It will not challenge Adele’s “25” for the top spot on the overall album sales chart, but Chris Brown’s “Royalty” is currently pacing as the week’s best-selling new release.
Based on opening day sales data, Hits Daily Double expects the album to sell 125-135,000 US copies during its first week of release.
Given the unpredictable impact of last-minute Christmas shopping, the projection comes with an atypically large margin of error. Projections, in general, have been less accurate since the switch to a Friday tracking week.
What does appear certain, however, is that “Royalty” will post a six-figure opening week sales total. Its only potential competition among new releases is the “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” soundtrack, which Hits presently pegs for a 90-100,000 first week bow.
“X,” the previous Chris Brown solo studio release, sold 146,000 first week copies.
