$92.5bn
$X.Xbn
402k
54,998
$XX.Xbn
The Global Movie Production and Distribution industry, the success of which hinges on the discretionary spending of moviegoers, has grappled with production disruptions and the transition to digital content. The North American, European and North Asian markets account for more than four-fifths of global revenue, and when disposable income and leisure time decline, so too does movie revenue. The COVID-19 pandemic rattled movie production, grinding production to a halt across the world as global revenue was reduced by one-third in 2020. Despite a rapid rebound, the operating difficulties wrought by the pandemic have remained and the digital transition has continued to challenge movie makers and distributions. Over the five years to 2023, industry revenue is forecast to decline at a CAGR of 5.8% to $92.5 billion, including a contraction of 0.9% during the current year as both Hollywood writers and actors strike simultaneously for the first time in 63 years.The industry's methods of distribution have rapidly evolved. Technological change, particularly in online viewership, has shifted many consumers' spending habits away from traditional cinemas. While consumers continue to demonstrate interest in watching films, the transition to at-home viewership, compounded by the pandemic, has gradually damaged growth prospects, prompting a wave of consolidation activity to mitigate the risks of film production. With films being distributed and viewed seamlessly and digitally, the cost to view a film at home is often far less than purchasing a movie ticket at a theater. Moviemakers have focused on marketing campaigns to generate demand.The industry has been plagued by the piracy of its copyrighted works. This not only causes industry production and distribution companies to lose money on ticket sales but diminishes sales of physical media and online legal downloads. Studios are expected to rely heavily on holiday blockbusters and soft reboots of popular film franchises to generate greater consumer interest and higher box office sales. Grappling with these changes, industry revenue is forecast to expand at a modest CAGR of 0.3% to $93.7 billion over the five years to 2028. However, the ongoing writers and actors strikes in Hollywood has the potential to derail production into the next year, hampering profit margins.
Industry revenue has declined at a CAGR of 5.8 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated $92.5bn in 2023.
Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.
Company | Market Share (%)
2023 | Revenue ($m)
2023 | Profit ($m)
2023 | Profit Margin (%)
2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Universal Pictures | 9,307.0 | 570.0 | 6.1 | |
The Walt Disney Company | 8,824.0 | 917.0 | 10.4 | |
Sony Corporation | 5,366.2 | N/A | N/A |
To view the market share and analysis for all 5 top companies in this industry, view purchase options.
Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Action and adventure, Comedy and Drama. Action and adventure is the largest segment of the Global Movie Production & Distribution.
Action and adventure are popular globally
This industry comprises operators that primarily produce and distribute motion pictures. Distributors work with theatrical and home media entertainment products, including digital and physical versions. Movie producers also hold distribution rights to movie libraries that receive revenue from cable and network TV; however, companies that principally broadcast and produce TV content are excluded from this industry.
Purchase this report to view all 5 major companies in this industry.
Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.
The COVID-19 pandemic rattled the industry as production halted. As consumers globally avoided going to the movies, the transformation of the industry by streaming accelerate...
Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.
Motion picture studios have largely consolidated and now produce fewer genres. This is especially true for action and adventure films, which have come to dominate the industr...
Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.
The largest number of movie production and distribution companies are located in North Asia. Although companies in North America generate the most revenue globally, actual lo...
Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.
The largest US studios dominate the industry. These companies have concentrated a significant amount of the film industry's services into their respective portfolios.
Learn about the performance of the top companies in the industry.
Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Disney tower over the rest of the industry. The top five Hollywood movie companies generate more than ...
Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.
Many of the world's countries offer a myriad of tax incentives for entertainment companies to film and produce films. Support ranges from tax rebates and exemptions in the Un...
View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time.
Profit margins have not recovered from the tumult of the pandemic. The ongoing writers and actors strikes are expected to crimp margins further.
Including values and annual change:
IBISWorld has been a leading provider of trusted industry research for over 50 years to the most successful companies worldwide. With offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, we are proud to have local teams of analysts that conduct research, data analysis and forecasting to produce data-driven industry reports.
Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.
IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.
Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.
Key data sources globally include:
Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.
These sources include:
Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.
IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.
IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools. We are proud to be the keystone source of industry information for thousands of companies across the world.
Learn more about our methodology and data sourcing on the Help Center.
Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.
The market size of the Global Movie Production & Distribution industry in Global is $92.5bn in 2024.
There are 54,998 businesses in the Global Movie Production & Distribution industry in Global, which has declined at a CAGR of 0.0 % between 2018 and 2023.
The market size of the Global Movie Production & Distribution industry in Global has been declining at a CAGR of 5.8 % between 2018 and 2023.
Over the next five years, the Global Movie Production & Distribution industry in Global is expected to grow.
The biggest companies operating in the Global Movie Production & Distribution market in Global are Universal Pictures, The Walt Disney Company and Sony Corporation
Producing motion pictures and Distributing motion pictures are part of the Global Movie Production & Distribution industry.
The company holding the most market share in Global is Universal Pictures.
The level of competition is high and increasing in the Global Movie Production & Distribution industry in Global.