IN the archive Australian content on Video Australian share of top 1,000 retail video movie titles (DVD, Blu-ray and VHS), ranked by sales value, 2004–2009 Australian-produced movies accounted for 4.2 per cent of the retail value of the top 1,000 movie titles sold on DVD and Blu-ray during 2009 (ranked by value rather than unit sales).1 After a sharp fall in 2008, the sales value of Australian movies almost doubled in 2009, up from $9.9 million to $18.4 million. There was also a significant increase in the number of Australian units sold and the proportion that represented of total unit sales, and a slight rise in the number of Australian titles. The highest-selling Australian movie title in 2009 was Australia, which was also the highest-grossing Australian film in cinemas in 2008. The Blu-ray version of Australia was in third place with The Castle: Re-mastered and Re-plastered ranked second. When considering cumulative sales over the last six years, Australia has recorded the highest sales value of any Australian movie title, followed by Happy Feet and Kenny. Of the Australian movie titles released on video in 2009, six made it into the top 1,000 – one down from 2008 and 2007. All of these titles were recent theatrical releases, compared to just three the previous year. The average price of these recent theatrical titles was $29.20, while the remaining local titles in the top 1,000 averaged only $13.30. Overall, the average price of titles in the top 1,000 was $20.60; the median was $14.50. For individual films, video release can provide an ongoing revenue stream for many years after a movie’s brief cinematic run. Chopper, for example, grossed almost $6 million at the box office in 2000. Eight years after its 2001 DVD release, it was still among the top ten highest-selling Australian movie titles. Gabriel, by contrast, was only the seventh highest-grossing Australian film at cinemas in 2007. Nevertheless, the film went on to achieve the second highest video sales in its first year of video release and is in the top ten Australian sellers of 2009. Top 1,000 video sales of movie titles2 Titles3 (no.) Units4 (no.) Retail value4 ($) All Aust. % Aust. All Aust. % Aust. All Aust. % Aust. 2004 1,000 40 4.0% 21,121,839 721,528 3.4% $490,472,251 $14,686,846 3.0% 2005 1,000 34 3.4% 20,685,413 567,144 2.7% $400,128,006 $9,142,442 2.3% 2006 1,000 32 3.2% 21,510,693 614,544 2.9% $404,531,951 $12,052,171 3.0% 2007 1,000 33 3.3% 26,453,665 961,756 3.6% $434,599,545 $17,140,722 3.9% 2008 1,000 34 3.4% 26,280,875 744,983 2.8% $430,400,088 $9,901,314 2.3% 2009 1,000 38 3.8% 24,713,567 1,056,704 4.3% $440,881,527 $18,352,791 4.2% Source: Screen Australia analysis of GfK Retail and Technology Australia data. Notes: Australian titles are those under Australian creative control, including domestic productions, official co-productions and other productions involving shared creative control, i.e. with a mix of Australians in key creative positions. 1. Based on non-extrapolated sample of video sales (DVD and VHS for 2004–2007; DVD and Blu-ray from 2008) from approximately 85 per cent of Australian retailers: see About the data Archived: Australian content: Video sales. 2. Movies do not include documentary features, telemovies or mini-series. 3. Refers to the number of individual and box set titles sold during each calendar year (first-release titles issued that year and continued sales of previously issued titles). This may include multiple editions and multiple formats of the same movie. 4. Box sets may include Australian and foreign titles. Although these sets are counted as a single title for ranking purposes, their units and value are apportioned according to the origin of discrete titles in the collection.