Audience consumption has drastically changed over time. As the duration of time continues technology is becoming more advanced. The way people are consuming films went from having to leave one's home and watch it on a big screen, to enjoying it from the luxury of one’s own home. Part of the reason why there’s such a big change in the film industry specifically is because people are finding ways to make life more convenient.
The first time a film was shown in a movie theater was in 1905, by Nickelodeon. From there cinemas popped up all around the world and the film industry really begun. However, distribution of movie theaters might not be the best option when it comes to getting the most out of one’s money. When films are distributed to movie theaters the film maker gets a portion of the revenue as well as the theater itself. The recoupment waterfall “comes in from a variety of sources and the money is then handed back to the filmmaker via a number of third parties. Along the way, these third parties can recoup the money they spent up front promoting the film and also charge a pre-agreed fee for their work” (How is a cinema’s box office income distributed, 2017) So the film maker and movie theater don’t really get an even share, it’s more of the middle man that benefits off of audience consumption in movie theaters. For the movie The Beauty and the Beast the box office alone made $1,263,521,126. One can only imagine how much of it went to the middlemen and how much really went to the producer/movie theater. An example of the middlemen in this case would be the companies used in synergy and cross promotion for the film. Kohl’s released exclusive items and carried out other merchandise that was based on the movie as well as Morgan Taylor releasing movie-themed nail polish colors. As technology advanced things began to come easier to us, we now have smart phones. Film producers can now distribute their films to companies like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc. There is of course still a middleman but the amount of them is dramatically decreased. People are switching over to these companies rather than going out to the movie theaters anyways. People want convenience in today’s world so if they can watch a movie without the hassle of getting ready and driving to it, they will take it. According to the statistics of frequency of going to movie theaters to see a movie among adults in the United States as of June 2019, 46 percent of American adults said that they go to the movie theater very infrequently which is once a year or less. While the statistics of the number of Netflix paying streaming subscribers worldwide from 3rd quarter 2011 to 1st quarter 2020 show that the number of subscribers went from 21.5 million in 2011 to 182.86 million in 2020. The numbers show the insane increase of people that have switched over to the world of convenience over the recent years.
Audience consumption has changed over the years as technology has changed. People watched films in movie theaters for the longest time and still do, but more people are watching them on their phones through streaming apps, so they won’t have to leave their houses.
Sources
Watson, Amy. “Movie Theater Attendance Statistics in U.S.” Statista, 27 Aug. 2019, www.statista.com/statistics/264396/frequency-of-going-to-the-movies-in-the-us/.
Watson, Amy. “Number of Netflix Subscribers 2019.” Statista, 22 Apr. 2020, www.statista.com/statistics/250934/quarterly-number-of-netflix-streaming-subscribers-worldwide/.
“How Is a Cinema's Box Office Income Distributed?” Stephen Follows, 31 May 2018, stephenfollows.com/how-a-cinemas-box-office-income-is-distributed/.
