Global Box-Office Decline Was Even Steeper Than in US Last Year

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(Bloomberg) — Hollywood executives and theater owners have fretted loudly and often about the tough box-office in the US. Turns out it’s worse overseas.

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Global ticket sales fell at a double-digit clip last year due to a sharp drop in China, the world’s second-largest market, along with contractions in Japan, South Korea and Germany. 

Worldwide revenue slumped 10% to $30.5 billion in 2024, according to data from researcher Gower Street Analytics, making the US and Canada a bright spot with a decline of just 3.3%. China’s box office shrank by 25%, while the rest of the international market was down 8.2%. 

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The numbers show that sluggish theater attendance was far more than just a domestic problem for Hollywood’s movie industry. Major releases, like last year’s box-office leader Inside Out 2, can generate more than 60% of their ticket revenue outside the US, making falling international receipts a big concern.

Results worldwide were hurt by the 2023 strikes by actors and writers. Their walkouts halted production and forced studios to postpone a number of potential 2024 blockbusters. Those include Paramount Global’s Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. Walt Disney Co. had to shelve Snow White, Pixar’s Elio  and two Marvel releases: Captain America: Brave New World and Fantastic Four: First Steps from its Marvel Studios.

The decline outside the US was exacerbated by the strong dollar, which reduced the revenue US studios receive from foreign box-office sales, according to Rob Mitchell, director of theatrical insights at Gower Street.

The strong dollar “impacts results from a huge number of markets,” Mitchell said.

But even in local currencies, the decline was steeper than in the US. In Japan, the No. 3 movie market, ticket sales measured in yen slumped 10% last year. In Germany, they fell 8.4%, and in South Korea they declined 6.9%, according to data tracker Comscore Inc. Of the top 10 markets outside the US and Canada, only the UK and France matched their 2023 sales.

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While strikes and currency fluctuations explain part of the international slump, other forces are at work as well.

Audience tastes in China, historically the most dependable international market for Hollywood fare, changed in favor of local films over US productions. That’s coincided with deteriorating relations between the two countries.

The number of government-approved US releases in China plunged from a peak of over 60 in 2018 to as little as 15 in 2022, according to industry data. They rebounded to 35 in 2023 and totaled 31 last year.

Local-language films in China have soared in quality over that period, possibly blunting demand for American fare. More than 80% of China’s box office is now generated by homegrown pictures. And the country’s deteriorating economy has curbed local spending on cinema tickets. 

Like the US market, China’s theater industry is suffering from the growing popularity of streaming. The Chinese online video market — which is dominated by platforms such as Tencent’s WeTV and Baidu’s iQIYI — is now worth $31 billion, according to estimates from Media Partners Asia.

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The so-called micro drama industry, which produces short television episodes that air on platforms such as Douyin, the Chinese version of ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok, swelled to $6.9 billion in 2024, according to industry data, making the genre larger than the box office for the first time.

“Over the last 10 years, there are also more choices, streaming content, but also other out-of-home entertainment choices that compete for leisure time,” said Rance Pow, chief executive officer of the film industry advisory firm Artisan Gateway. 

Mitchell is optimistic that the delayed films, and other titles such as Avatar: Fire and Ash on the 2025 calendar will see global ticket sales bounce back to $33 billion. 

That’s still 22% below the global high mark of $42.3 billion set in 2019.

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