2019 Hollywood Box Office Revenue Plummets, Sharpest Decline In 5 Years

The Hollywood Reporter has more details on the ticket revenue's decline:

Many had predicted that the year would match 2018's record domestic haul of $11.88 billion, but audiences rejected a number of studio films as home entertainment options grew.

There were cracks in The Force at the 2019 box office as the Age of Streaming strengthened its foothold and the number of major Hollywood studios decreased from six to five following the Disney-Fox merger.

With Dec. 31 fast approaching, industry leader Comscore projected Sunday that box office revenue in North America will hit $11.45 billion for the full year, a decline of 3.6 percent from 2018's record bounty of $11.88 billion.

If Comscore's rough estimate is correct, that would be the biggest year-over-year decline since 2014, when domestic revenue tumbled a steep 5.1 percent over 2013 to $10.36 billion. The North American box office rebounded in a major way in 2015, rising 7.5 percent to $11.13 billion.

The good news: $11.45 billion would represent the second-best showing of all time, besting the $11.38 billion collected in 2016 (a 2.2 percent uptick). Underscoring the cyclical nature of the film business, revenue was down 2.3 percent in 2017, followed by last year's dramatic 6.9 percent jump.

While international box office numbers aren't yet tallied for 2019, analysts expect worldwide ticket sales to match, or best, last year's all-time high of $41.1 billion.

"Given the level of competition from a plethora of options across multiple platforms on an incalculable number of devices, it should be actually heartening to the industry that 2019 will deliver the second-best annual box office revenue in history," says Paul Dergarabedian of Comscore.

"But clearly movies have to seem fresh and original to draw today's audiences, who have a massive level of choice for their entertainment diet," he added.

Heading into 2019, most box office analysts predicted another record year. But a virulent case of sequelitis infected a number of event pics, resulting in a topsy-turvy ride that saw revenue dip by as much as 9 to 7 percent at certain points on the calendar.

Not even Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was immune to some franchise fatigue. The Disney and Lucasfilm tentpole debuted in North America over the weekend to $175.5 million, 20 percent behind Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017, and despite being billed as the final title in the 42-year-old "Skywalker" saga.

Breitbart also said:

Hollywood is closing out 2019 on a sour note thanks to a new report showing that North American ticket sales fell an estimated 3.6 percent in 2019 compared to last year, the largest percentage drop in five years.

Audiences shunned the multiplexes despite Hollywood’s continued obsession with superhero blockbusters and digitally animated family movies, both of which are designed to rake in cash domestically and abroad.

For the year, Comscore is projecting that box office revenue in North America will reach $11.45 billion, a drop of 3.6 percent from 2018’s record haul of $11.89 billion, according to multiple published reports.

That represents the steepest drop since 2014, when box office revenue fell a little more than 5 percent compared to 2013.

Last year’s domestic box office reached a record high, not accounting for inflation, of $11.88 billion, climbing more than 7 percent from the previous year.

The Walt Disney Co. continues to dominate the exhibition landscape, accounting for six of the top 10 biggest grossing movies of the year, including such hits as Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King, and Toy Story 4.

The number could climb to seven with the just-released Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. But the final saga in the Skywalker movie series had a disappointing debut, earning 20 percent less than its predecessor, The Last Jedi, on its opening weekend.