The report stated that the growth in digital entertainment helped to offset partially the decrease in the global box office caused by theatre closures during the pandemic.
The global home/mobile entertainment market has grown to new heights with online video subscriptions growing 26% annually to reach 1.1bn, according to a survey from the Motion Picture Association (MPA).
And as the billion subscribers mark was passed for the first time ever, the MPA calculated in its THEME Report that the global home/mobile entertainment market generated $68.8bn USD in global revenue in 2020, marking a 23% increase over the previous year. In the US alone, subscriptions reached 308.6m, representing a 32% growth from 2019, and the home/mobile market increased 21% annually, reaching $30bn.
The report also showed that during the pandemic period of 2020, 55% of US adults reported that their viewing of movies or shows/series through an online subscription service increased, while 46% reported that their viewing via pay-TV increased while more than 85% of children and more than 55% of adults watched films or shows/series on mobile devices. Daily viewers of movies or shows/series on mobile devices skewed more heavily towards the 18-24 and 25-39 year-old age groups, as well as the Hispanic/Latino and African-American/Black ethnicity groups.
The MPA said that the growth in digital entertainment helped to offset partially the decrease in the global box office caused by theatre closures during the pandemic. Indeed, the global theatrical and home/mobile entertainment market was found to have fallen 18% year-on-year in 2020, to reach $80.8bn USD last year, further reflecting the pandemic’s impact on the industry.
Commenting on the findings of the THEME Report, Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin, said: “Despite the challenges to the global economy brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the film, television and streaming industry and streaming industry has once again risen to the occasion. Streaming experienced another huge boom, with new entrants into the market and more than one billion subscriptions worldwide for the first time ever. We kept audiences connected and entertained wherever they were and whenever they desired. Theatrical and home entertainment remain two essential parts of this dynamic and iconic industry, and I am confident that movie theatre will experience a great comeback in the months ahead.”
