6. To what extent is digital distribution vital to the media area you have studied?
Streaming services play a huge role in digital distribution nowadays. “Since 2008, DVD sales have declined more than 86%,” according to Sara Whitten of CNBC. Buying on-demand digital copies of films and streaming services have caused the downfall of DVDs. Digital distribution is vital to film because it allows audiences to view films internationally and allows audiences to watch their favorite films from the comfort of their homes.
When a movie is released, depending on its popularity, it could either be released in specific areas or everywhere. For example, a movie done by a small company could only be playing in certain theatres. I have chosen to focus on movies that are internationally enjoyed. Digital distribution helps these movies to grow in popularity during and after they are in theatres. One of the movie franchises that has been enjoyed for years internationally is Star Wars. Since the release of “A New Hope” in 1977, the Star Wars fandom has grown drastically. With the development of toys, attractions and the trilogies being released in different decades, Star Wars has earned a lot of profit. The first six episodes of Star Wars were distributed by 20th Century Fox and four out of the six were directed by George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars. The sequel trilogy was distributed by Lucasfilm, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, after it was bought by The Walt Disney Company. Star Wars holds a Guinness World Records title for the "Most successful film merchandising franchise". In 2020, the total value of the Star Wars franchise was estimated at $70 billion which is the fifth highest media grossing of all time. All the Star Wars movies and series are available to stream on Disney+ except for “Solo” and “The Rise of Skywalker” (“Solo” is available on Netflix and “The Rise of Skywalker will be available on Disney+ on May 4, 2020). Another internationally popular series of movies are the Marvel Universe films. The Marvel Universe started as comic books in the 1930s and has created and distributed 43 films with thousands of characters. The Marvel movies have been distributed by Marvel Studios, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios. It is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time, having grossed over $22.5 billion at the global box office. Similar to Star Wars, you can stream a majority of the movies between Disney+ and Netflix. Audiences are able to re-watch these series as many times as they please and could even introduce it to others and make it even more popular. As these series become more popular, more people want to buy their merchandise or subscribe to a streaming series that streams these movies.
For the past few months, people around the world have been quarantined due to the outbreak of COVID-19. This pandemic has led to the closing of many public places such as malls, parks, and movie theatres. With the closing of theatres, movie companies with films scheduled to be released around this time have had to either postpone the release or be creative. An example of this is the animated movie “Onward”. “Onward” was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. “Onward” had been advertised for months by Disney. Most theatres closed right after the release of the movie, leaving it without profit for weeks. This left families upset because of how much their children wanted to watch it. After about a month of just being in theatres while no one could see it, Walt Disney Studios and Pixar Animation decided to release the movie onto Disney+. It earned $103 million worldwide between theatres and Disney+. Another movie that faced a similar problem was the sequel to the animated picture “Trolls” titled “Trolls: World Tour”. “Trolls: World Tour” was scheduled to be released on March 11, 2020. However, due to COVID-19, the producers and distributers of “Trolls: World Tour”, DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures, decided it would be better to hold off on the release. They held off for a month and decided to release the film to homes through on-demand on Apri 8, 2020. Without being in theaters, “Trolls: World Tour” has made about $100 million. Without the digital distribution of these two movies, they would have made terrible profits and cost their companies a large amount of money. Through digital distribution, these movies along with movies such as Frozen 2, Birds of Prey, and The Hunt are now able to make as much as they would if theatres were open by charging around $20 on-demand or subscribing to a streaming service.
When films are digitally distributed, it allows audiences to enjoy the movies they love and share them with others. Not only do audiences benefit, but institutions do too. Both the institutions who create the movie and stream the movie receive profit every time someone watches it. Through digital distribution, audiences and institutions coexist to benefit the film world in creating and distributing more movies as they earn profit from other movies.
