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Ed Sheeran is now bigger than Star Wars as he tops 2017's half-year Entertainment Chart
25 July 2017 | By Rob Copsey

Sales of music, video and games have surged in the first half of 2017.

Ed Sheeran may have landed himself a cameos in Game of Thrones and The Simpsons this year, but he might have to rule out his chances of an appearance in Star Wars.

At the halfway point of 2017, the singer's Divide album tops the half-year Entertainment Chart, which combines biggest selling music, video and gaming titles and is compiled by ERA - the Entertainment Retailers Association.

Sales across all three sectors surged by 6.4% to £2.997m in the first half of this year compared to the same period of 2016, with the take-up of streaming on services like Spotify, Netflix and Amazon being a key factor in the growth.

Divide finished way ahead of its closest competitor Rogue One - A Star Wars Story, 2.06m for Ed compared to 1.18m for Star Wars. That's a difference of 885,000.

Elsewhere, Rag'n'Bone Man's debut album Human is currently the sixth biggest-selling entertainment product of 2017 so far, and Stormzy's debut Gang Signs & Prayer completes the Top 40.

The bulk of the Top 10 are DVD/Blu-ray releases, with strong showings from Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, Bridget Jones's Baby and Moana.

Music was the star performer of the three sectors, growing 11.2% in the first half of 2017 compared with the same period of 2016. That's despite just eight of the Top 40 biggest entertainment releases this year being music.

Meanwhile, sales of games increased 8.4% and video was up by 1.2%.

While the figures show an increased shift to digital as the format of choice for most people with 75.4% of revenues accounted for by digital, vinyl was the exception to the rule. Sales of black plastic have so far increased 35.7% to 1.9m units this year, increasing its value 37.6% to £37.3m.

Entertainment Chart H1 2017

POS TITLE ARTIST COMPANY SALES
1 Divide Ed Sheeran Warner Music 2,064,966
2 Rogue One - A Star Wars Story Walt Disney Studios 1,180,496
3 Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them Warner Home Video 1,032,525
4 Bridget Jones's Baby Universal Pictures 936,064
5 Moana Walt Disney Studios 714,698
6 Human Rag'n'Bone Man Sony Music 694,194
7 Trolls 20th Century Fox He 657,760
8 Now That's What I Call Music 96 Various Artists Sony Music/Universal Music 530,290
9 Doctor Strange Walt Disney Studios 510,711
10 Sing Universal Pictures 489,672
11 The Girl On The Train 20th Century Fox 397,619
12 Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar 20th Century Fox 352,199
13 Grand Theft Auto V Take 2 334,280
14 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands Ubisoft 311,792
15 La La Land Elevation Sales 294,456
16 Arrival 20th Century Fox He 294,171
17 Horizon Zero Dawn Sony Comp Ent 286,538
18 Inferno Sony Pictures He 271,388
19 Jack Reacher - Never Go Back Universal Pictures 268,888
20 T2 Trainspotting Sony Pictures He 259,892
21 The Magnificent Seven Sony Pictures He 257,867
22 Fifty Shades Darker Universal Pictures 249,590
23 The Lego Batman Movie Warner Home Video 245,739
24 FIFA 17 EA 242,385
25 Hacksaw Ridge Elevation Sales 237,735
26 Sully - Miracle On The Hudson Warner Home Video 236,486
27 Passengers Sony Pictures 229,520
28 More Life Drake Universal Music 228,862
29 X Ed Sheeran Warner Music 224,267
30 Deepwater Horizon Elevation Sales 220,734
31 Assassin's Creed 20th Century Fox He 219,093
32 Finding Dory Walt Disney Studios 218,625
33 Glory Days Little Mix Sony Music 215,638
34 Wonderland Take That Universal Music 212,037
35 Suicide Squad Warner Home Video 210,642
36 Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare Activision Blizzard 204,778
37 Trainspotting Spirit Entertainment 203,000
38 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Capcom 190,545
39 The Secret Life Of Pets Universal Pictures 190,509
40 Gang Signs & Prayer Stormzy Merky 188,240

Source:
Music - Official Charts Company
Video - Official Charts Company
Videogames - GfK