In its first week of release on VHS and DVD, the X-Men movie garnered an astounding $63.5 million in sales and rentals.  The strong performance demonstrates the enormous collector potential of the X-Men franchise, and also provides some insight into the DVD penetration of the comic market fan base.  X-Men collectors were offered a choice between a VHS version of the film and a slightly more expensive DVD.  Sales of the VHS tape reached $26.9 million during the first week while sales of the DVD were a very respectable $22.9 million.  Given that DVDs with their better picture, sound, and longevity are the prime collector's format -- a look at the X-Men sell-through numbers indicates that DVD penetration of the core comic collector market is still less than 50%.

The enormous opening for X-Men videos and DVDs also makes a sequel even more of a certainty.  While U.S. box office numbers remain important, foreign box office sales plus video and DVD provide studios with enormous opportunities for cashing in on a blockbuster, especially if that film has a devoted following of fans ready to purchase a video or DVD for their collection.

Pop culture retailers should take note of the increasing ascendancy of DVD as the prime collector's medium.  Since the DVD machines now in use do not include a record function, the VHS format is not going away like eight-track tapes vanishing in the face of cassettes (at least until DVD recorders become more available beginning later this year), but retailers who carry videos but not DVDs are in danger of being left behind.