Pirates 3 at #14 in DVDs on Amazon Japan

[darinp2]

Some people might figure this doesn't deserve its own thread, but I think it does.

There are still close to 4 days before this is released in Japan and the DVD is #1 on www.amazon.co.jp, while the BD is at #14. The list of top titles is here:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/bestselle...f=pd_dp_ts_d_1

It really helps a new format to have a killer app and I hadn't realized how popular this movie was in Japan. It is #1 at the box office in Japan for 2007 with $91 million (from here: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/japan/yearly/ ). For comparison, the latest Harry Potter was #2 at $81 million and Transformers was #7 at $34 million. And Pirates 2 was the #1 movie at the box office last year in Japan.

While some high definition titles have gotten really high on Amazon in the US, I don't recall any getting into the top 10 in Japan. This one looks like it could get there by the time it is released. Seems like a good time for it to come out in Japan with the recent price drop on the PS3s and BD recorders selling well.

If Toshiba still has any hope of HD DVD ever coming back in Japan, this movie will probably help crush some more of that.

And although it is a catalog title, Finding Nemo was a huge hit in Japan in 2003 with over $102 million at the box office. I've heard that things with fish tend to be very popular in Japan and Disney releasing that next year should also help Blu-ray some more.

I wonder if Warner has any delusions about HD DVD having much of a chance in Japan. Hopefully one or more people who matter at Time Warner are smart enough to see how little chance it has there, if the people at Warner don't see that themselves and consider a decision that would basically cost them that market.

I was thinking again tonight that unless a miracle happens for Toshiba and HD DVD in Japan, Universal will basically have 2 choices: basically forego the high definition on disc market in Japan, or release BDs that work in US Blu-ray players (even if they only release them in Japan). The bigger that HD on disc market gets in Japan, the more Universal loses by only releasing for a small fraction of it.

--Darin