
With 2012 already half over, let's take a quick look back at the best-selling movie and music releases of the year thus far. The below rankings are based on sales on YesAsia.com from January 1 to June 30, 2012. Sales of all editions and versions of the same title are summed up to determine the total sales and ranking of each title.
Chinese-language movies take nine of the top ten spots, with action and period being the order of the day. The unbeatable combo of
Tsui Hark,
Jet Li, and 3D made
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate an easy choice for movie fans, and trusty Hong Kong names like
Johnnie To,
Dante Lam, and
Derek Yee still hold sway. Just like it did theatrically in Taiwan and Hong Kong, youth movie sensation
You are the Apple of My Eye outperformed the superstars on our bestseller chart with a second-place finish.
Seediq Bale also made the list, capping off a strong showing for Taiwan cinema. 2011's biggest Korean movie
War of the Arrows is the sole Chungmuro representative in the top ten.
Continuing the precedent set by
Super Junior M, SM Entertainment's new group
EXO-M topped the Chinese music chart in the first half of 2012, while the
Skip Beat soundtrack - on which Super Junior M has a major presence - took the bronze medal.
Show Luo landed in the runner-up slot ahead of
JJ and
Jay.
Sandy Lam and
Twins represented the Hong Kong divas, but where were the guys? Fortunately, we had
Wyman Wong's pen to save the day with his
Y100 compilations.
Big Bang led K-pop sales in the first half of the year with the
Alive albums. The multiple editions certainly helped, but sales of just the Big Bang Version of
Alive alone already sealed their place at the top. The big groups continue to sell big with
SHINee coming in second and
Girls' Generation claiming two spots in the top five. The most interesting trend though is the rise of the rookies as
EXO-K and
B.A.P storm into the top ten with their debut releases. Fans haven't forgotten about the older idols either, as
Shinhwa's comeback album also made the cut.
Korean artists once again top the J-pop bestseller chart in the first half of 2012, as
Girls' Generation maintains their reign with
Paparazzi. The boys were also popular, as groups like
Super Junior and
Infinite took up four of the top ten spots. Continuing the popularity of their
Beautiful World album in 2011,
Arashi's same-titled concert tour was the best-selling Japanese concert DVD, and their two singles reached the top ten as well. Johnny's stars
Yamashita Tomohisa and
KAT-TUN round out the rest of the chart.
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Published July 12, 2012
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