Home Video Sales for ’13 Hours’ Benghazi Movie Soar in Election Year

Thanks to its election year release and a few high-profile speakers at this year’s Republican National Convention, home video sales for director Michael Bay’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi have nearly matched the film’s entire theatrical domestic gross.

Since its digital release in May, 13 Hours has earned a staggering $40 million from DVD and Blu-Ray sales, digital purchases and rentals, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The film ultimately grossed $52 million domestically on its way to a $69.4 million worldwide haul.

“The gross could end up being on par with the box office,” Bob Buchi, Paramount’s president of worldwide home media distribution, told THR. 

The film — based on the September 2012 terror attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya that left four Americans dead — was released in theaters on January 15, just as the Republican and Democratic primary campaigns kicked into high gear.

Benghazi survivors Mark Geist and John Tiegen, as well as Patricia Smith — the mother of Sean Smith, an American diplomat killed during the terror attack — spoke passionately, in primetime, at the RNC last month.

“The last time I talked to Sean, the night before the terrorist attack, he told me, ‘Mom, I am going to die,'” Smith said in a speech at the Republican National Convention. “All security had been pulled from the embassy, he explained. And when he asked why, he never received a response. Nobody listened. Nobody seemed to care. The very next day, he was murdered by radical Islamic terrorists.”

The grieving mother laid her son’s death at the feet of then-Secretary of State and current Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“For all of this loss, for all of this grief, for all of the citizens and the tragedy of Benghazi has brought upon America, I blame Hillary Clinton!” she said.

The movie may have gotten a big boost in the wake of the emotional speeches at the RNC. Additionally, THR reports that sales and rentals of the film are strong all across America, and not just in traditionally Republican- or conservative-leaning states.

“The movie is showing broad appeal because it’s based on a true story of American heroes,” Buchi told the outlet.

 

Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson