More than half (55 per cent) of US studio movies took 90 days or more to hit subscription streaming platforms in 2024, according to research by Ampere Analysis.

The 90-day new normal for big-budget films reflects studios’ revived strategy of encouraging US audiences back to cinemas by delaying movie releases on streaming. With box office revenue down in key overseas markets like China and the possibility of tariff-related disruption on the horizon, studios are taking action to protect the box office at home.

Key findings:

• Wide-release movies distributed domestically by the five major US studios last year took an average of 87 days post-release in cinemas to reach subscription streaming platforms
• The average number of days it takes studio movies to reach streaming platforms is up almost 20 per cent from 2022, when just over a quarter of such movies took 90 days or more to reach streaming
• Keeping big-budget movies off the streaming services for 90 days reflects studios’ reasserted strategy of enticing US audiences back into seeing movies in cinemas, or at a premium price point at home
• Sony, the only major studio without a streaming service, maintained the longest average transactional window (106 days) via its US Pay-1 licensing deal with Netflix
• In 2024, the Sony-Netflix deal saw films that made upwards of $100 million at the domestic box office (such as Bad Boys: Ride or Die and It Ends With Us) releasing to Netflix after some 120 days. Those that made less than $100 million domestically were more likely to debut earlier, after a minimum of 90 days
• In a year when studio theatrical schedules continued to feel the residual impacts of 2023 production delays, Universal retained the largest slate and broadest range of windowing strategies. Its movies reached Peacock anywhere between 49 days (The Bikeriders, The American Society of Magical Negroes) and 120 days after theatrical release (Despicable Me 4)
• 2024 box office leader Disney’s average was dragged down by lower budget titles, The First Omen (55 days) and Kinds of Kindness (63 days). The rest of its franchise-heavy slate waited 98 days on average to be released to the studio’s streaming services, with Deadpool & Wolverine, Inside Out 2 (pictured) and Moana 2 all dropping on Disney+ after over 100 days
• Paramount was an outlier among the majors and sent movies to its streaming platform earlier than any other. Paramount+ relied more heavily on its parent studio’s theatrical distribution slate to drive subscriptions and engagement relative to its rivals.

Alice Thorpe, Research Manager at Ampere Analysis, commented: “By and large, studios have weaned US audiences off the expectation that they need only wait a month or so for the latest blockbusters on streaming. The domestic theatrical market was down 4 per cent year-on-year in 2024 and remains somewhat fragile. Studio movies are still available for premium rental or purchase at home much earlier than was the norm pre-pandemic to maximise transactional revenues. But a key milestone is the fact that the majority of movies are now taking 90 days or more to reach studios’ subscription platforms.

“With box office revenue down in key overseas markets like China, and with tariff-related disruption potentially to come, studios are facing renewed pressure to protect the box office at home,” concluded Thorpe.

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Tags: Ampere Analysis, cinema, deadpool, Disney, paramount, Sony