4 Million ‘New Moon’ DVDs Sold, ‘Avatar’ Looms

Summit Entertainment’s strategy to release The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD on Friday night/Saturday morning paid off.  The second installment of the vampire franchise sold 4 million copies in a single weekend, outselling the original Twilight‘s weekend debut at 3.8 million units.

Sales were boosted by 7,000 retail locations taking part in the midnight frenzy and scattered appearances of its cast, including Nikki Reed, Rosalie Hale, and Peter Facinelli, as well as director Chris Weitz and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg.  Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are busy promoting Remember Me and The Runaways, respectively.

The original Twilight eventually sold 9.2 million total copies and become the highest selling DVD/Blu-ray title of the year.

New Moon will have some competition in becoming the biggest seller of 2010 though, with Avatar scheduled for shelves on Earth Day, April 22 and a tentative November date for a more expansive version.  James Cameron told journalists at a media event in West Hollywood pre-sales are strong and consumers are “choosing a premium experience in the home, just as they did in theaters,” hinting at the $24.99 two disc Blu-ray/DVD combo climbing quickly up Amazon.com’s bestseller rankings.

The initial release will be stripped of the usual promotional trailers, but also any bonus features, which Cameron says will preserve the bitrate for the film’s picture and sound quality.  Special features will be available online instead, like “Pandorama,” “Pandorapedia,” and other interactive content.