'Beauty' leads DVD sales, 'Karate Kid' tops rentals

LOS ANGELES  - Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment once again has brushed up a classic film, added extras and released it on disc -- and then watched it go straight to the top of the national sales charts.

This time, it was the studio's "Beauty and the Beast," a 1991 theatrical release that made its Blu-ray Disc debut last week. Adding to the significance of the feat is the fact that "Beauty" made it to No. 1 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart for the week ended October 10 solely on the strength of its first-week Blu-ray disc sales tally. The film was available only in a three-disc Blu-ray Disc/DVD combo pack, at a premium list price of just under $40.

Sales of "Beauty" were so strong that the animated classic outsold Paramount Home Entertainment's red-hot "Iron Man 2," the blockbuster summer theatrical release that debuted at No. 1 on the previous week's sales chart after a $312 million box-office run.

Sony Pictures' "The Karate Kid" remake debuted at No. 3 on the sales chart, selling nearly as many copies as "Iron Man 2," while fourth place went to another new release, "A Nightmare on Elm Street," also a remake.

On Nielsen VideoScan's Blu-ray Disc chart, the four titles finished in the same order.

On Home Media Magazine's rental chart for the week, "The Karate Kid" finished at No. 1, followed by "Iron Man 2" at No. 2. "Marmaduke," from 20th Century Fox, rebounded to No. 3 from No. 6 after it became available at Netflix and Redbox.