10 Unbelievable Record-Breaking Changes of the Film Industry in 2020
The unprecedented upheavals that COVID-19 brought to the film industry.
The rise of streaming services, the closure of worldwide cinemas, the huge loss of the global box office, the disappearance of traditional theatrical windows, and the shutdown of film productions. 2020 was an unprecedented year for the whole film industry. While this pandemic isn’t the first in human history, the film industry has never struggled with anything on this scale before. Due to the pandemic, 2020 was a year overloaded with so much upheaval. For the film industry, let’s look at ten unbelievable record-breaking changes in 2020.
1. China supplanted the US as the world’s biggest box office market for the first time
Generally, Hollywood blockbusters dominate the moviegoer market. However, in 2020, China overtook the US as the world’s biggest box office market for the first time, making an estimated $2.7 billion in ticket sales, according to Comscore. Moreover, a Chinese movie — the World War II epic, The Eight Hundred — became the top box office movie worldwide with nearly $440 million. Regarding Hollywood’s biggest global blockbuster in 2020 was Sony Pictures’ Bad Boys for Life, which grossed $413 million, according to Comscore.
What movies made China top the worldwide box office market? With Mulan, Tenet and Wonder Woman 1984 all playing in Chinese cinemas during the pandemic, Hollywood movies did help to boost the Chinese market. While the greatest heroes are Chinese local titles like the war epic The Eight Hundred and the patriotic anthology My People, My Homeland which massively drove ticket sales and boosted the Chinese box office revenues above the US for the first time in history.
2. All the major Hollywood film studios start their own streaming services
In 2020, the streaming industry experienced dramatic growth like never before since people around the world have sought in-home entertainment due to the pandemic. To embrace the streaming trend, all five major Hollywood movie studios have started or are about to start their own streaming services:
◎ Sony Pictures — Bravia Core
You’ll get exclusive access to Bravia Core if you purchase a Sony Bravia XR TV. Bravia Core will use Sony’s “Pure Stream” technology to stream video at up to 80 Mbps, allowing for “near-lossless” quality comparable to 4K Blu-ray discs.
◎ Paramount Pictures — Paramount+
Paramount+ is a rebranding of CBS All Access, including tens of thousands of episodes and movies from channels such as Comedy Central, BET, MTV, and Nickelodeon. Also, it will stream Paramount Picture films and produce Paramount original content.
◎ Universal Pictures — Peacock
Only available in the US. Peacock has amassed 26 million users at the end of 2020, according to NBCU.
◎ Warner Brothers — HBO MAX
Only available in the US. HBO MAX has amassed 16.8 million subscriptions at the end of 2020, according to Warner Brothers.
◎ Disney — Disney+
Disney+ has amassed 86.8 million subscriptions in November 2020, according to Disney.
◎ Disney— STAR+
Star+ will feature content from ABC, Hulu, FX, and Freeform. In some markets, Star will be unveiled as a new hub within Disney+ from February 20 2021, according to Disney company.
3. Streaming stocks surge to all-time highs during the pandemic
Due to the pandemic in 2020, the dramatic increase in overall streaming hours per household has benefited the streaming services. Below streaming-services-related stocks are recorded from the lowest point of the 2020 stock market crash, which began on 20 February 2020 and ended on 7 April, to the highest point before 15th January 2021, according to Yahoo Finance.
◎ ROKU — 74~408.3
◎ AMAZON — 1,750~3,401
◎ DISNEY — 85.98~178.32
◎ AT&T — 26.08~31.01
◎ NETFLX — 336.3~540.73
◎ COMCAST — 32.64~52.4
◎ VIACOMCBS — 10.81~45.30
◎ SONY — 51.58~104.48
4. Netflix is the most downloaded VOD app on Google Play and Apple Store
Check out the worldwide download rank history for VOD app On Google Play and Apple Store in 2020, according to App Annie:
№1 — Netflix (223 million times)
№2 — Youtube (170 million times)
№3 — Amazon Prime Video(170 million times)
№4 — Disney+ (102 million times)
№5 — MX_Player (82 million times)— Indian VOD
№6 — Hotstar (62 million times) — Indian SVOD owned and operated by Disney India
№7 — iQIYI (51 million times) — Chinese online video platform
№8 — Tubi (38 million times) — American AVOD owned by Fox Corporation.
№9 — Tencent Video (36 million times) — Chinese video streaming website owned by Tencent.
№10 — Pluto_TV (35.9 million times) — American AVOD owned by ViacomCBS
5. The worst global box office and the lowest US box office in over 20 years
In 2020, the impact of the coronavirus on the theatrical film industry is clear and devastating.
Regarding the global box office market, the film industry lost $32 billion in 2020 due to the pandemic with a 71.5% decrease in box office revenue compared to 2019. In addition, the worldwide box office revenue has dropped below $13 billion for the first time in more than two decades, according to Omdia.
As for the US box office market, it only grossed $258 million with cinemas shuttering in March 2020. Even after cinemas were allowed to reopen afterward, the largest cinema chains kept closed until late August. Therefore, the US box office has not added $100 million in sales in any month since March 2020. This is the lowest tally for the US box office in nearly 40 years, according to Statista.
6. Cable lost about 6 million subscribers in 2020 alone
Again, due to the massive streaming trends in 2020, the launches of HBO Max, Peacock, Disney+, and Hulu’s FX hub deliver more powerful footholds in streaming for popular cable channels like ESPN, TNT, and MSNBC. Major media and entertainment conglomerates have ceased trying to turn back on cable TV and shifted focus to monetizing their content via streaming.
According to Forbes, cable has lost about 6 million subscribers in 2020 alone. Therefore, the smaller channels and entertainment companies counting on cable bundling to survive will face loss; audiences who don’t have broadband internet, smart TVs, or streaming services will need to change.
7. Traditional 90-day theatrical windows collapse
The big decrease in cinema attendance because of social distancing and other COVID-19 restrictions, and a shortfall in new movie releases, led to the worst year in global box office history. To address the revenue shortfall, the film industry has come up with a new distribution model. The boldest and most talked-about distribution model was announced by Warner Bros., which said that its entire slate of 2021 movies would release simultaneously both in cinemas and on its streaming platform HBO Max. They eliminate the traditional 90-day window of exclusivity for movie theaters. Studios and theater owners admit the traditional 90-day window no more existed. Rather than a 90-day theatrical window, many believe direct-to-streaming movie releases could become the trend.
8. Asia Pacific dominates the global box office
Asia Pacific market share increased in 2020. While the global box office was seriously lower in 2020— about 70% of the global box office in 2019, or about $12.4 billion — Asia Pacific represents 51% of ticket sales, according to Comscore. For the first time ever, half of 2020’s top 10 highest-grossing films were delivered by China and Japan, thanks to the efficient and effective response to the coronavirus in China and Japan.
9. The virtual red carpet has taken a big hit
The film industry has been forced to adapt and evolve over the turbulent course of 2020. Film studios have largely migrated red-carpet events to the Zoom screen during the pandemic. The virtual red carpet is another critical part of the film and TV industry that has taken a big hit in 2020.
10. The future of the film industry will be more animated than ever
Although most blockbusters have to halt film production during the pandemic, there are still lots of remote-working roles within the film production industry. The animation is one of these areas. As animation is one of the areas that hasn’t been forced to halt production during the pandemic, the future of the film industry is going to be more animated than ever.
Overall, the film industry keeps transforming at a breakneck pace, and the truth is that- audiences are the biggest winners. Last but not least, the film industry continues to innovate and provide great content for audiences— where, when, and how they want it.
