To say year 2020 was challenging for Planet Earth would be an understatement. A year when most of the globe and its residents were forced to remain indoors because of the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic and the world economy almost came to a standstill with various governments struggling to provide financial stimulus to get the engine restarted, there were some silver linings too.

According to THEME 2020 report from the MPA (Motion Picture Association) subscriptions to online video services in 2020 surpassed the billion mark to touch 1.1 billion globally, highlighting a 26 per cent year-over-year growth.

The report, which is a comprehensive analysis and survey of the theatrical and home/mobile entertainment market environment for 2020, said the combined global home/mobile entertainment market was US$ 80.8 billion, signifying a decrease of 18 per cent compared to the 2019 — but this figure doesn’t include the US$ 233.1 billion pay TV subscription market.

A 72 per cent decrease in the global box office market because of closure of theaters owing to pandemic-related lockdowns was partially offset by a 31 per cent increase in the global digital home/mobile entertainment market, the report stated.

In its totality, the global home/mobile entertainment market reached US$ 68.8 billion in revenues, marking a 23 per cent increase over 2019, a news report in Advanced Television stated, adding in the United States, subscriptions reached 308.6 million, representing a 32 per cent growth from 2019, and the home/mobile market increased 21 per cent, reaching US$ 30 billion.

“Despite the challenges to the global economy brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the film television, and streaming industry has once again risen to the occasion,” the Advanced Television report quoted Charles Rifkin, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association, as saying.

“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 theatres will experience a great comeback in the months ahead,” Rivkin added.

In addition to the home/mobile entertainment findings, according to the Advanced Television report, some of the other highlights of the MPA analysis include the following:

• During the pandemic period of 2020, 55 per cent of US adults reported that their viewing of movies or shows/series through an online subscription service increased, while 46 per cent reported that viewing via pay TV increased.
• More than 85 per cent of children and more than 55 per cent of adults watch movies or shows/series on mobile devices.
• Daily viewers of movies or shows/series on mobile devices skew 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 global box office market for all films around the world was $12 billion in 2020; within that number, the US/Canada box office market was $2.2 billion.

The report noted that making comparisons between country box office totals is a challenging endeavor given the varying pandemic-related, local regulations, including cinema closures, re-opening schedules, and postponements of local releases. Under those differing parameters, the top three box office markets outside the US and Canada were China ($3 billion), Japan ($1.3 billion) and France ($500 million).

In the United States and Canada, 162 million people (46 per cent) went to the cinema at least once in 2020. Per capita attendance was highest among the 12-17 age group and among the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity category.

(All charts and images courtesy MPA THEME 2020 report)