Blu-ray Disc Sales Surpass One Million Mark

Blu-ray Disc has become the first high definition format to sell more
than one million discs, a milestone it has achieved in less than a year.
Blu-ray Disc sales also accounted for 70 percent of the high-definition
movies sold during the first quarter of 2007, according to sales figures
published today by Home Media Research.

Blu-ray’s sales lead has increased each month
since the first of the year and nearly three out of every four
high-definition movies sold in March were on Blu-ray Disc, according to
the HMR sales figures.

Industry projections suggest that this steady growth trend will continue
based on the fact that seven of the eight major studios are releasing an
increasing number of blockbuster movies on Blu-ray Disc, most of which
will only be available in high-definition on Blu-ray Disc. In 2006, 18
of the top 20 selling DVD’s were released by
studios that are publishing their movies on Blu-ray Disc.

Blu-ray Disc titles accounted for eight of the top ten selling high
definition titles in the first quarter of this year and since the
introduction of both high definition formats, seven of the top ten
selling high definition movies are on Blu-ray Disc.

“Sales of Blu-ray Disc titles have taken off
since the first of the year,” said Andy
Parsons, Chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association’s
U.S. Promotion Committee and Senior Vice President New Product
Development at Pioneer Electronics. “Blu-ray
Discs have been outselling HD DVD by more than two to one since the
beginning of the year and the gap is steadily widening. It’s
exactly what we’ve said all along would happen
– the strong support for Blu-ray among movie studio and equipment
manufacturers means that consumers have more choices when it comes to
players and titles. And they’re choosing
Blu-ray by an ever-increasing margin.”

The sustained sales advantage enjoyed by Blu-ray throughout the first
three months of the year will continue as studios maintain an aggressive
release schedule to bring the biggest Hollywood movies to high
definition. In the coming months, Blu-ray Disc studios will be releasing
blockbuster titles such as Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the
Black Pearl and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Night
at the Museum, Cars and Dreamgirls (for a complete release
schedule, see attached chart).

Blu-ray Disc Association