DEG Releases Q3 2022 Digital Media Entertainment Report

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DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group announced it released its third quarter 2022 digital media entertainment report for the United States.

For more information visit: www.degonline.org

Unedited press release follows:

DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group today released its Third Quarter 2022 Digital Media Entertainment Report compiled by DEG members, tracking sources and retail input.*

U.S. Home Entertainment Spending Rose More Than 13% in Third Quarter 2022, Approaching $27 Billion for the Year to Date With Larger Theatrical New Release Slate

Digital purchases of theatrical titles grew more than 27%

November 11, 2022 — Consumers spent $9.1 billion on movies and television shows consumed at home and on the go in the third quarter 2022. For the third quarter, spending rose 13.1 percent from the $8.1 billion consumers spent in the same quarter of 2021, driven by the continued growth of SVOD, increasing quality of theatrical releases, and a favorable shift in windows for transactional formats.

Growth in the first nine months of 2022 was more than 12 percent, with consumer spending approaching $27 billion. The year-to-date 14.5 percent growth across all digitally delivered formats (electronic sell-through (EST), video on demand (VOD) and subscription streaming) was fueled by an increasing flow of new theatrical releases. Those included numerous entertainment franchises such as Top Gun, Jurassic World, Minions, Sonic the Hedgehog, Marvel and DC, released in premium and traditional windows. Theatrical new releases are historically a key driver of home entertainment spending. This quarterly growth was achieved with 98 theatrical new releases released to physical and digital formats in the first nine months of 2022, 25 percent more titles than the same period a year earlier.

Among the highlights for the Third Quarter and First Nine Months of 2022:

• Fueled by stronger release slates and favorable release windows, digital purchases (EST) of theatrical titles rose more than 27 percent in the third quarter, and 21 percent for the first nine months of the year, including premium titles. The share of box-office value where titles were released simultaneously on SVOD and transactional decreased from 32 percent in the third quarter of 2021 to 19 percent in third quarter 2022, according to studio reports.

This year, some individual studios have begun pricing theatrical new releases for sale (EST) as well as rental (VOD) in the premium window, and others have stopped releasing new movies day-and-date to theaters and their direct-to- consumer streaming services, bolstering demand in transactional windows. The share of box-office value that was released using a premium model increased from 37 percent in third quarter 2021 to 45 percent in the 2022 quarter. The top three EST titles in the first nine months of 2022, Top Gun: Maverick, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Jurassic World Dominion all had later windows to streaming.

• Premium digital releases enjoy strong consumer interest and spending in this window is included in DEG tracking for 2022**

• The surge in theatrical new releases also benefited premium physical formats, with spending on 4K UHD Blu-ray titles growing 33 percent for both the third quarter and the first nine months of the year. The top 4K UHD titles of the third quarter include some of the year’s biggest titles overall, led by Spider-Man: No Way Home.

• The top titles rented and purchased by consumers in the third quarter 2022 demonstrated viewers’ appetite for franchise blockbusters coming from theaters. Among the top transactional titles of third quarter 2022 were DC League of Super-Pets; Dog; Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness; Elvis; Everything Everywhere All at Once; Jurassic World Dominion; Minions: The Rise of Gru; Sonic the Hedgehog 2; Spider-Man: No Way Home; Thor: Love and Thunder; Top Gun: Maverick; Where the Crawdads Sing; and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

• Consumer spending on subscription streaming rose more than 17 percent for both the third quarter and year-to-date, logging $7.7 billion for the third quarter, and $22.3 billion for the first nine months of 2022.

• Box-office spending on the titles released to the home in the third quarter jumped more than 85 percent from the year earlier period, feeding consumers’ appetite for fresh feature films.

  • Please note, these numbers are preliminary. Final numbers will be available in December. Please contact DEG for an updated version.

** Digital transaction spending (EST and VOD) includes premium releases, but not Disney+ Premier Access titles. Reporting for third quarter and the first nine months of 2021 was revised to include premium titles for purposes of comparison with 2022.