Marvel's 'Iron Man 3' Soars To Top of Disc Sales Charts



Iron Man 3

The mega-hit sequel Iron Man 3, the first film in the franchise to be distributed on home video by Walt Disney Studios, shot straight to the top of the national sales charts its first week in stores — to the surprise of no one.

With domestic theatrical earnings of $409 million, the actioner, based on a Marvel Comics character, is the year’s No. 1 movie. Iron Man 3 also outgrossed its two predecessors in U.S. theaters and is the only Iron Man film with a worldwide gross of more than $1 billion.

While Iron Man 3 debuted at No. 1 on both sales charts — Nielsen VideoScan’s First Alert chart that tracks combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc sales, and Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc chart – it didn’t manage to snag the No. 1 spot on Home Media Magazine’s rental chart for the week ended Sept. 29.

That honor went to World War Z, the clever zombie movie from Paramount Home Media Distribution, while Iron Man 3 debuted at No. 2.

On both sales charts, World War Z slipped to No. 2 after bowing at No. 1 the prior week – while another Paramount film, Star Trek Into Darkness, slipped a notch to No. 3 from No. 2 the prior week. The second installment in director J.J. Abrams reboot of the classic 1960s sci-fi TV series had debuted at No. 1 on both sales charts — as well as the rental chart, for that matter — for the week ending Sept. 15.

Aside from Iron Man 3, two other new releases made it into the First Alert top 10: Redemption, a British crime drama from Lionsgate that bowed at No. 4, and I Spit on Your Grave 2, a gruesome sequel to the revenge-slaying remake, from Anchor Bay Entertainment, at No. 8.

Redemption also cracked the top 10 on the Blu-ray Disc sales chart, coming in at No. 5, while I Spit on Your Grave 2 bowed at No. 11.

On Home Media Magazine’s rental chart, Warner’s The Great Gatsby, coming off its 28-day holdback from Netflix and Redbox, shot up to No. 3, while Redemption bowed at No. 4. Rounding out the top 5: Star Trek Into Darkness, down from No. 2 the previous week.