Universal Studios Home Video announced today that the Erin Brockovich DVD has reached the coveted mark of one million units shipped, representing a new breakthrough in the DVD market and drama genre.

‘This is a major milestone in the industry on several fronts,’ said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Video. ‘In addition to being the first major motion picture on DVD featuring a leading female actor to ship more than a million units, we’ve uncovered a whole new female constituency who has embraced the non-traditional family drama and shown a strong appetite for the DVD format. Clearly this proves that DVD is able to cross over from the traditional male-oriented successes and capture a whole new audience,’ commented Kornblau. To date, films shipping a million units have been primarily action-adventure and special effects-driven productions targeting teenage and male audiences. ‘We expect consumer demand for Erin Brockovich to continue well into the fall,’ concluded Kornblau.

Two-time Academy Award® nominee and Golden Globe Award winner Julia Roberts stars as Erin Brockovich in a Jersey Films production directed by Stephen Soderbergh. Led by early buzz that the film is a strong contender for Oscar® consideration for Ms. Roberts’ critically acclaimed performance and for Stephen Soderbergh’s directing, ‘Erin Brockovich’ has generated huge consumer demand.

Universal now has seven DVD titles that have shipped in excess of a million units, more than any other studio has enjoyed. The six other DVD titles distributed by Universal Studios Home Video that have shipped in excess of a million units include, Jaws Anniversary Collector’s Edition, End of Days, American Pie, The Mummy, and the DreamWorks releases: Galaxy Quest and Saving Private Ryan.

Julia Roberts, the #1 female box-office star, first caught the world’s attention with her performance in Mystic Pizza. Her next major role was in Steel Magnolias for which she received an Academy Award(TM) nomination as Best Supporting Actress and won a Golden Globe. Pretty Woman, which followed, became the top grossing film of 1990, established Ms. Roberts as a major star and earned her an Oscar® nomination for Best Actress and second Golden Globe win.