We’ve previously shown that the share of new titles that are based on existing IP has been declining in recent years, although it might not seem like it because these movies and shows still account for an outsized share of audience attention. Parrot Analytics’ Streaming Economics reveals which types of adaptations have been driving revenue for streaming platforms.
There have been plenty of examples of Hollywood looking to new forms of IP to adapt in recent years — A classic Mattel doll (“Barbie”); A hit Broadway musical, which was itself based on a book (“Wicked”); A wave of video game adaptations winning over audiences (“The Last of Us” is just one example). However, books are still the largest source of IP for adapted shows and movies. Around 35% of titles that have premiered in the past eight years have been based on literary adaptations, and this share has held up over time.
The “franchise extension” category, which encompasses things like sequels or spinoffs as well as remakes, accounts for the second-largest share of IP-based titles premiering in recent years. However, the relative importance of this type of adaptation has been declining. In 2017, these titles made up 30% of new premieres based on existing IP, but this has fallen to just over 20% in 2024.
Comics’ share as a source of material for new titles has nearly halved over the past eight years (from ~10% to 5%) while the share of titles adapted from manga has grown (these tend to be anime titles). Other smaller sources of IP, like video games, have made up less than 5% of new IP-based premieres in recent years and have not significantly grown their share.
Unsurprisingly, content based on existing material generates a larger share of revenue than the share of catalog it accounts for across platforms. Existing IP adaptations tend to be less risky bets that come with built-in audiences. The effectiveness of adaptations varies across platforms, however.
Disney+, with a catalog full of expansive franchises and remakes, was the platform with the largest share of titles based on existing IP. Nearly 50% of shows and movies on the streamer were IP-based. Over 60% of the platform’s subscriber revenue came from these titles, underscoring the importance of this type of content to Disney’s business model.
On the other end of the spectrum is Amazon Prime Video, which was the only platform where fewer than 30% of titles were based on IP. IP-based titles on Prime Video drove 44% of the platform’s revenue in the fourth quarter, a larger share than even platforms with a larger share of IP-based titles like Peacock and Hulu. Prime Video is not leaning as heavily on existing IP, but smart content investments mean this type of content is overdelivering for the platform.
IP-based content saw the biggest overperformance on Apple TV+ (31.5% of catalog vs. 53.9% of revenue). Digging a bit deeper reveals that literary adaptations are a big driver of the success of IP-based content on Apple TV+. The platform had the largest share of titles based on literary adaptations (21.3%) and these overperformed significantly, accounting for 41.3% of its subscriber revenue.
Literary adaptations did not overperform across all platforms and made up a smaller share of revenue than their share of catalog on Disney+, Paramount+ and Hulu. Not all platforms have been able to make these types of adaptations pay off, and none have had the success that Apple TV+ has. The platform is carving out a space for itself as the premier destination for audiences looking for book adaptations.
