German DVD sales up by 350%

German DVD sales leapt by 350% to nine million units in 2000, compared to 2.6 million the previous year, and accounted for 30% of the sell-through video market, according to figures from market research company gfk.

Gladiator was the most successful of the 1,400 DVD titles released in 2000, shifting more than 300,000 units within a month of its December 7 release, 100% more than previous bestseller The Matrix.

While the action and thriller genre dominate - no less than ten films were from these genres in the Top 20 - 2000's Top 10 also included for the first time a music/DVD video release - German rock star Herbert Groenemeyer's Stand Der Dinge - which dispensed with a parallel CD release.

1. Gladiator (Columbia TriStar Home Video)
2. Matrix (Warner Home Video)
3. The Perfect Storm (Warner Home Video)
4. The Sixth Sense (VCL/MAWA)
5. End Of Days (Touchstone)
6. The World Is Not Enough (20th Century Fox)
7. The Mummy (Columbia TriStar)
8. The Green Mile (Warner Home Video)
9. Herbert Groenemeyer - Stand Der Dinge (EMI)
10. Wild Wild West (Warner Home Video)