LOS ANGELES, April 25 (Reuters) - Four days after its release on DVD, 'Avatar' is on track to become as big a movie phenomenon in home entertainment as it was in theaters.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment said on Sunday that it sold 6.7 million DVD and Blu-ray units of the film in in the United States and Canada since the discs were released on Thursday.
That amounts to gross sales of $130 million, making the film from the studio division of News Corp. the No. 1 home entertainment opening ever over a four-day period.
The previous record holder for a similar stretch had been 'The Dark Knight,' which came out in 2008.
Fox said 2.7 million of its disc sales for 'Avatar' came on Blu-ray, which is a newer technology that has a higher image quality than DVD but requires its own special player.
Director James Cameron's 3-D fantasy adventure become the No. 1 film ever at worldwide box offices after opening on Dec. 18. 'Avatar' made $2.7 billion, and beat the record set by Cameron's 1997 'Titanic.'
The film is about a soldier who infiltrates a tribe of space aliens on a distant moon, falls in love with a princess from the tribe and leads a rebellion against the human invaders who sent him on the mission.
Fox released the film on DVD and Blu-ray on Thursday to coincide with Earth Day, saying the timing dovetailed with 'Avatar's' theme of guarding the environment.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Paul Simao) (please visit our entertainment blog via www.reuters.com or on http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/) Keywords: FILM AVATAR/ (alex.dobuzinskis@thomsonreuters.com; 1 213-955-6781) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment said on Sunday that it sold 6.7 million DVD and Blu-ray units of the film in in the United States and Canada since the discs were released on Thursday.
That amounts to gross sales of $130 million, making the film from the studio division of News Corp. the No. 1 home entertainment opening ever over a four-day period.
The previous record holder for a similar stretch had been 'The Dark Knight,' which came out in 2008.
Fox said 2.7 million of its disc sales for 'Avatar' came on Blu-ray, which is a newer technology that has a higher image quality than DVD but requires its own special player.
Director James Cameron's 3-D fantasy adventure become the No. 1 film ever at worldwide box offices after opening on Dec. 18. 'Avatar' made $2.7 billion, and beat the record set by Cameron's 1997 'Titanic.'
The film is about a soldier who infiltrates a tribe of space aliens on a distant moon, falls in love with a princess from the tribe and leads a rebellion against the human invaders who sent him on the mission.
Fox released the film on DVD and Blu-ray on Thursday to coincide with Earth Day, saying the timing dovetailed with 'Avatar's' theme of guarding the environment.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Paul Simao) (please visit our entertainment blog via www.reuters.com or on http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/) Keywords: FILM AVATAR/ (alex.dobuzinskis@thomsonreuters.com; 1 213-955-6781) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.