Spider-Man 3 didn't break any records on Blu-ray its first week
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted Nov 8th 2007 3:09PM
posted Nov 8th 2007 3:09PM
We had a feeling Sony was disappointed with Spider-Man 3's first week of sales on Blu-ray, and now we know why. Sure, 135k copies in one week (not including those bundled with the PS3 or the box set) isn't anything to scuff at, but it doesn't compare to Warner's 300 at 165k. It is however, Sony's biggest title to date -- by far -- as Casino Royal only sold 40k copies. HD DVD fanboys will be quick to point out that the tide is already starting to change and Transformers selling 190k HD DVD discs is proof, but this argument is less than weak when you consider that in the DVD race Transformers out-sold Spidey 3 by a three to one margin. Of course a devout Blu-ray fans may argue that if Transformers would've been on Blu-ray, it would've sold 405k, but that's why we call them fanboys. We do look forward to tomorrow's VideoScan numbers, when we get to see how Spidey did against Transformers in its third week.[Via FormatWarCentral]
But... you didn;t call them fanboys. You called the HD DVD followers "HD DVD Fanboys" and the Blu-Ray followers "devout Blu-ray fans" It seems clear the bias in this post.
You seem to want to start a war every time you post. You can't just post the facts of the story, you always have to put a little twist on it to start a flame war.
baef,
You know this is a blog right?
Yeah, you should change "devout Blu-ray fans" to "Blu-ray fanboys". Just a little suggestion.
Don't worry, I don't hate you like some of the other people seem to around here. It's all G
I did that on purpose as I was trying to avoid being repetitive and figured 'devout fan' was a good synonym for fanboy.
Maybe it would have sold more copies if the film itself hadn't sucked.
I would duck, but I don't expect many people to throw things at me.
LMAO HAHAHAHA
How many did transformers sale???????????
Everyone knows Engadget is pro Blu-ray. This is nothing new.
Ben's right - I don't like his bias, but he's fully entitled to have a bias in his own blog entries.
@Ben
Zealot? That's a good alternative, no?
Hardly. That's like saying "devout [your belief system of choice here]" equates to "religious fanatic."
But you're right, there aren't many good synonyms for "fanboy." None that can be used in polite conversation, anyway. ;)
I liked this article Ben, you took shots at both. :)
135k is pretty pathetic considering the amount of bd's out there. I wonder where sony got their data though.
Wait until they include the PS3 copy.
that's the problem sony include all the br they give away as a sell and that's a fact.when you buy a waltdisney movie and get one free,sony counts it as two sales,when you get 5 free ones they count it as a sale.if sony would stop doing this then it would be a lot closer then it is.so you said wait till they count the ones with the ps3,well just wait to the people that bought 90,000+ hd-dvd players start buying movies then you will see a big jump because the ps3 is just collecting dust where i'm at,as a matter of fact you could go to bestbuy,circuit city,target,walmart,and gamestop and still buy the 60 ps3 and the guy at gamestop asked me if i new anyone who wanted a ps3 to send then there because they can't sell them,and i asked the guy a best buy if the ps3 was selling well he said not really because parents are coming in and buying the wii and the 360,hell where i live at the ps3 didn't even sale out on launch so talk about the ps3 all you want but this had nothing to do with the ps3 you fanboy but i thought i just tell you about reality because you are in a dream world and you better wake up quick before you are left behind with your ps3.
Do the copies of Spider Man 3 that come in the PS3 40 gig deal count?
no. they aren't counting the box set of all three spidey films, either.
and while we're at it, why does the post quote 190k sold for transformers? it was 115k sold, 190k shipped.
You want to know what's pathetic? The fact that HD-DVD is DEAD and you don't even know it LMAO. Sofware is KING!!!
So, since BD has the software I guess BD is King then.
I find it rather odd that a "dead" format sold 90,000 players in a 3 day period or the 190,000 copies of Transformers that were moved in the first week.
Yep, HD-DVD sure looks like it is dead...
What the hell?! Have all of the trolls from AVS Forum's locked threads now come over here?
Go away, reddplague.
@ reddplague
"Software is KING"?
What freakin' software are you talking about?
If someone would just make a $300 combo player, both camps could finally shut the hell up.
TK
The funny part is that the HD-DVD guys talk specs, region free and how much better HD-DVD is. Please tell me WHY hasn't HD-DVD kicked BD butt.
HD-DVD released months before BD
HD-DVD has finish specs
HD-DVD has region free
HD-DVD has been cheaper the whole time.
With all this HD-DVD can't even win a single week of sofware sales.
@ reddplague
Who cares about winning battles when the whole point is to win the war.
In fairness, there is still time for both formats to lay a fatal blow against the other.
@reddplague
"Please tell me WHY hasn't HD-DVD kicked BD butt."
The PS3. That's it. That's the only reason--a game console. Pathetic isn't it?
the ps3 is the reason why and that's why sony forced it on its consumers,they figured that if they put it in the ps3 that it would give them the lead and they were right,if it wasn't for the ps3 br would be dead already.
>>HD-DVD released months before BD
Not here - MediaMarkt only showed BDs for a long time, airports only had BDs - HDDVD was simply not available for the first some months after BD was.
>>HD-DVD has finish specs
Yes, very consumer-friendly. Shame consumers are sheeps in this regard.
>>HD-DVD has region free
Doesn't matter if HDDVD is not available in some regions. Oh, and apparently BD is currently region-free.
>>HD-DVD has been cheaper the whole time.
1. Importing != cheaper .. the hassle may not be worth it.
2. No, PS3 has actually(!) been cheaper for part of the time.
I hate to admit that I even went there, but the cess pool that is known as Blu-ray.com has a article about Spiderman 3 on BD outsold Transformers on HD-DVD. I didn't think that was the case, it is good to get a refresher of the numbers.
I forgot how bad Blu-ray.com actually was, with all the completely blind zealots and all the self gratification over the format.
Either way, both formats and HDM in gerneral, has a long way to go to put a dent in the DVD market. These kinds of numbers are showing that HDM is picking up, but not enough. It will be interesting to see how much of gain HDM picks up after this holiday season or if HDM is doomed to go the way of DVD-A and SACD.
"I forgot how bad Blu-ray.com actually was, with all the completely blind zealots and all the self gratification over the format."
I was going to say, "Don't you mean, 'all the self congratulation over their choice of format?'" but I guess you got it right the first time. ;)
When the war is about as many low blows as there have been, I'll take your failure as my victory.
Your flagship, your ace in the hole, the nail in HDVD's coffin...
Little more than an annoying pinprick, after all.
Like Reddplague said, it's a good thing HDVD is dead already, or else all you blu fanboys would be starting to sweat right about now.
Oh, wait.
i thought transformers sold 115K? didn't they debunk that one? ahh, either way, i hate the numbers game. Rata. and Cars will break records (numbers to be shown next week).
Yeah, but we compared both studio numbers, we'll compare Nielsen numbers when they come out.
You know what. I have the perfect solution. Both suck and neither will win, we will just skip this generation of formats and go to the next. And honestly... unless the confusion can be settled, no average consumer will even bother. DVD was perfect, one format, no confusion.
"Of course a devout Blu-ray fans may argue that if Transformers would've been on Blu-ray, it would've sold 570k, but that's why we call them fanboys"
It's obvious that Ben is the devout Blu-ray fan and is speaking about himself in the third person. I can't theorize where he comes up with his phantom number of 570k.
Transformers grossed approx. 319 million at the theaters & Spiderman 336 million.
Both movies did pretty evenly at box sales yet Ben says Spiderman 3 would have sold 3 times as much on Blu-Ray. Yet Transformers still outsold Spiderman 3 in HD sales.
Maybe he thinks that everyone who didn't go to Spiderman 3 on the big screen just waited for it to come on the Blu-ray and play it on the PS3 because the logo "Spiderman" uses the same totally awesome uber graphics font as the PS3 logo.
You are right my math was off. I changed it to 405k, because that is 3x as many copies as Spidey 3 sold on Blu-ray. So if Trans was on Blu-ray and outsold spidey the same as it did on DVD then it would be 3x.
I wonder if these #'s include the trilogy?? I'd hope not.
Do the numbers include the box set? That's what I bought.
Paramount's numbers for Transformers were bogus.
"Many industry sources wound up disputing that figure, however, believing it was actually tens of thousands lower."
Sorry Ben, Didn't catch that "or the box set" part the first time.. please feel free to delete my comment
Did Sony get preliminary figures from neilsen or are we going to see a huge difference between estimated numbers from the manufacture and incomplete numbers from neilsen.
That's cause I added it after you asked. ;)
Ben, not trying to be a jerk or anything, but is it normal practice to try and defend yourself in the comments section of your own posts? If you made a mistake and someone calls you out, that's one thing. But to just comment to be sarcastic to someone or to try and defend your opinions seems less than professional. Again, I'm not tyring to be a jerk. I'd say just let people argue amongst themselves, even if their comments are aimed at attacking your opinion.
You're not being a jerk.
This is not the NYT, this is a blog which means opinions are expected and dialog is a good thing. In fact, I am expected to read every comment and I'm allowed to comment as well. If you think I'm sarcastic, you should read some of my bosses (Ryan Block) comments on his own posts.
Many are forgetting the fact that one of the biggest games of the year, Guitar... (something), came out on the same day as Spider. I think it will take a few more weeks before the Spidey figures really add up. The guitar game, and Spidey, go after the same demographic.
Totally biased. Transformers outsold Spiderman 3 on DVD by a 3:1 margin on the first day.
"Anstey said that Transformers outsold Spider-Man 3 on first-day sales by about three times."
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6497148.html
I am guessing, not sure though, that this does NOT include the Box set trilogy. If that is the case, this number could be much higher as the trilogy has been pretty popular on Amazon and other sites.
I guess we will find out tomorrow when the Nielsen ratings are released?
Also of Note:
Before fanboys chime in without actually reading the article, this does NOT include the PS3 Spiderman 3 pack-in.
Hmmmm Spidey 3 outsold by transformers 3 to 1 on regular dvd and then (most likely) outsold by transformers on hi def media as well. Has anyone thought about the fact that this is more likely due to the fact that Spider Man 3 blew (no pun intended) rather than format preference? I think we'd get a better comparison if spider man 1 and 2 (quality films) were able to be purchased individually.
btw before someone flames me, I own hd-dvd (only cause it was $99 and if I lose in this format war I don't have to care, unlike my dad who paid $800 for beta)
Thank God, I thought I was going crazy for a second there x)
Ben, I can totally relate to your situation. You've got two stories to describe to two very loud opposite sides. You most likely favour one side -- it's a given. Life is subjective. However, to be a good journalist, you have to be objective on paper. And you did that splendidly.
I am a journalist myself and I know the wrath readers can provoke by trying to find a bias that isn't there. You're handling the situation beautify.
Thanks for the kind words. I always try to, but it's good to hear that at least someone thinks I am sometimes.
Sony probably made a big blunder by releasing the box set and the SM3 at the same time because I bought the trilogy and I many others no doubt did as well so if 135K copies of SM3 were sold surely the inclusion of the box set numbers would push it over the top. Personally, I hated transformers so it makes me laugh when it is held up as some sort of trophy but to each their own I guess. I think the big head-to-head challenge will be Harry Potter release.
One other thing, if everyone takes a look at the upcoming releases for both Bluray and HDDVD, I'd be very skeptical of anyone who said that the releases of HDDVD titles were on par with the upcoming bluray titles. Each week, Bluray is scheduled to release quality movies whereas HDDVD's lineup is fairly week until perhaps Harry Potter...
But seriously compare the upcoming release schedule for HDDVD and Bluray
http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html
HDDVD's lineup looks incredibly anemic. Nearly each week Bluray releases quality and quantity titles. The only thing HDDVD is going to release that I would even care about is BSG season 1.
How can anyone compare those two lists and feel good about HDVD's 4th quarter title sales chances to beat bluray?
Well I think most people liked Transformers much better than Spiderman III. No surprise that the HD-DVD of Transformers outsold the Blu-ray of Spiderman III.
It's not that big of a deal because they are two different movies. You can realy only compare figures when it is the same movie. When does the next Warner Brothers Blockbuster come out on both Blu-ray & HD-DVD?? That should be telling.