Blu-ray disc sales in the UK are still rising, despite the recession, according to the latest figures from the British Video Association.
More than 3.1 million Blu-ray discs have been sold in 2009 to date, a rise of 231 per cent over the same period last year.
Older releases, such as Trainspotting, Bladerunner and The Day The Earth Stood Still, have all enjoyed sales success on Blu-ray, years after their initial DVD release.
Not surprisingly, the surge in Blu-ray titles has led to a drop in DVD sales of 9.5 per cent year-on-year. Still, that needs to be put into perspective – 100 million DVDs were still sold, so Blu-ray has a long way to go before it catches up.
The Top 10 Blu-ray titles in the year to June 2009 were:
1) Quantum of Solace
2) The Dark Knight
3) Planet Earth
4) Taken
5) The Day The Earth Stood Still
6) Twilight
7) Hancock
8) Casino Royale
9) Tropic Thunder
10) Wall-E
"The continuing success of Blu-ray is testament to the growth of consumer confidence in the high-definition format," says Hannah Conduct, marketing manager at the BVA.
"There are now almost 1500 Blu-ray releases in the market covering a breadth of titles."