Similar to last’s years entertainment titles, 2014’s top DVDs/Blu-rays and books were full of franchises. Audiences, especially teens, are fans of series—in either format. And across entertainment, kids and young adults reigned supreme this year.
More than half of this year’s top DVDs/Blu-ray titles were films geared toward kids or based on young adult fiction or comic books. When it comes to movies adapted from young adult fiction, fans say they’re 1.31x more likely to be interested in films where characters beat challenges. And this year’s top titles met this desire.
Whether it was a journey to find true love (Maleficent and Frozen), a hunt for a dragon (Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and How to Train Your Dragon 2) or simply to survive (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), quests were central themes for many of the titles among the ranks for top DVDs/Blu-rays. And almost all of them had a strong fantasy element to them, save for Lone Survivor, the only top DVD title to be based on a true story.
Top 10 DVD/Blu-Ray Titles of 2014
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frozen | Disney/Buena Vista Home Video | 3/18/2014 |
| 2 | Hunger Games: Catching Fire | Lionsgate | 3/7/2014 |
| 3 | LEGO Movie | Warner Home Video | 6/17/2014 |
| 4 | Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | Warner Home Video | 4/8/2014 |
| 5 | Transformers: Age of Extinction | Paramount Home Entertainment | 9/30/2014 |
| 6 | Thor: The Dark World | Disney/Buena Vista Home Video | 2/25/2014 |
| 7 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | Disney/Buena Vista Home Video | 9/9/2014 |
| 8 | Maleficent | Disney/Buena Vista Home Video | 11/4/2014 |
| 9 | Lone Survivor | Universal Home Entertainment | 6/3/2014 |
| 10 | How to Train Your Dragon 2 | Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment | 11/11/2014 |
| Source: Nielsen. Data from Dec. 30, 2013-Nov. 30, 2014. Based on aggregate disc unit sales (DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray/DVD Combo packs, etc.). |
With books, this was decidedly the year of the young adult genre. From dealing with love under duress to tackling teen awkwardness during a dystopian dynasty to simply being a wimpy kid, young people take center stage in the overall plotlines of all the top reads. This year, the overall best sellers list comprised both adult and young adult titles.
Top 10 Print Books of 2014 – Overall Best Sellers
| Rank | Title | Author | Format | Publisher | Publish Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Fault In Our Stars | John Green | Trade Paperback | Penguin | 4/1/2014 |
| 2 | Divergent | Veronica Roth | Trade Paperback | Harper Collins | 2/1/2012 |
| 3 | Insurgent | Veronica Roth | Hardcover | Harper Collins | 5/1/2012 |
| 4 | Allegiant | Veronica Roth | Hardcover | Harper Collins | 10/1/2013 |
| 5 | The Long Haul | Jeff Kinney | Hardcover | Abrams | 11/1/2014 |
| 6 | The Fault In Our Stars (Movie Tie-In) | John Green | Trade Paperback | Penguin | 4/1/2014 |
| 7 | Gone Girl | Gillian Flynn | Trade Paperback | Random House | 4/1/2014 |
| 8 | The Fault In Our Stars | John Green | Hardcover | Penguin | 1/1/2012 |
| 9 | Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General | Bill O’Reilly | Hardcover | MacMillan | 9/1/2014 |
| 10 | Looking For Alaska | John Green | Trade Paperback | Penguin | 1/1/2007 |
| Source: Nielsen. Data through Dec. 7, 2014. Nielsen BookScan’s U.S. Consumer Market Panel currently covers approximately 85% of the print book market and continues to grow. |
