'Bohemian Rhapsody' breaks digital download record set by 'Avengers: Infinity War'

Bohemian Rhapsody is the fastest-selling digital download film ever in the U.K., according to the Official Charts Company.

The Queen biopic, which won four Oscars at the weekend, has sold nearly 265,000 digital copies in its first eight days and has climbed from number two to the peak spot after just one week.

It amassed more sales than Avengers: Infinity War did in the same timeframe. The star-studded Marvel superhero blockbuster notched up just under 253,000 digital downloads in its first eight days on sale last summer.

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Bohemian Rhapsody, which will be released on physical formats on March 4, has also scored more than double the sales of this week’s number two on the chart, spy caper Johnny English Strikes Again.

The film, which stars Rami Malek as the late Freddie Mercury, covers the 15-year period between guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) welcoming Freddie as lead singer of their band Smile, and Queen’s triumphant 20-minute set at Live Aid on July 13 1985.

Malek took the best actor prize at Sunday’s Oscars, and the film also won the sound editing, sound mixing and film editing prizes.

Johnny English’s rise to number two after climbing three places mean that last week’s film chart-topper A Star Is Born is pushed down to third place.

Other films in this week’s top 10 include First Man at number four, and new entries Smallfoot at number seven, and Hunter Killer at number eight.

The Official Film Chart – the result of a partnership between the Official Charts Company, the British Association for Screen Entertainment and data from the Entertainment Retailers Association – was launched in November.

The chart counts movie downloads from services including Amazon, iTunes, Sky Store, Virgin Media Store, Rakuten TV and Talk Talk TV, as well as 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD disc sales from all high street and online retailers.

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