are.
This might not last for too long, though, since this year's movies appear to have caused a nice spike in Blu-ray sales, possibly heralding the transition of this format to the forefront of films.
According to iSuppli, BD sales rose by 156% on year in the US, during the release week ending on September 18.
This is because films like Thor and Star Wars finally got their Blu-ray launches, as did others.
“Studios are starting to bring the crown jewels out of the vault for BD release,” observed Jan Saxton, senior U.S. video analyst for IHS.
“That, coupled with the first releases from a very strong summer box office, has the potential to turn the movie disc market around. Weak DVD sales have continually dragged the market down in 2011, but with the strong showing of ‘X-men: First Class,’ ‘Thor’ and ‘Star Wars,’ the overall market may have hit an inflection point.”
“Tyler Perry’s Big Happy Family,” “Sons of Anarchy: Season 3,” and “Rio” have also been selling very well in Blu-ray format.
Apparently, all those shipments of large HDTVs and monitors got people more inclined towards buying films in high quality and Full HD, even 3D.
This really only spells good things ahead for the Blu-ray format, which means that BDXL supporters will probably feel more comfortable pushing forward as well.