Consumer spending in the global entertainment market — consisting of theatrical box office and home entertainment — reached $99.7 billion in 2021, marking an important return to pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report released by the Motion Picture Association.
In 2020, when the entertainment industry and world at large first began to grapple with COVID-19, consumer spending for theatrical and home entertainment sank to $80.8 billion, down 18% from the year prior. Now, consumption is closer to levels in 2019, when revenues hit a record $101 billion. That year was the first time in history the global entertainment market surpassed the $100 billion mark.
Though the box office has started to slowly recover from the pandemic, streaming is mostly responsible for the growth of the overall industry. That’s a key takeaway from MPA’s annual Theatrical and Home Entertainment Market Environment (THEME) report. The study is conducted by the entertainment industry trade group and is intended to analyze how the film, television and streaming content industry performed over the last 12 months.
Subscriptions to streaming services reached 1.3 billion globally, a 14% increase from the 1.2 billion in 2020. In the U.S. alone, subscriptions reached 353.2 million, up 14% from 2020. Those stats likely aren’t surprising given the popularity of TV shows such as “Squid Game,” “Yellowjackets” and “The White Lotus,” as well as the rise of platforms including HBO Max and Paramount Plus.
But that does not mean consumers gave up on more traditional viewing methods. When factoring in pay TV to theatrical and home entertainment, worldwide consumer spending reached $328.2 billion, matching 2019’s all-time high. The pay TV market includes monthly subscription fees for cable and other services, as well as on-demand content.
“As the Motion Picture Association marks its 100th anniversary this year, our latest THEME Report underscores how resilient and dynamic our industry is, and I couldn’t be more optimistic about the future of our business,” said Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association. “We are just getting started in writing the next chapter of our industry as streaming continues to boom, theaters are rebounding, and the overall global market for our entertainment product recovers and breaks records. Our members are the most innovative companies on earth. Their capacity to bring people together through the timeless magic of extraordinary stories will continue to captivate billions of viewers over the next 100 years.”
Another important takeaway in MPA’s THEME report: there was a significant return to production in 2021 once Hollywood studios and networks were able to implement health and safety protocols. In 2021, 943 films entered production, a 111% boost compared to 2020.
Several findings in this year’s MPA report are relieving. This time last year, cinemas across the globe were struggling to stay afloat, while film and television sets were in early stages of figuring out how to restart production without becoming COVID-19 hotspots. The hope, for those who work in the entertainment business, is these figures continue to rise as the industry recovers from the pandemic.
Since life wasn’t completely back to normal, home/ mobile entertainment markets benefitted from people who stayed at home. Revenues for home/ mobile entertainment, consisting of digital and disc scales, soared to $78.5 billion, a 14% increase compared to 2020 and a 41% increase compared to 2019. The U.S. alone accounted for $32.3 billion of 2021’s total.
In the past year, more than half of consumers watched more on digital platforms than usual. According to the study, 53% of U.S. adults reported an increase in viewing of movies or shows/series on streaming services, while 42% reported an increase in viewing via pay TV.
And mega-sized TVs weren’t the only way to absorb the glut of content hitting the small screen. More than 85% of children and more than 55% of adults watch movies and television shows on mobile devices.
On the big screen, global box office receipts came in at $21.3 billion in 2021. Those ticket sales were down significantly from pre-pandemic. However, it’s up 81% from 2020, when theaters were closed for months in the early days of the pandemic.
Yet there are signs that people want to get back to theaters, namely the recent commercial successes of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Robert Pattinson’s “The Batman,” and Channing Tatum’s canine adventure “Dog.” Just under half of the population, or 168 million people, went to the cinema at least once in 2021. Per capita attendance was highest among teenagers between 12 to 17 year olds (2.5 tickets sold per person) and among Hispanic and Latinos (1.7 tickets sold per person). Broken down by gender, audiences skewed slightly toward men relative to the population share in 2021.