Blu-ray sales pass two million

Movie sales on the Blu-ray format have surpassed the two million mark in Europe, according to new figures.

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) European Promotions Committee suggests that the high-definition format is succeeding in surpassing sales figures for HD-DVD by no small extent.

The number of discs sold in the last two months have equalled all those sold previously, the Hollywood Reporter states, in news likely to be of interest to the DVD duplication industry.

According to figures compiled by Media Control GfK International, just under four out of five (79 per cent) of high-definition discs bought this year have been in the Blu-ray format.

Big sellers for Blu-ray were Casino Royale - part of the James Bond franchise - and the Simpsons Movie, although both of these were topped by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End which sold nearly 100,000 units.

The BDA asserts that the data is testament to a "rapidly accelerating rate in the growth of Blu-ray Disc sales across Europe."

The Blu-ray figures are prompting many media commentators to question whether HD-DVD is beginning to lose the "format war", which could result in Blu-ray DVD duplication coming to the fore.