""Titanic"" Makes Big DVD Sales Waves

""Titanic"" registered another sales record during the Labor Day holiday weekend, this time generating the most opening-week purchases of any DVD title, according to the VideoScan data tracking service. The sales of more than 68,000 units sunk the previous record of 61,000 held by ""Blade,"" which New Line Home Video released simultaneously with the VHS edition of the movie during the peak holiday selling season in December 1998. The VHS edition of ""Titanic"" was released a year ago followed by a LaserDisc edition.First-week DVD sales of Paramount Home Video's ""Titanic"" were comparable to the best-selling VHS titles last week, with ""Titanic"" slightly behind the nearly 72,000 copies of ""There's Something About Mary"" sold during the Labor Day weekend. Buena Vista Home Video's re-release of the Disney animated film ""The Great Mouse Detective"" was the top-selling title of the week with more than 82,000 units. VideoScan General Manager Tonya Bates noted that the ""Titanic"" numbers would have been even higher if Monday holiday sales were included. No estimates were given as to the extent the unit figures represented transshipped Region 1 copies of ""Titanic"" internationally from the U.S.