Consumers spent $15.7 billion on movies and television shows consumed at home and on the go in the first six months of 2021. For the full first half, spending rose 5% from the $14.9 billion consumers spent in the first six months of 2020, which was a record-breaking period for home viewing as consumers limited out-of-home activity in response to the spread of the coronavirus. Second quarter growth year-over-year was 1%, for a total of $7.9 billion, according to DEG’s “Mid-Year Report”.
Factors limiting 2021 growth include a dearth of theatrical new releases, which are historically a key driver of home entertainment spending. Due to theater closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, few new releases made their way to market in the first half of the year, and those that did were often released initially for rental or sale in a premium window, the spending on which was not reported by any major studio in the first six months of 2021.
When compared against the comparable pre-pandemic period in 2019, however, total US home entertainment spending in 2021 shows growth of more than 35% for the second quarter and 32% for the first half, demonstrating consumers’ continued strong engagement with content. Internet-delivered video-on-demand rentals grew 24% in the first half of 2021, compared to the same period in 2019.
The study also revealed that consumer spending on subscription streaming rose almost 17% to $6.3 billion for the second quarter, and by 21% to $12.2 billion in in the first six months of 2021, fueled by consumer interest in multiple major services launched in the past 18 months. With many theaters closed during the pandemic, some new titles were made immediately available on streaming services including Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon and others simultaneous with, or in place of, a theatrical release.
The top titles rented and purchased by consumers in the second quarter 2021 demonstrated viewers’ appetite for a variety of content. Among the top titles of the second quarter of 2021 were “The Croods: A New Age,” “Godzilla vs. Kong,” “The Marksman,” “Wonder Woman 1984,” and “Tom & Jerry”.
Given the lack of theatrical new releases, spending on library titles is notably strong. Since second quarter 2019, digital catalog sales have grown at an annualized rate of 17%, significantly higher than their 4% growth in fourth quarter 2019, just before the pandemic. Popular catalog titles in the period included “Fast and the Furious” (1-8), “Game of Thrones,” “Harry Potter” (complete 8-film collection), “John Wick” (triple feature), “The Office,” “A Quiet Place,” and “Yellowstone”.
Lastly, the study said that the 5% increase in US digital entertainment spending in the first half came amid a nearly 88% drop in box-office performance for the films released in the period, due to prolonged movie theater closures as a result of pandemic restrictions.
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