2021 Spec Script Sales Analysis: Buyers
Yesterday, we looked at 2021 spec script deals by genre. Today, we break down the numbers per streamers, major studios, mini-majors…
Yesterday, we looked at 2021 spec script deals by genre. Today, we break down the numbers per streamers, major studios, mini-majors, subsidiaries, production companies, and financiers to see which were the most and least active in the script acquisition market. The totals:
6
Netflix
3
Lionsgate
Stampede Ventures
2
20th Century Studios
Amazon Studios
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Universal Pictures
Warner Bros.
1
Code Entertainment
Gunpowder & Sky
HBO Max
Jackson Pictures
Miramax
Monarch Media
One Community
Original Film
The Picture Company
Screen Gems
Sculptor Media
Searchlight Pictures
Studiocanal
TriStar
Look at these numbers from the years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 per each major studio:
Disney 5 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 0 / 2 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Paramount 1 / 5 / 4 / 4 / 12 / 3 / 2 / 1 / 4 / 3 / 5 / 2 / 5 / 0
Sony 8 / 4 / 1 / 7 / 9 / 3 / 10 / 2 / 2 / 4 / 5 / 5 / 1 / 2
Universal 6 / 6 / 1 / 6 / 9 / 6 / 4 / 6 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 0 / 2
Warner Bros. 8 / 8 / 8 / 15 / 7 / 4 / 2 / 4 / 0 / 2 / 2 / 0 / 1 / 2
A total of 6 spec script deals in 2021. Six. That’s the same number as the total of acquisitions by just one of the streaming services: Netflix.
Even if we include 20th Century Studios (2) and Searchlight (1) — under the umbrella of Disney which bought 20th Century Fox — the total is 9. That is just about a quarter of the spec script deals in 2021.
Compare to: Netflix — 6, Amazon Studios — 2, HBO Max — 1. Here again, 9 spec script acquisitions. That means the streamers acquired the same number of spec scripts in 2021 as did the major studios and their subsidiaries.
Clearly, this reflect the paradigm shift which Hollywood is experiencing, a transition in power from the major studios to streamers. In fact, compare the number of spec deals by streaming services from 2020 to 2021:
Netflix (2 / 6)
Amazon (1 / 2)
Hulu (1 / 0)
An upward move from 4 deals to 8, double the number of deals from 2020.
Will this shift continue away from the majors toward streamers continue? Will Netflix continue to be a major player in spec script acquisitions? Will outfits like Lionsgate and Stampede Ventures, each with three deals in 2021, maintain their presence in spec market?
Stay tuned.
Tomorrow: Agents and managers.