Home media E.T. was eventually released on VHS and LaserDisc on October 27, 1988. The videos were priced with a recommended retail price of $24.95, the lowest initial price at the time for a major movie compared to the normal price of $89.95. To combat piracy, the tapeguards and tape hubs on the videocassettes were colored green, and the tape itself was affixed with a small, holographic sticker of the 1963 Universal logo (much like the holograms on a credit card), and encoded with Macrovision. The film doubled the record pre-orders of Cinderella released the same month and went on to sell over 15million VHS units in the United States, and grossed over in video sales revenue. The VHS cassette was also rented over six million times during its first two weeks in 1988, a record it held until the VHS release of Batman the following year. Conservative Christians who were still angry about Universal's release of The Last Temptation of Christ earlier in the year called for a boycott of this release.Billboard - September 10, 1988 Initial orders internationally exceeded $30 million despite the film often being sold at full price, setting records in the United Kingdom with over 81,000 units and Australia with 35,500 units. It initially shipped 152,000 units in Japan and 87,000 in Germany. In 1991, Sears began selling E.T. videocassettes exclusively at their stores as part of a holiday promotion. It was reissued on VHS and LaserDisc again in 1996, with the latter including a 90-minute documentary produced and directed by Laurent Bouzereau; it included interviews with Spielberg, producer Kathleen Kennedy, composer John Williams, and other cast and crew members, as well as two theatrical trailers, an isolated music score, deleted scenes, and still galleries. The VHS included a 10-minute version of the same documentary from the LaserDisc. Both 1996 home video releases of the film were also THX certified as well. The 2012 release of E.T. on DVD and Blu-ray grossed in sales revenue in the United States.
Home media E.T. was eventually released on VHS and LaserDisc on October 27, 1988. The videos were priced with a recommended retail price of $24.95, the lowest initial price at the time for a major movie compared to the normal price of $89.95. To combat piracy, the tapeguards and tape hubs on the videocassettes were colored green, and the tape itself was affixed with a small, holographic sticker of the 1963 Universal logo (much like the holograms on a credit card) and encoded with Macrovision. The film doubled the record pre-orders of Cinderella released the same month and went on to sell over 15million VHS units in the United States, and grossed over in video sales revenue. The VHS cassette was also rented over six million times during its first two weeks in 1988, a record it held until the VHS release of Batman the following year. Conservative Christians who were still angry about Universal's release of The Last Temptation of Christ earlier in the year called for a boycott of this release.Billboard - September 10, 1988 Initial orders internationall,y exceeded $30 million despite the film often being sold at full price, setting records in the United Kingdom with over 81,000 units and Australia with 35,500 units. It initially shipped 152,000 units in Japan and 87,000 in Germany. In 1991, Sears began selling E.T. videocassettes exclusively at their stores as part of a holiday promotion. It was reissued on VHS and LaserDisc again in 1996, with the latter including a 90-minute documentary produced and directed by Laurent Bouzereau; it included interviews with Spielberg, producer Kathleen Kennedy, composer John Williams, and other cast and crew members, as well as two theatrical trailers, an isolated music score, deleted scenes, and still galleries. The VHS included a 10-minute version of the same documentary from the LaserDisc. Both 1996 home video releases of the film were also THX certified as well. The 2012 release of E.T. on DVD and Blu-ray grossed in sales revenue in the United States.