Showbiz Sandbox 435: Netflix By The Numbers

January 21, 2019

Despite having cultivated a reputation for keeping its viewership statistics under tight wraps, Netflix has made a complete about face and is now boasting about how many subscribers are tuning in to its original content. The company says nearly 45 million accounts watched its hit movie “Bird Box” and nearly as many watched its latest series “Sex Education”. In the midst of all this success, Netflix has decided to raise it’s monthly subscription fee by $2 in certain territories, including North America.

Unlike the Netflix subscription price, a number not on the rise is the theatrical box office in Germany. After edging up slightly in 2017, grosses in the 8th biggest movie-going market in the world were down 16% last year. Hollywood titles grabbed 75% of the $965 million box office as attendance also dipped 15.5%.

Meanwhile, award season continues with no clear frontrunner emerging as this year’s Oscar nominations are about to be revealed. We take a glance at the makeup, costume and directors guilds awards, not to mention the BAFTAS and nods from one group that really matters; the Producers Guild.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why RCA Records is dropping R. Kelley from its label, the Emmys are dumping DVD screeners and sportscaster Bob Costas is leaving NBC.

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Showbiz Sandbox 433: 2018 Was A Blockbuster Year at the Box Office

December 31, 2018

A string of big movie releases during the holidays helped the North American box office set a record in 2018, ending the year at $11.9 billion. Ticket sales also set a record in China where roughly $8.7 billion was earned. These two territories combined accounted for 48% of the $41.7 billion global box office.

However, growth in the second largest movie market in the world slowed to 9%, down from nearly 14% the year before. That’s why China ignored it’s quota on imported films at the end of 2018, allowing several Hollywood titles to be released. We’ll see if that trend continues into the new year.

In somewhat related news, a survey commissioned by the National Association of Theatre Owners showed that streaming services like Netflix do not adversely affect the frequency of moviegoing. Apparently people who watch a lot of movies at home, also like to watch movies in theaters. Go figure.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the Aretha Franklin’s back taxes, Ed Sheeran’s blockbuster tour and why CBS wants to dump Nielsen.

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Showbiz Sandbox 432: Peak TV Just Got Peakier

December 17, 2018

When John Landgraf, head of the FX network, proclaimed we had reached a state of “peak TV” back in 2015, he predicted the 422 television shows being produced at the time would inevitably decline since there was no way for audiences to keep up. Last year however, that number rose to 495 series being produced. To put this increase in perspective, there were 182 shows on the air in 2002.

It’s safe to assume these numbers are bound to rise with new entrants into the video streaming market launching in 2019 including Disney and WarnerMedia. What’s more, the annual amount of money being spent on all this content is astonishing with the likes of Netflix and Amazon each spending $8 billion and $5 billion respectively. And that’s nothing compared to the $22 billion Disney is shelling out.

Meanwhile, the awards season is underway with all sorts of groups weighing in on their favourites, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Golden Globes and the first awards that matter: the Screen Actors Guild. Spoiler alert: “Roma” just hit a roadblock.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the Grammy nominations, new entrants to the National Film Registry and Mariah Carey’s latest chart-topping hit is a quarter century-old Christmas song.

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Showbiz Sandbox 294: As Box Office Grows In China, So Do Claims of Fraud

September 14, 2015

China continues on its torrid pace toward become the number one movie market in the world having already surpassed its record $4.7 billion box office from last year. However, some Chinese distributors, and even some moviegoers, are claiming cinema owners are manipulating reported grosses on behalf of the government.

Recently a propaganda film titled “The Hundred Regiments Offensive” managed to sell more tickets than was possible based on its number of showings and theater count. Industry executives now say releases such as “Terminator:Genisys” are being unfairly robbed of their true earnings. Yet the market is so big, when “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation” debuted last week it gave Tom Cruise the biggest box office opening of his career.

Meanwhile, parts of the world are entering autumn, a time when leaves fall from the trees and Broadway shows fall from the marquees to make way for new shows. We’ll tell you which shows have announced closings, which ones will follow soon and take a brief look at some new productions opening soon.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the return of Stephen Colbert to late night television, the new owner of National Geographic and how the late Billie Holiday and Whitney Houston will perform once again… as holograms.

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