Lionsgate scored a triple win on the national home video charts the week ending Jan. 24, as the sci-fi actioner “Gamer,” with a mere $20.5 million in theatrical receipts, topped all three charts.
Lionsgate typically saves some of its moderately successful theatricals for January and February DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases, when major-studio menus are light. As a result, the mini-major is able to dominate the charts in those months, racking up significant sales and rentals.
“Gamer” debuted at No. 1 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart for the week, with the previous bestseller, Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do Bad All by Myself,” another Lionsgate release, falling all the way down to No. 8. Warner’s “The Hangover” jumped back up to No. 2 from No. 4 the previous week, while Sony Pictures’ “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” remained in third place.
Yet another Lionsgate release, season four of the quirky TV series “Weeds,” debuted at No. 4.
On Home Media Magazine’s rental chart for the week, “Gamer” also scored an easy victory. Summit Entertainment’s “The Hurt Locker,” the previous week’s top renter, slipped to No. 2, although rental demand was only off 17%.
The No. 3 slot went to the Warner comedy “The Invention of Lying,” while the Overture Films sci-fi feature “Pandorum,” distributed by Anchor Bay, finished fourth. (On the sales chart, “Lying” debuted at No. 9, and “Pandorum” at No. 7).
“Gamer” also was the top-selling Blu-ray Disc release of the week, with Nielsen research showing that 31% of the title’s total first-week sales were on the Blu-ray Disc format.