• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, March 2, 2020

Worries about the changing global theatrical-driven movies should lessen, says one recent study. Movies have a long history of shifting distribution to other platforms-- TV, home entertainment, and, now, premium video streaming.

Still, traditional box-office releases of movies have had up-and-down financial results over the last several years when looking at key metrics. Specifically, U.S. box-office revenue was down 4.8% in 2019  (to $11.3 billion) versus the year before; up 7.4% in 2018; and down 2.7% in 2017.

Ampere Analysis says looking at all consumer spending on movies -- including home entertainment, premium pay-TV and subscription OTT -- revenue has grown by nearly 30% over the past decade.

Breaking this down -- in a survey of respondents consumption -- just 7% watched movies in theaters; 11% watch in theaters and via home entertainment, subscription video on demand platform (SVOD) and premium movie channels; 13% are watching in theaters, home entertainment and SVOD; 15% just on basic TV or basic cable; 16% just on SVOD; and 16% are viewing in theaters and on SVOD services.

What this says: Studio movie producers have been increasingly flexible about finding consumers in different distribution points.

Movie studios would be inclined to move movies to other platforms -- except for their strong theater-chain industry partners. Movie exhibitors continue to hold the line, pushing back on studios that would like to release movies sooner to at-home platforms after their theatrical release openings to gain higher license fees.

Theater owners say this would hurt attendance.

Netflix continues to bridge the gap -- pushing award-seeking titles like “The Irishman” and “Marriage Story” with short in-theater runs before their bigger consumption on its streaming service  -- in part, to also qualify for Oscar hardware.

How then to make meaningful shifts -- slowly or otherwise -- for movie studios in the coming years?

Perhaps they need to look closer to home.

Many major studio parent companies also own vast TV network groups and TV production units, which are now racing to launch streaming platforms.

Disney+, CBS All Access/Showtime -- and just around the corner, WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, and NBCUniversal’s Peacock, among others.

Does this make theater chains nervous?  Perhaps they need to remember history. Over the years, local TV stations responded to networks partnerships -- as network affiliates -- by tapping into revenue-sharing arrangements on digital platforms, providing their consumers content they couldn’t get anywhere else.