2021 Movie Streaming Habits Moved Towards Action, Adventure and Thrillers

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But the share of these genres in SVOD catalogs declined, showing a disconnect between the investments streamers are making in content and consumer preferences, according to Reelgood

HBO Max
HBO Max was the top SVOD service for streaming Action & Adventure films according to new data from Reelgood. (Image credit: HBO Max)

In a massive analysis of SVOD movie catalogs and consumer habits, a new report from Reelgood shows that consumer streaming habits for movies shifted towards Action & Adventure films and Thrillers but that those increasingly popular genres actually declined as a percentage of SVOD catalogs. 

The report also found that SVOD players were adding Documentary, Animation, and Family movies while pulling back from darker genres like Horror, Drama, Action & Adventure, and Thriller in their catalogs. 

That lead to a notable disconnect between changing consumer demand and the catalogs, Reelgood reported. 

Their data shows that Drama  showed the biggest decline in terms of its movie streaming down (down 3.4 share points in the three month period ending November 30, 2021), followed by Family (down 1.1 share points), Documentary (down 1%), LGBTQ (down 0.6 share points) and Animation (0.4 share points). 

Documentary, Family and Animation, however, all increased as a share of SVOD movie catalogs. 

Meanwhile, Action & Adventure, which declined 1.5 share points in SVOD movie catalogs in the U.S., gained 3.0 share points in terms of streaming during the three month period ending November 30, 2021. Likewise Thrillers, which declined 1.4 share points in terms of SVOD movie catalogs, gained 1.0 share points in terms of movie streaming. 

Other genres showing an increased share of SVOD movie streaming were Mystery (up 1.8 share points), Science-Fiction (up 1.6 share points), Comedy (up 1.5 share points.)

These trends were “a complete 180 from early last year when viewing for these types of content trended in the opposite direction around the pandemic’s start," the Reelgood report noted. 

The trends highlight an opportunity by SVOD players to capitalize on consumer trends by bulking up on increasingly popular genres like Action & Adventure, the report said. 

In terms of the Action & Adventure movie genre, Prime Video has the largest catalog, followed by Netflix, Paramount+, Epix Now and HBO Max. 

But HBO Max had the most streaming of Action & Adventure movies among the SVODs, followed by Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Hulu. 

Prime Video had the largest movie catalog of all genres, followed by Netflix, Fandor, HBO Max and HBO. 

For more data and the full report visit here. 

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George Winslow
George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.