“Whereas spending on subscription services like Netflix and Amazon is one of the few entertainment spending categories that’s actually gone up,” Hower said. Glenn Hower, an analyst with Parks Associates, said people aren’t heading to stores to purchase their entertainment like they once did. It isn’t just the theaters who are feeling pressure. “People’s screens at home are getting bigger, while movie screens get smaller because more and more theaters are cut up into megaplexes.” “The quality of the programming and the viewing experience on these streaming services is right up there with the movie theater,” Verna said. Also, Netflix’s investment in things like 4K streaming and original content is starting to pay dividends.
More people are binge watching TV these days. In 2013, Thanksgiving weekend set a record as “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “Frozen” propelled the five-day weekend to nearly $300 million in ticket sales.īut that was three years ago.
