X-Men: First Class flies the top of the charts

The latest instalment of the X-Men comic book franchise, X-Men: First Class, is on course to be Number 1 in the Official Video Chart this Sunday.

According to today’s sales figures, X-Men: First Class has nearly sold 150,000 copies on DVD and Blu-ray since its release on Monday – roughly 120,000 units more than its nearest competitor, Scared Shrekless. To date, the X-Men franchise (X-Men, X-Men 2, X-Men 3: Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine) has sold over 5.2 million copies on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK alone.

In related news, 2011 has been a bumper year for sales of film adaptations of comic books. DC Comics’ Green Lantern and Jonah Hex notched up sales of 110,276 and 27,323 copies, respectively, in their first week on sale, while The Green Hornet sold 51,413 copies week one, and X-Men’s fellow Marvel stablemate, Thor, shifted a staggering 215,478 in its first week alone. And there’s more to come before the end of the year! Captain America: The First Avenger (starring Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving and Samuel L. Jackson) hits the shelves on on December 5 and Cowboys And Aliens (starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde) will be released on December 26.