I thought that this story might be of interest to some here:
http://deadline.com/2017/03/movie-studio-profits-face-more-punishment-2017-1202042934/
Basically, movies are costing more and fewer people are attending the theatre. When they do attend, they are disproportionately spending their cash on Disney's slate.
There's more at the link, including predictions for the performance of individual studios.
For reference, here are the current release slates for the big studios through to the end of 2017:
DISNEY (9 films scheduled for 2017)
WARNER BROS. (18 films scheduled for 2017 - 3 previously released)
UNIVERSAL (15 films scheduled for 2017 - 5 previously released)
FOX (14 films scheduled for 2017 - 2 previously released)
PARAMOUNT (10 films scheduled for 2017 - 3 previously released)
SONY (17 films scheduled for 2017 - 4 previously released)
LIONSGATE (15 films scheduled for 2017 - 5 previously released)
http://deadline.com/2017/03/movie-studio-profits-face-more-punishment-2017-1202042934/
Basically, movies are costing more and fewer people are attending the theatre. When they do attend, they are disproportionately spending their cash on Disney's slate.
Movie studios should prepare themselves for ”another round of punishment" this year with ”several big-budget bombs and disappointing performances from mid-budget pictures," Cowen and Co. analyst Doug Creutz warns this morning in his annual analysis of film industry trends.
Although last year's domestic box office improved 2.2%, the long-time critic of Hollywood's business models says that when adjusted for inflation 2016 was ”the fourth worst year at the domestic box office since 2000."
What's more, operating profits dropped by 14.6% in 2016 to $4.18 billion, and Disney accounted for 60.5% of the total. Four studios –Universal/DreamWorks Animation, Lionsgate, Sony, and Paramount — declined more than 40%, with Sony and Paramount ending the calendar year in the red.
And 2017 will be ”at least as difficult," he says. Some 30 releases, one more than in 2016, will have budgets of more than $100 million, including 20 that are either sequels or ”part of ongoing meta-franchises such as Marvel."
The problem? Non-Disney blockbusters generated an average of $128 million at domestic box offices in 2016, down from $176 million in 2015 and $162 million in 2014.
”Overcrowding, and the outsized dominance of Disney, very clearly significantly suppressed big-budget movie performance across the rest of the industry," Creutz says.
On top of that, the international box office for the 100 top grossing U.S. films dropped 1.7% last year to $15.1 billion.
There's more at the link, including predictions for the performance of individual studios.
For reference, here are the current release slates for the big studios through to the end of 2017:
DISNEY (9 films scheduled for 2017)
Code:
Beauty and the Beast 3/17/2017
Born in China 4/21/2017
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 5/5/2017
PotC: Dead Men Tell No Tales 5/26/2017
Cars 3 6/16/2017
Untitled Disney Fairy-Tale 7/28/2017
Thor: Ragnarok 11/3/2017
Coco 11/22/2017
Star Wars: The Last Jedi 12/15/2017
WARNER BROS. (18 films scheduled for 2017 - 3 previously released)
Code:
CHiPs 3/24/2017
Going in Style 4/7/2017
Unforgettable 4/21/2017
King Arthur 5/12/2017
Everything, Everything 5/19/2017
Wonder Woman 6/2/2017
The House 6/30/2017
Dunkirk 7/21/2017
Annabelle 2 8/11/2017
It 9/8/2017
Ninjago 9/22/2017
Blade Runner 2049 10/6/2017
Geostorm 10/20/2017
Justice League 11/17/2017
Untitled PG-13 Comedy 12/22/2017
UNIVERSAL (15 films scheduled for 2017 - 5 previously released)
Code:
The Fate of the Furious 4/14/2017
Untitled Blumhouse Horror 4/28/2017
The Mummy (2017) 6/9/2017
Despicable Me 3 6/30/2017
Girls Trip 7/21/2017
American Made 9/29/2017
The Snowman 10/13/2017
Insidious: Chapter 4 10/20/2017
Let It Snow 11/22/2017
Pitch Perfect 3 12/22/2017
FOX (14 films scheduled for 2017 - 2 previously released)
Code:
The Boss Baby 3/31/2017
Snatched 5/12/2017
Alien: Covenant 5/19/2017
Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4 5/19/2017
Captain Underpants 6/2/2017
War for the Planet of the Apes 7/14/2017
Kingsman The Golden Circle 10/6/2017
The Mountain Between Us 10/20/2017
Red Sparrow 11/10/2017
Murder on the Orient Express 11/22/2017
Ferdinand 12/15/2017
The Greatest Showman on Earth 12/25/2017
PARAMOUNT (10 films scheduled for 2017 - 3 previously released)
Code:
Ghost in the Shell 3/31/2017
Baywatch 5/26/2017
Transformers: The Last Knight 6/23/2017
mother! 10/13/2017
2017 Cloverfield Movie 10/27/2017
Daddy's Home 2 11/10/2017
Downsizing 12/22/2017
SONY (17 films scheduled for 2017 - 4 previously released)
Code:
T2: Trainspotting 3/17/2017
Life (2017) 3/24/2017
Smurfs: The Lost Village 4/7/2017
Rough Night 6/16/2017
Spider-Man: Homecoming 7/7/2017
The Dark Tower 7/28/2017
The Emoji Movie 8/4/2017
Baby Driver 8/11/2017
The Solutrean 9/15/2017
Flatliners (2017) 9/29/2017
The Star 11/10/2017
He's Out There 12/1/2017
Jumanji (2017) 12/22/2017
LIONSGATE (15 films scheduled for 2017 - 5 previously released)
Code:
Power Rangers (2017) 3/24/2017
How to be a Latin Lover 4/28/2017
3 Idiotas 6/2/2017
All Eyez on Me 6/16/2017
The Big Sick 6/23/2017
The Hitman's Bodyguard 8/18/2017
Granite Mountain 9/22/2017
My Little Pony (2017) 10/6/2017
Saw: Legacy 10/27/2017
Wonder 11/17/2017