Analysts at MoffettNathanson are projecting that overall video consumer spending in the U.S. will, for the first time ever, decline in 2020.
After a gain of just 0.3 percent in 2019 to $141 billion, the firm predicts a 5 percent decline, the first ever in its set of data, this year.
A large driver of that 2020 drop is lower box office due to the pandemic, while the rest of the video spending segments, including pay TV and streaming services, are largely following longer-term trends.
Box office will fall to $5.5 billion this year from $11.4 billion in 2019, the analysts project. They expect the box office to rise to $9.7 billion in 2021 before steady declines to $8.5 billion in 2024.