Blu-ray Disc Sales Pass One Million Mark

HOLLYWOOD, April 23: More than 1 million Blu-ray discs have
been sold in less than a year, according to figures from Home Media Research,
with the format accounting for 70 percent of high-definition movies sold in the
first quarter of this year.

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, according to the HMR sales figures released by
the Blu-ray Disc Association. 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.

Andy Parsons, the chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association’s
U.S. Promotion Committee and SVP of new product development at Pioneer
Electronics, noted: “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.”

In the coming months, Blu-ray Disc studios will be releasing
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.