"Chipmunks" show teeth in first week on DVD

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - After its surprisingly strong performance at the box office, it was perhaps less of a shock when "Alvin and the Chipmunks" debuted at No. 1 on the national DVD sales and rental charts Wednesday.

The family cartoon bested "Sweeney Todd" on both the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart and Home Media Magazine's rental chart.

"I Am Legend," No. 1 on both charts the previous week, slipped to No. 3 on both.

Last week, Fox said consumers snapped up 2.6 million DVDs of "Alvin" on its first day in stores Tuesday, the equivalent of about $45 million in spending. The film grossed $44.3 million in U.S. theaters in its opening weekend last December, and went on to earn more than $215 million.

The DVD release also catapulted the film's CD soundtrack up 11 places to No. 5 on the Billboard 200 Wednesday.

The top-selling Blu-ray Disc for the week also was "Alvin," with "I Am Legend," falling to No. 2.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter