Neither Dredd nor Last Stand were 'sure' things upfront (hence why they were both pleasantly surprising).

Ticket Price: Movies are expensive, and 3D movies ( Dredd) are even more expensive.

Time of release: September ( Dredd) and January ( Last Stand) are both times when people are getting settled back into their routines after summer/winter vacations - thereby making it easy to miss the latest film at the cineplex.

So what's the deal with the low box office returns? Well, one could debate the factors ad nauseum, but a quick rundown pretty much looks like this: Both movies are straightforward action romps with little touches of creative flair - and both sit at 3.5 or over in our 5-star review scale. Lionsgate was the studio behind both Dredd and The Last Stand - and has arguably suffered the brunt of moviegoer skepticism in return for offering what are (ostensibly) crowd-pleaser films that honor their respective fanbases. “We’re also pleased that a film released on 3-D Blu-ray was able to top the sales charts, a clear reflection of how quality films in this up and coming format can find their audience.” Said Ron Schwartz, Lionsgate Executive Vice President & General Manager, Home Entertainment. In addition, the critically acclaimed thriller, starring Karl Urban (Star Trek) as the titular character Judge Dredd, was the top film download for the week, outpacing all other titles in digital sales as well.

Blu-ray units accounted for nearly 50% of week 1 POS at retail.

The verdict is in and Lionsgate (LGF), a leading global entertainment company, announced today that the home entertainment release of DREDD claimed the number one spot on the DVD sell-through and Blu-ray charts with 650,000 units sold, making it the best-selling new release title of the year. A press release confirms that Dredd claimed the number one spot in DVD/Blu-ray sales, putting up some impressive figures:

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