• by Wayne Friedman , March 11, 2019

Three months into 2019, U.S. theatrical film spending on national TV is well under levels of a year ago -- down 18% to $489.4 million, according to iSpot.tv. This is trending similar to low levels of U.S. box office revenue.

Through March 10, U.S. box office was down 21% to $1.8 billion, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

So far, the biggest movie release in 2019 is Walt Disney’s “Captain Marvel,” by way of Disney’s Marvel Studios. It posted a strong $153 million in U.S. box-office revenues for a three-day opening and $455 million worldwide this past weekend.

A year ago, Marvel’s “Black Panther” debuted to even higher U.S. numbers on February 16, when it earned $202 million. It went on to become the No. 1 theatrical movie in 2018, pulling in $700.1 million in U.S. box-office revenue and $646.9 million in foreign revenue.

This year to date, Universal Pictures has spent $64.8 million in national TV media, while 20th Century Fox has spent $53.7 million; Paramount Pictures, $52.1 million; Marvel $43.1 million; and DreamWorks Animation, $41.2 million.

Looking at individual marketing spend of movies this year over the first three months, Dreamworks' “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” spent $41.2 million, while Marvel’s “Captain Marvel” hit $30.1 million; Fox’s “Alita: Battle Angel” came in at $29.6 million; Paramount Pictures’ “Wonder Park” spent $27.1 million; and Universal Pictures’ “Glass” came in at $25.2 million.