With catalog titles enjoying a resurgence of interest due to the lack of new theatrical films, the weekly “Watched at Home” chart shows several Halloween classics gaining home viewership as the holiday approaches.
Walt Disney’s Hocus Pocus, a perennial favorite this time of year, continues to climb up the chart, moving up two notches to No. 2 during the week ended Oct. 10. Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, from Warner, rose to No. 8 from No. 11 the prior week. And the 2018 remake of Halloween, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, debuted at No. 19 on the chart, which tracks transactional video activity (both digital and on DVD and Blu-ray Disc) compiled from studio and retailer data through DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group.
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Aside from Halloween, there are four other new titles on the chart. Season one of “Star Trek: Picard,” from Paramount Home Entertainment, debuted at No. 7; the documentary The Phenomenon checked in at No. 9; the romantic comedy Then Came You bowed at No. 12; and the sci-fi drama 2067 debuted at No. 18.
“Star Trek: Picard,” the eighth series in the “Star Trek” franchise, premiered in January on the streaming service CBS All Access. Two more seasons are on the way. Patrick Stewart stars as Picard, reprising his role from the “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” The cast also includes Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Evan Evagora, Michelle Hurd, and Santiago Cabrera. Season one became available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc Oct. 6.
The Phenomenon, from 1091, is director James Fox’s controversial documentary about unidentified flying objects, or “unidentified aerial phenomenon.” Narrated by Peter Coyote, the film includes interviews with high-ranking government and military officials, NASA astronauts, and other sources. The Phenomenon is only available through digital retailers for rental or purchase.
Then Came You, a Vertical Entertainment release, is a rom-com written by and starring Kathie Lee Gifford. She plays a lonely widow who travels around the world with her husband’s ashes, until she meets a Scottish innkeeper who forever changes her life. The film, too, is available through digital retailers only.
2067 stars Kodi Smit-McPhee (X-Men Apocalypse, Let Me In) and Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood,” “Sacred Lies”). In the film, by the year 2067, Earth has been ravaged by climate change and humanity is forced to live on artificial oxygen. An illness caused by the synthetic O2 is killing the worlds’ population and the only hope for a cure comes in the form of a message from the future: “Send Ethan Whyte.” Ethan, an underground tunnel worker, is suddenly thrust into a terrifying new world full of unknown danger as he must fight to save the human race.
2067 will come out on DVD and Blu-ray Nov. 17 from RLJE Films. Bonus features includes director commentary and a behind-the-scenes featurette, including an in-depth look at the story, cast, director, the look of the film, costumes and makeup, the time machine, editing and VFX, and music.
Elsewhere on the chart, the No. 1 title for the third consecutive week was Ava, a thriller from Vertical Entertainment that stars Jessica Chastain as an assassin. The movie is also available to rent on disc exclusively from Redbox. However, the Watched at Home chart does not account for rental data.
The rest of the top 20 wasn’t much different from the previous week, with Lionsgate’s The Secret: Dare to Dream and all three available season sets of Paramount’s “Yellowstone” remaining in the top six.
- Ava (Vertical)
- Hocus Pocus (Disney)
- Yellowstone: Season 3 (Paramount)
- Yellowstone: Season 1 (Paramount)
- The Secret: Dare to Dream (Lionsgate)
- Yellowstone: Season 2 (Paramount)
- Star Trek: Picard: Season 1 (Paramount)
- Beetlejuice (Warner)
- The Phenomenon (1091)
- Harry Potter Complete 8-Film Collection (Warner)
- Alone (Magnolia)
- Then Came You (Vertical)
- The Tax Collector (RLJ Entertainment)
- The Nightmare Before Christmas (Disney)
- Rick and Morty: Season 4 (Warner)
- Trolls World Tour (Universal/DreamWorks)
- The Secret Garden (Universal)
- 2067 (RLJ Entertainment)
- Halloween (Universal, 2018)
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Warner)
Source: DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group
Includes U.S. digital sales, digital rentals, and DVD, Blu-ray Disc and 4K Ultra HD sales for the week ended Oct. 10.