Old popular movies on physical media have little resell value

The biggest-selling DVD of all time, Finding Nemo, was released in 2003 and shifted 38,800,000 copies. But sales have been on a steady decline since the mid-2000s. According to CNBC, US DVD sales declined by 86% between 2006 and 2019.

By the beginning of the 2020s, sales of DVD had dropped 86% with respect to the peak of DVD sales around 2005, while on-demand sales and, overall, subscription streaming of TV shows and movies grew by over 1,200%. At its peak, DVD sales represented almost two thirds of video market in the US; approximately 15 years later, around 2020, they fell to only 10% of the market. By 2022, there was an increased demand of high definition media, where Ultra HD Blu-ray and regular Blu-ray formats made up for almost half of the US market while sales of physical media continued to shrink in favor of streaming services.

This is a list of the best-selling DVD titles in the United States. This is a list of the best-selling Blu-ray Disc (BD) titles in the United States. This is a list of the best-selling LaserDisc (LD) titles in the United States. This is a list of the best-selling films on Sony's proprietary Universal Media Disc (UMD) format for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) platform in the United States. This is a list of the best-selling video titles sold on physical media (including VHS, DVD and Blu-ray) in the United States by year.

See the 20 most purchased movies and television shows for the week ended April 25, 2026, on DEG's Top Blu-ray DVD Sellers chart. Data provided by Circana.

Top Selling Blu-ray titles of all time in the United States, updated weekly.

The collapse of DVD sales channels has turned physical media into a collector’s pursuit. eBay, the world’s largest platform for trading memorabilia, has benefited significantly from retail’s abandonment of physical media. An industry report from Self on “The Best Items to Sell on eBay in 2023” found DVD and Blu-ray ...

Nobody should kid themselves. Unless your average purchase price is $2-$5 or all your disc are very rare, DVDs have little resale value. I have spent a fortune and they are worth a fraction of that. My average is probably about $6-$8.

It is a good guess that the mass produced movies or TV shows will not be worth a whole lot as collectibles since hundreds of thousands of people will all have the same thing. Since the supply is high then prices will be quite low. If you want to see this in action check out your local Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and see how much DVDs are selling for.

Key Insight: While the overall DVD market has collapsed, niche segments including collectors, premium formats, and online resale markets show resilience, transforming from mass market to specialty collector-driven business. The global DVD market is valued at around $5.2 billion in 2025, despite streaming dominance. Collectors and niche audiences remain strong buyers. Studios continue to re-release classics and remastered editions.