Whedonesque : Comments on 9011 : Serenity hits #1 on Amazon.com.

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December 19 2005

Serenity hits #1 on Amazon.com. It's the first time either Serenity or Firefly have got that high. Amazon also declare it "The biggest of the big" for the week. There is also a tiny, really small, hardly visible Serenity advert on Dark Horizons. Additionally, check out this special edition.

Thanks to theonetruebix for spotting the Amazon thing.

Thanks to nixygirl for spotting Joss Whedon's sock colour whilst jumping out of that bush at him and tearing off his clothes.. No wait, that was me. I mean, thanks for the DVD colour link.

gossi | Firefly&Serenity | 23:47 CET | 41 comments total | tags: serenity, firefly, dvd sales

Huzzah!

There are some wonderful comments in the editorial and spotlight reviews, too.

m'cookies actual | December 20, 00:05 CET

Yay!

This is very heartening news.

UnpluggedCrazy | December 20, 00:06 CET

I called my local Future Shop this morning to see if I could reserve and the clerk said they had ordered 136 copies so I should be okay, but they could pull one for me if I called as soon as they opened. I think I'll actually be at the door then :)

samatwitch | December 20, 00:07 CET

Well, this can only be good. I hope Joss sees it.

Rogue Slayer | December 20, 00:10 CET

Nifty! I'm going to be shameless again and suggest that if any of you have a hankering to share "Serenity" with a lot of people that you might want to check out the donation policy of your local public library or get a copy and send it to one of these 12 libraries that have already happily received other Whedonverse DVDs from the Multimedia Project and would surely want to complete their prized collection with a copy of the film.

killinj | December 20, 00:12 CET

Geez gossi, that ad on Dark Horizons is hardly noticeable, I'm surprised you even noticed it! ;) Kewl beans!

killinj | December 20, 00:15 CET

It was the llama which stood out at me.

gossi | December 20, 00:17 CET

I got my cousin and his wife hooked on Buffy this summer, and I'd also bought them the Firefly DVDs...he called today and was raving about them...he'll be buying the movie tomorrow (or as soon as it's available in Chicago.)

Bought it for my sister for Christmas, too.

Chris inVirginia | December 20, 00:27 CET

'Serenity' has beat out the Penquins and it isn't even officially released until tomorrow. Yay! I had word from Amazon that mine has already been shipped, I hoped to get it today, but no luck. So now my fingers are crossed for tomorrow.

embers | December 20, 00:51 CET

You know, I ain't seeing this "biggest of the big" thing people keep referring and linking to.

The One True b!X | December 20, 00:51 CET

The words: "The Big DVDs: Our Weekly Schedule of the Biggest of the Big" is right above the DVD if you follow the "biggest of the big" linked text in the Whedonesque description.

killinj | December 20, 00:54 CET

They track, week by week, the top three preorders. Universal's "20 Year Old Virgin" won last week on it's release week. Interestingly, Universal did a press release saying it went on to sell 2 million copies in the US.

However, I strongly suspect "20 Year Old Virgin" will sell better on the shelves than Serenity, unfortunately. If Serenity did do 2 million copies in the first week, that'd be sweet beyond words. But I doubt it.

gossi | December 20, 01:21 CET

gossi - I don't know if you are joking but it's "40 Year Old Virgin", makes it funniner than a 20 year old virgin.

RavenU | December 20, 01:26 CET

Oh, shit. I can't even go back and edit my original post to cover up that mess up.

Uh, yes, it was a joke. I actually meant the 200 year old virgin! Yes!

(Or something).

gossi | December 20, 01:29 CET

Sweet! I just wish I hadn't pre-ordered mine from Amazon, cause it hasn't even shipped yet. I coulda just gone to the store tomorrow and picked it up, but now I gotta wait. :( Oh well... it's not so long in the grand scheme of things, and we Browncoats have gotten accustomed to waiting (DVD... April 22... Sept 30... new DVD)

AnotherFireflyfan | December 20, 01:34 CET

What's the joke in being a 20-year-old virgin? I mean... I'm not... I have friends who...

Why are you looking at me? GO AWAY!

The Dark Shape | December 20, 01:38 CET

if you haven't pre-ordered it, Fry's/Outpost is selling the DVD for $14.99 and some Best Buy stores also. Buy in-store as shipping is expensive.

Mr Universe | December 20, 01:38 CET

A movie about a 20-yr-old virgin? Not that interesting.

electricspacegirl | December 20, 01:54 CET

The phrase that will stick forever in my mind is "someone whose virginity has passed its best-used-by date."

MissKittysMom | December 20, 01:57 CET

This is great news. I think if Serenity is very, very successful on DVD then our chances of getting any kind of sequel in any kind of format can only increase. At the moment, the signs are certainly good that sales will be solid, and this is confirmation of that.

Razor | December 20, 02:00 CET

Yay! This makes me ever so happy. I'll be getting my copy soon!

XanFan32 | December 20, 02:02 CET

That's so awesome! And my copy's been shipped too. Yay!

einral | December 20, 02:33 CET

Well, this is confirmation that internet preorders look quite high - however that's not a massive surprise. This is a big turn around from when the DVD first appeared -- and I think a lot of that has to do with Universal's marketing of the DVD, believe it or not. I had a good moan online about the lack of DVD promotion, and they've got their shit together on that score - there's TV promos, banner advertising, online promos, store promo, press promo... In fact, you could argue the DVDs are getting more promotion than the movie got.

The key is sustainability. Promotion costs money. If the DVDs stay at #1 on Amazon for, say, a week - that's a good sign. If it falls well down the charts in the first month, not so great sign.

gossi | December 20, 02:42 CET

Firefly's at number 9 too...

Gill | December 20, 03:27 CET

I'm waiting for the Aussie release. Ezydvd has them pretty cheap on pre-order. And the shiny tin boxes too!

Rogue Slayer | December 20, 03:47 CET

Eat it, FOX. Opps, did I just type that?

MySerenity | December 20, 03:52 CET

Ha MySerenity, but tell us how you really feel?
Wow, this is some great news to wake up to! I can't wait till they release it over here in Oz. Also for those of you interested in ordering from over here. The artwork for the JB HiFi slipcover is up, and it's pretty.

Also TheDarkShape there's nothing wrong with a 20 yr old virgin...that can't be fixed in 10 mins.

nixygirl | December 20, 04:11 CET

As long as 10 minutes?

gossi | December 20, 04:13 CET

Theonetruebix, refresh the page and you should see it. The page alternates between that and a Star Wars/Seinfeld ad.

Firefly Flanatic | December 20, 04:49 CET

Gossi I was being kinda generous! ; )

nixygirl | December 20, 05:55 CET

Yeah, yeah, yeah! Serenity number 1!!!!

I want that Slip Edition, but I like more the Tin one.
I prefer the "old" logo of Serenity. The one with the black back.

Angel TheVampire | December 20, 06:19 CET

Hello, Universal? Are you seeing this?

Christopher | December 20, 10:32 CET

Like ChrisInV, I bought several for my family, and will buy more after Christmas. If this little widescreen DVD has anything like the staying power of the Firefly set, that will be so cool. Selling 2 million copies might net us a sequel.

Anyone have an inside scoop on even a rough figure for the number of Firefly boxes sold?

RBB | December 20, 10:53 CET

According to the Firefly-ranking tracker at fireflyfans.net Firefly did make number one back in September 2003 (hence before it was released). And now Firefly is also back up to 6.

I really like the cover of that slipover, even the color looks vey nice (whilst I have been a proponent for the "black with logo" cover).

Celebithil | December 20, 11:49 CET

Good to see several sepreate links to the R4 serenity dvd on the ezydvd home page. A spaceship link, an in the top 5 - "coming soon" link and explicit links to the 'exclusive tin'.

purplehazel | December 20, 13:44 CET

Firefly is at Number 6 now.

Zoic_Fan | December 20, 13:58 CET

Random fact: the last episode of Firefly aired on Fox December 20th, 2002. Exactly 3 years later, the motion picture DVD has been launched.

gossi | December 20, 18:14 CET

I just checked my account on Amazon...my pre-ordered DVDs arrived at the UPS facility in Alexandria, which abuts my home of Arlington...so I'm expecting them to arrive today!

Chris inVirginia | December 20, 20:56 CET

Thanks to nixygirl for spotting Joss Whedon's sock colour whilst jumping out of that bush at him and tearing off his clothes.. No wait, that was me.

I had to do a double take then. I thought Joss had told you some sordid fact about the restraining order he has on me. Then I laughed when I realised it was really about your restraining order. ; )
What is it about writers and creators that brings out the crazed fanboy/girl stalker in us?
Must be the wacky socks?

nixygirl | December 20, 22:05 CET

I also noticed that Serenity is #2 on PlayUSA's DVD chart but it appeared as the first and biggest item on the main page whenever I was looking at it. It is only being outsold by the extended version of Sin City, which I must confess I have ordered and received from PlayUSA whereas I am waiting for the Aus Serenity DVD. But I think #2 is still great, and likely to generate even more visibility and boost Firefly's sales too. But a #1 on all the major sites would be good.

Razor | December 21, 00:37 CET

Firefly is at number 5 now!

Harpy | December 21, 08:26 CET

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