'Batman Begins' And 'The Dark Knight' Dominate DVD, Blu-Ray Sales Years After Release

Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" is ranking at the top of the box office, and the two films that preceded the Batman finale are ranking one and two in the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert Sales Chart. "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" have been available on home video for seven and four years respectively, but still managed to beat new releases like "The Three Stooges" according to the Hollywood Reporter.

After "Batman Begins" was released in October 2005 it performed well on the charts, but it's 2012 comeback is remarkable. The film has outdone its successor in the series "The Dark Knight," which has outsold "Begins" in the past and earned nearly three times as much at the box office, reports Box Office Mojo.

In the weeks before "The Dark Knight Rises" release date, sales for these two films were up with the dated movies reaching the two and three spots on the chart. The films were bumped to one and two prior to the release of "Rises." The 2005 film "Batman Begins" ranked no. one on the VideoScan's chart dedicated Blu-ray sales.

The recent home video success of "Batman Begins" could be attributed to the fact that audiences weren't as exposed to Nolan's first Batman film. Over the film's 2005 opening weekend, "Begins" grossed $48.7 million, less than a third of the opening weekend for "The Dark Knight" in 2008 which grossed $158.4 million.

"The Dark Knight" was released in 2008 with enhanced publicity after the reception of "Begins" and the death of star Heath Ledger. After filming his grim portrayal of The Joker, Ledger was found dead after an accidental overdose. He received more than 30 posthumous awards for his performance as Batman's arch nemesis, including the Oscar, SAG, BAFTA, and Golden Globe according to IMDB.

The financial success of "The Dark Knight Trilogy" plays into some of the series themes, particularly the ones surrounding Bane (Tom Hardy) in "The Dark Knight Rises."

Bane is a mercenary who takes control of the League of Shadows after Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson) was killed in "Batman Begins." The masks villain comes to Gotham to destroy it through economics, and emphasizes the corruption that money brings.