LOS ANGELES – "Finding Nemo" (search) is the catch of the day at video stores.
The animated tale sold a record 8 million DVD and VHS copies in its first day Tuesday, breaking the previous high of 7 million set last year by "Spider-Man," according to "Finding Nemo" partners Disney and Pixar Animation.
The studio shipped 25 million copies but already has ordered more, figuring some stores might run out as early as this weekend, said Bob Chapek, president of Disney home entertainment.
"We saw stores yesterday almost going through their inventory on day one alone," Chapek said Wednesday.
DVDs accounted for about 90 percent of sales. Total sales for "Finding Nemo" could rival the 32 million VHS copies that Disney's "The Lion King" sold in its initial video release in the 1990s, Chapek said.
At $339 million, "Finding Nemo" is the year's top-grossing movie domestically. The tale of a clownfish on an undersea voyage to rescue his aquarium-bound son features the voices of Albert Brooks (search), Ellen DeGeneres (search), Willem Dafoe (search) and Geoffrey Rush (search).
The computer-animated film was the fifth in the partnership between Disney and Pixar (search), whose previous movies include "Monsters, Inc." and the "Toy Story" flicks.
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