US home entertainment spending surged 21.4% in 2020 to over $30 billion while the box office tumbled 54.2% to $5.05 billion due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to DEG's annual report.
Home entertainment in 2020
The annual report by the Digital Entertainment Group reveals that the US home entertainment market has topped $30 billion in annual revenue. Disc sales continue to decline (-25.6%) as EST (digital sales), VOD (digital rentals), and SVOD (subscription) rise.
- "Overall U.S. consumer spending across digital and physical home entertainment formats in 2020 was $30 billion, a 21 percent increase from the almost $25 billion consumers spent in 2019. In the fourth quarter, overall consumer spending rose almost 16 percent, to $7.8 billion, an increase of more than $1 billion over the same period in 2019," said DEG
2020 was on the other hand a devastating year for movie theaters as coronavirus precautions have remained in place. Box office revenue in the US tumbled 54.2% to $5.05 billion in 2020 compared to $11.02 billion in 2019.
The future of PVOD
Combining box office and home entertainment shows that total revenue in the US for 2020 ($35.08b) was essentially flat over 2019 ($35.75b). However, DEG noted that PVOD (premium video-on-demand) – home premieres such as Trolls World Tour – are not yet included in its reporting.
Speaking of PVOD, Universal Pictures said that it believes "PVOD is poised to complement the theatrical business" in a meaningful way going forward.
- "Since the launch of PVOD, we’ve learned a tremendous amount, much of which has validated our belief that PVOD is poised to complement the theatrical business in a way that can meaningfully benefit the ecosystem across consumers, distributors and studios," said Michael Bonner, President, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
US consumers spent more than $500 million on Universal's PVOD releases alone, according to the report.
DEG: Highlights for 2020
| - Rental transactions through internet services (iVOD) experienced robust growth of 43 percent for the full year and 33 percent in the fourth quarter, as consumers continue to transition from legacy cable and satellite services.
- With movie theaters closed in much of the country, spending on digital rentals of theatrical titles grew more than 25 percent in the fourth quarter and 40 percent for the year. With few new theatrical releases, catalog films and independent titles experienced brisk demand, particularly in the latter part of the year
- Digital purchases (EST) of theatrical titles grew nearly 6 percent for the year, limited by the lack of new theatrical releases.
- TV EST grew 39 percent in the fourth quarter and 37 percent for the full year.
- Premium Video-on-Demand (PVOD) results currently are not included in industry reporting or the overall home entertainment market forecasts; however, early insights suggest that interest is high, and results are strong. Universal has indicated that with 18 films released on PVOD across the past 10 months, with the addition of PVOD revenues, the company generated over four times what it would have expected to earn in the traditional digital home entertainment window alone. In total, the combined in-home consumer spend on these new Universal releases on a transactional basis represented over $500 million. “Since the launch of PVOD, we’ve learned a tremendous amount, much of which has validated our belief that PVOD is poised to complement the theatrical business in a way that can meaningfully benefit the ecosystem across consumers, distributors and studios,” said Michael Bonner, President, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
- The DEG Watched at Home Top 20 for full year 2020 follows. DEG compiles the weekly Watched at Home Top 20 list with the titles most widely consumed titles on disc and through digital transactions during the previous week. Assembled with the newest studio and retailer/platform data every seven days, the Watched at Home Top 20 includes U.S. digital sales (EST), digital rentals (VOD), DVD & Blu-ray sales. It does not include premium VOD (PVOD). |
2020: Top-20 most watched movies at home
| 1 Frozen 2
2 Jumanji: The Next Level
3 Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker
4 Joker (2019)
5 Sonic the Hedgehog
6 Bad Boys for Life
7 1917
8 Scoob!
9 Ford v Ferrari
10 Knives Out
11 Trolls World Tour
12 Yellowstone: S1
13 Onward
14 Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn
15 Yellowstone: S2
16 Yellowstone: S3
17 Harry Potter (Complete 8-Film Collection)
18 Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
19 Bloodshot (2020)
20 Midway (2020) |
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