VHS has mostly faded from movie culture, but the best-selling VHS tapes of all time are still beloved classics. Tapes were once the standard for home viewing before being made obsolete by the inception of DVD, before this was also overshadowed by streaming and digital purchase options. However, several titles considered to be among the best movies of all time once sold astounding numbers of VHS tapes.
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There is an obvious preference for Disney among high-selling VHS tapes, perhaps reflecting parents turning to some of the best animated Disney movies to entertain their children at home. The titles that managed to compete with the Disney classics in this regard are hugely famous movies, which sold due to a specific combination of popularity and marketability. All these movies call back to a different phase of cinematic history, as they were the best movies coming out at that time.
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10 Cinderella (1950)
17 Million VHS Tapes Sold
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Cinderella is a formulaic movie about a Disney Princess given a raw deal, revolving around the basic message of being good and one will be rewarded. It features some delightful tunes and glittering transformations, leading up to the forgone happy ending. Cinderella is an earlier movie that still benefited when VHS became a consumer product in the 1970s. Most other popular Disney movies on VHS are from the Disney Renaissance.
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Cinderella (1950) AnimationFamilyFantasyMusicalRomance
Cinderella is a young orphan who lives with her wicked stepmother. One day, when the woman forbids her to go to the royal ball, she receives unexpected help from two adorable mice and her fairy godmother.
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*Availability in US Director Clyde Geronimi , Wilfred Jackson , Hamilton Luske Release Date March 4, 1950 Cast Ilene Woods , James MacDonald , Eleanor Audley , Verna Felton
Of the original trio of Disney Princesses, Snow White is the one that shattered everyone’s expectations of animation, while Sleeping Beauty was widely considered a disappointment. Cinderella lands in the middle, demonstrating an outdated plot but still a pleasant viewing experience. Cinderella‘s status as a bestselling VHS showcases that some people found it relatable or at least enjoyable and didn’t mind sharing this movie and its lessons with their kids.
9 Pocahontas (1995)
17.1 Million VHS Tapes Sold
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Pocahontas is decidedly not one of the best Disney Renaissance movies and one of the prime examples of a Disney movie that hasn’t aged well. It has some lovely animation and the powerful musical number of “Colors of the Wind,” but its depiction of Indigenous Americans and colonization history is glaringly inaccurate and offensive.
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Pocahontas GMusicalFamily
In 1607, Pocahontas, a free-spirited young woman of the Powhatan Native American Tribe, meets arriving English settlers, including John Smith. As her feelings for John deepen, Pocahontas finds herself caught in the struggle between her family, and the settlers who seek violence with her people.
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*Availability in US Director Mike Gabriel , Eric Goldberg Release Date June 16, 1995 Writers Carl Binder , Susannah Grant , Philip LaZebnik Cast Irene Bedard , Mel Gibson , David Ogden Stiers , John Kassir , Russell Means , Christian Bale , Linda Hunt Runtime 81 minutes
Yet Pocahontas still emerged as one of Disney’s bestsellers in the 1990s, due to some lucky timing. Misinformed parents perhaps believed that it was good for them to expose their children to some history through a Disney movie, while more criticism came down upon it later.
Related Every Disney Princess Movie, Ranked
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Pocahontas also features some surprisingly famous voice actors that might have helped its sales, including Mel Gibson and Christian Bale. It is also possible that Disney/animated VHS sales in general were on the rise in the aftermath of 1995 due to a different groundbreaking movie.
8 Toy Story (1995)
21 Million VHS Tapes Sold
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Toy Story’s sales in the mid-1990s make complete sense.
Toy Story‘s sales in the mid-1990s make complete sense. Toy Story was instantly a beloved animated classic that would change the animation industry, resulting in nearly every Hollywood studio using 3D animation within 15 years. Aside from this, it is a witty reflection upon childhood with marketable characters that kids and adults still love. After its celebrated release in theaters, people commemorated it by buying their own copies.
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10/10 Toy Story GAnimationAdventureComedyFamilyFantasy
Pixar’s first feature film release sees Woody (Tom Hanks), a cowboy doll, confronted by the nightmare of being replaced as his owner Andy’s favorite toy jeopardized when his parents buy him a Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) action figure. Stricken by anxiety, Woody hatches a plan to remain the favorite, kicking off a race against time for the toys to be reunited with their owner before his house move makes them permanently Lost Toys.
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*Availability in US Director John Lasseter Release Date November 22, 1995 Writers Joss Whedon , Alec Sokolow , Joel Cohen , Andrew Stanton Cast Tom Hanks , Don Rickles , Annie Potts , Tim Allen , Jim Varney Runtime 81 minutes
DVDs were first developed and released in 1995 and 1996, but it would take several more years for them to find a footing in consumer culture. What’s impressive about movies that came out around this time and still sold many VHS tapes is that they didn’t have as long to reach higher numbers. However, Toy Story was a unique phenomenon that everyone wanted to relive from the comfort of their living rooms.
7 Independence Day (1996)
22 Million VHS Tapes Sold
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With a PG-13 rating, some parents might have been okay with younger children watching Independence Day. However, it is discernible that Will Smith’s career-defining movie sold many VHS tapes because of its rewatch value among adults. Seeing Independence Day in theaters holds great appeal due to its massive, impressively practical explosions and the energy of laughing at the jokes in the company of other moviegoers. However, people were not satisfied with seeing it only once.
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9/10 Independence Day PG-13Adventure Sci-FiAction
Roland Emmerich’s iconic 1996 sci-fi disaster movie Independence Day chronicles the attack of a hostile race of aliens against planet Earth. When extraterrestrial aircraft occupy Earth without warning, the forces of humanity quickly band together to stop them. At the behest of President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman), US Marine pilot Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) and satellite engineer David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) organize humanity’s last-ditch counterattack against the technologically-advanced alien mothership.
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*Availability in US Director Roland Emmerich Release Date July 3, 1996 Writers Dean Devlin , Roland Emmerich Cast Will Smith , Bill Pullman , Jeff Goldblum , Mary McDonnell , Judd Hirsch , Robert Loggia , Randy Quaid , Margaret Colin , Vivica A. Fox , Harvey Fierstein Runtime 145 minutes
The more grounded moments of Smith and Jeff Goldblum exchanging hilarious remarks are enjoyable no matter how one is watching the movie. Additionally, the action sequences are still worth rewatching, especially for movie-savvy people who want to determine how they were created. Above all, Independence Day is a great romp that is valuable to have at home for movie nights, complete with popcorn.
6 Beauty And The Beast (1991)
22 Million VHS Tapes Sold
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Beauty and the Beast has a few more years of VHS being the standard on Toy Story and Pocahontas, but it also has a Best Picture nomination. This animated movie is another milestone people would have wanted to remember, and justified purchasing the movie when it must be one of the best options if it could compete at the Oscars. People who did so might be grateful now when a Beauty and the Beast VHS is one of the highest-valued Disney VHS tapes today.
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10/10 Beauty and the Beast (1991) AnimationFamilyFantasyMusical
A selfish prince is doomed to become a monster for the rest of his life, unless he manages to fall in love with a beautiful young woman.
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*Availability in US Director Gary Trousdale , Kirk Wise Release Date November 21, 1991 Cast Paige O’Hara , Robby Benson , Angela Lansbury , Jerry Orbach , David Ogden Stiers , Bradley Pierce , Jesse Corti , Richard White Runtime 84 Minutes
No matter how many times people listen to it, Beauty and the Beast‘s soundtrack is enchanting. Belle is also a down-to-earth Disney Princess, more intelligent and independent than any who came before her. With its hauntingly realistic characters, stunning music, and a kaleidoscope of valuable morals, Beauty and the Beast is unsurprisingly a relic of movie history anyone would want to have at home.
5 Jurassic Park (1993)
24 Million VHS Tapes Sold
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Jurassic Park has a monumental lifetime gross, demonstrating people’s desire to see it again and again long after its initial release. A combination of cinematic relevance and fun action and thrills resulted in impressive sales for one of the biggest hits of the 1990s and of all time.
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10/10 Jurassic Park PG-13AdventureSci-Fi
Huge advancements in scientific technology have enabled a mogul to create an island full of living dinosaurs. John Hammond has invited four individuals, along with his two grandchildren, to join him at Jurassic Park. But will everything go according to plan? A park employee attempts to steal dinosaur embryos, critical security systems are shut down and it now becomes a race for survival with dinosaurs roaming freely over the island.
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*Availability in US Director Steven Spielberg Release Date June 11, 1993 Writers Michael Crichton , David Koepp Cast Sam Neill , Laura Dern , Jeff Goldblum , Richard Attenborough , Bob Peck , Martin Ferrero Runtime 127 minutes
Just before DVDs took over, VHS sales picked up in the 1990s, at an intersection between ever-growing consumerism and the product becoming obsolete. While Jurassic Park famously came out dangerously close to the movie theater battle between Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, and Forrest Gump, it has the widest appeal.
Related The 10 Highest-Grossing Movies Of The 1990s
The 1990s is a decade filled with great films, changing the landscape for Hollywood today. These 10 were the most successful at the box office.
Jurassic Park is probably most remembered for its groundbreaking effects, but the themes that underly this are just as important. It also serves as a slightly scarier family movie, but one that older children might still enjoy watching at home, especially in comparison to some of the other acclaimed movies of the 1990s.
4 Titanic (1997)
25 Million VHS Tapes Sold
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With several re-releases to promote it in years to come, Titanic remained popular after the age of VHS.
Titanic lacks some of the blockbuster appeal of Jurassic Park but features young and beautiful heartthrobs in addition to being an amazingly detailed historical epic. Titanic was a massive hit in theaters and a historic record-breaker at the Oscars, driving its post-theatrical release sales. The movie’s biggest set pieces and powerful sequences of the sinking might be more haunting in theaters, but they are still effective when viewed on a small screen.
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8/10 Titanic PG-13DramaRomance
Titanic is the 1997 blockbuster romantic/disaster epic based on the events surrounding the sinking of the legendary “unsinkable” vessel. Flashing back to the past and forward to the present, the film primarily follows the stories of the well-to-do and somewhat timid Rose and the poor but lively Jack, star-crossed lovers who meet aboard the doomed ship. In addition, the film tells true and fictionalized accounts of the passengers of the RMS Titanic, with an older Rose recounting her tale to the crew of a research ship.
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*Availability in US Director James Cameron Release Date December 19, 1997 Writers James Cameron Cast David Warner , Kathy Bates , Billy Zane , Bill Paxton , Bernard Hill , Kate Winslet , Leonardo DiCaprio , Gloria Stuart , Frances Fisher , Victor Garber Runtime 3h 14m
With several re-releases to promote it in years to come, Titanic remained popular after the age of VHS. The fact that it sold so many tapes is impressive when it was released on the eve of VHS becoming defunct. However, in many regards, James Cameron shook the industry with this masterpiece, showcasing the deep history of the Titanic in a movie with plenty of famous names to draw in viewers.
3 Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
28 Million VHS Tapes Sold
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had time on its side with its VHS sales, as the movie already existed when Disney streamlined this product. It unsurprisingly sold more than any other pre-Renaissance feature, given its place in Disney history. Many of the older Disney classics arguably don’t hold a candle to the hits of the 1980s and 1990s, but Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the movie that made all the rest possible.
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs GAnimationFamilyMusical
Disney’s iconic first feature-length animation tells the story of Snow White, a young princess whose beauty is coveted by an evil queen. After she orders that Snow White should be killed, the girl escapes to the forest, where she meets seven dwarfs who take her in. However, the queen knows that Snow White survives, and hatches a deadly plan involving a poisoned apple.
Director David Hand , Perce Pearce , William Cottrell , Larry Morey , Wilfred Jackson , Ben Sharpsteen Release Date December 21, 1937 Writers Ted Sears , Richard Creedon , Otto Englander , Dick Rickard , Earl Hurd , Merrill de Maris , Dorothy Ann Blank , Webb Smith Cast Adriana Caselotti , Roy Atwell , Pinto Colvig Runtime 83 Minutes
Disney’s underdog story of setting out to produce the first feature-length animated movie in Hollywood is legendary, and the company benefited from this for a century afterward. Once VHS became a standard thing to buy, longtime Disney fans acquired a copy of the original Disney hit for their collection. If they are willing to part with it today, they might also get a small fortune out of it when the movie is reliably on Disney+.
2 Aladdin (1992)
30 Million VHS Tapes Sold
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However, with VHS sales hitting their peak in the 1990s, it was nothing but profitability for the Disney movies of the time. Which Alan Menken-Howard Ashman composed Disney movie is the best is a matter of opinion, but Aladdin doubtlessly has some riotous musical numbers that are always fun to listen to and even sing along to.
Related Every Disney Renaissance Soundtrack, Ranked
The magic of Disney animation shined bright during its Renaissance era, but how do the classic soundtracks of these films stand against each other?
Aladdin is a flawed protagonist who is still likable, while Jasmine is a feisty princess, another great addition to the lineup. However, Robin Williams’ deal with Disney for Aladdin allowed him to write a lot of his own lines, turning him into the hilariously versatile star of the movie, if he hadn’t been that already.
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Aladdin GAnimationAdventureComedyFamilyFantasyMusicalRomance
Aladdin is an animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, the film follows Aladdin, a street-smart youth in the city of Agrabah, who discovers a magical lamp containing a genie, voiced by Robin Williams. With the genie’s help, Aladdin tries to win the heart of Princess Jasmine while thwarting the schemes of the villainous Jafar.
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*Availability in US Director Ron Clements , John Musker Release Date November 11, 1992 Writers Ron Clements , John Musker , Ted Elliott , Terry Rossio , Ed Gombert , Burny Mattinson Cast Scott Weinger , Robin Williams , Linda Larkin , Jonathan Freeman , Frank Welker , Gilbert Gottfried , Brad Kane , Lea Salonga Runtime 90 Minutes
Coming out a few years before the invention of the DVD, Aladdin saw great sales. Only one Disney movie of this era stood a chance at beating it, coming two years later.
1 The Lion King (1994)
32 Million VHS Tapes Sold
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The Lion King tells an incredibly profound story about duty, family, and destiny, deriving its plot from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This is coupled with the Elton John and Tim Rice duo winning three nominations in the Best Original Song category at the Oscars, for “Circle of Life,” “Hakuna Matata,” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (winner). Hans Zimmer also composed the score, making every second of the movie feel epic.
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The Lion King (1994) GAnimationDramaAdventure
The Lion King is an animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Released in 1994, it tells the story of Simba, a young lion cub who faces the responsibilities of adulthood and reclaiming his birthright as king of the Pride Lands. Featuring an iconic voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, and Jeremy Irons, the film explores themes of family, duty, and the circle of life.
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*Availability in US Director Roger Allers , Rob Minkoff Release Date June 24, 1994 Writers Linda Woolverton , Jonathan Roberts , Irene Mecchi Cast Matthew Broderick , Moira Kelly , Nathan Lane , Ernie Sabella , Robert Guillaume Runtime 88 Minutes
Additionally, stars like Jeremy Irons, Whoopi Goldberg, and James Earl Jones doubtlessly attracted people to The Lion King. When The Lion King is such a rich cinematic landmark and genuinely enjoyable movie for families, its sales are no surprise. Disney dominated the 1990s with its VHS sales alongside some of the decade’s other biggest hits, with The Lion King coming out on top before the industry changed again.
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