Avatar breaks US DVD sales record

Avatar will be re-released at the cinema this summer with new footage

Avatar has become the fastest-selling home entertainment release of all time in North America, shifting 6.7 million DVDs and Blu-rays in four days.

James Cameron's 3D sci-fi epic, released in the US on 22 April, sold 4 million DVDs and 2.7 million Blu-rays. The sales brought in $130m (£84.1m).

The previous record holder in the US and Canada was The Dark Knight in 2008.

Avatar is being released in the UK on Monday. Some stores opened their doors to fans at midnight.

Film studio 20th Century Fox said the movie was also the fastest-selling release on the Blu-ray format alone in North America.

It was released on 22 April - "Earth Day" in the US and Canada as well as other countries - to chime with Avatar's environmental theme, Fox said.

Summer re-release

The science-fiction adventure, about a marine who infiltrates a race of giant blue aliens, is reportedly the most expensive film ever made, with a budget of at least $300m (£185m).

In January, it became the highest-grossing movie of all time, overtaking the $1.843bn (£1.19bn) taken by 1997's Titanic - also directed by Cameron.

The figures were not adjusted for inflation or the higher cost of Avatar's 3D film tickets.

Last week, Cameron told the Los Angeles Times that Avatar, which mixes live action with digitally-created performances, would be re-released this summer with an extra six minutes of footage.

He also told the paper the sequel to the film would be centred around the ocean on the planet Pandora.