We have more good news for all of you Blu-ray fans out there. Earlier this month, we were reporting massive increases for the high-def format. Now, we have additional stats to back up those numbers.
According to the Digital Entertainment Group, the home entertainment business is up. Just in case you think that's the norm, it's not -- it's actually a first since the first quarter of 2008. Even better, we can actually thank Blu-ray for part of that boost. The DEG says that there has been a 5-percent increase in industrywide revenue for the third quarter alone, which isn't as small as it sounds. That translates into a whopping $3.9 billion in revenue.
We should probably thank some of you sci-fi fans for at least part of that increase. As we mentioned before, there were some pretty big titles released during that third quarter. However, a lot them were new and classic sci-fi titles. The DEG confirms that much of this upswing is due to recent Blu-ray releases such as X-Men: First Class, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Thor. And you can check these titles out yourself and contribute to an even better Q4:
According to DEG's stats, Blu-ray sell-through is up about 58 percent overall. Believe it or not, people don't just want the big, current blockbusters, either. Catalog Blu-ray sales are also up about 60 percent, thanks to the release of Star Wars: The Complete Saga, as well as other iconic catalog titles including Citizen Kane, Scarface and The Big Lebowski. Check these titles out on Amazon:
However, Blu-ray isn't just on a hot streak as far as sales numbers. The DEG says that Blu-ray adoption is up 52 percent from this time last year, with 33.5 million U.S. homes featuring some type of Blu-ray-compatible device. Of course, having more players out there translates into software sales numbers, too, with the sale of Blu-ray discs expected to top $423 million for the third quarter.
Blu-ray is certainly on a roll, and the DEG isn't expecting the format to hibernate for the winter. The hot streak will be fueled by holiday sales and recent releases such as Cars 2 and Captain America: The First Avenger, as well as upcoming sequels to popular franchises such as Hangover Part II, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and Kung Fu Panda 2, all coming to Blu-ray before the end of the year.
Will it be a Blu Christmas? We shall see.
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