DVDs Erupt in 2002

Movies had an amazing year in the theater and in the home as DVDs had another record year:

A preliminary survey of the home video industry shows that DVD sales saw a 65% increase to an estimated total of $8.9 billion last year, compared with $5.4 billion in 2001.

Although VHS sales declined an estimated 29%, from $4.9 billion in 2001 to $3.5 billion last year, the combined total of consumer dollars spent on purchasing home video should top $12.4 billion, up 24% from the combined DVD and VHS sell-though total of $9.5 billion in 2001, according to several industry sources.

That $12.4 billion sales figure far exceeds the entertainment industry’s record-breaking boxoffice of $9.4 billion last year, which is expected to be finalized next week when final numbers are tallied.

Perhaps not surprising because of the widespread acceptance of the DVD format — nearly 50 million American households now have DVD players — is the fact that sales of family titles, those rated G or PG, increased 90% in 2002, reaching nearly $2 billion. And that dollar figure could be eclipsed when final numbers are added up next week, studio sources say. [Hollywood Reporter]