Small European Film Markets: Portraits and Comparisons

Comparison with Larger Markets / Films in VoD catalogues: Comparing CresCine & large markets

Films in VoD catalogues: comparing CresCine & large markets

This section compares the performance of films from the CresCine markets and from the six large markets based on analysis of data released by the streaming service Netflix in the Netflix Engagement Report. We analyse data that was released by Netflix on what people are watching, combined with data from Netflix's top 10 lists of the most-watched TV and films (see methodology Success of films on VoD). We focus on analysing the total number of times a film was watched and the average number of views per title. Netflix reports viewership in hours, which we use as a basis to calculate the number of times a film was viewed, considering the film's length.

In the period January-June 2023, Polish films commissioned by Netflix achieved a higher average number of views per title compared to the Italian films, closely matching that of Spanish titles. Netflix titles from Denmark, Ireland, and Flanders attracted more views on average per film compared to films from Italy, with Danish films commissioned by Netflix having more average views per film compared to those from all ‘Big Five’ markets. However, the influence of the number of titles on the average suggests caution in drawing direct conclusions about films’ successes.

Considering the total number of views, UK films were the most watched among Netflix subscribers. Italian films had the lowest number of views among films from the large markets. Among films from the CresCine markets, Danish productions were the most viewed, followed by Flanders and Ireland. The list does not include any films commissioned from Croatia, Estonia and Lithuania. The streamer has not commissioned any films in these three markets in the period of analysis.

Another key indicator of a film’s performance on Netflix is its ranking in the top 10 most-watched list. According to our analysis, all of Denmark’s Netflix films have made it to the top ten, with Polish and Flemish films also showing strong representation. Around 61% of the German films and 58% of the Italian films were ranked in a top 10 most-watched list. Our analysis reveals that approximately 52% of French films and 50% of Irish films commissioned by Netflix secured positions within the top 10 lists on the streamer. Among the 13 markets analysed, the highest number of commissioned films in the Netflix’s Engagement report came from UK, followed by films from Spain.

This section considers the circulation of features from CresCine and large markets on VoD services available in the European markets (EU27+UK). Films produced in the period 2014-2022 that had cinema release are analysed (see Methodology: VoD circulation analysis).

Around 73.8% of feature films produced in the six large markets were in circulation on VoD services in the EU and UK in October 2023. Films from the UK and Germany showed high shares of circulation on VoD of above 80%, compared to Poland, France, Spain, and Italy, which had circulation shares below 70%. Feature films from these markets held a lower average VoD circulation share of 67.9% in October 2022.

On average, feature films for large markets circulated in nine markets out of the 26 European countries, which was more compared to the CresCine markets (see: Circulation on VoD). UK feature films showed the highest level of circulation, in 14 markets on average. Italian films had the lowest level of circulation in the catalogues of 26 European countries (six on average). In October 2023, French and Spanish films on average circulated to nine markets, while German and Polish features travelled to seven markets.

As observed in CresCine markets (see: Circulation on VoD), there are some geo-linguistic patterns in the VoD distribution of films. For example, German films are mostly available in VoD catalogues in neighbouring countries. For the UK, Ireland is an important VoD market.

In comparing the shares of feature film titles, it is evident that certain CresCine markets have a higher share of features in VoD circulation than the larger markets. Denmark, when compared to the other 12 markets, has the highest share of feature films in VoD circulation. Feature films from Ireland and Flanders have higher VoD circulation shares compared to those from Poland, France, Spain, and Italy. Nonetheless, based on quantity of films, the large markets included in the analysis have a substantially higher number of films in VoD circulation compared to the CresCine markets.

Examining the representation of large markets on globally operating VoD services as of October 2023, it is clear that Amazon Prime holds the highest share of films, likely attributed to its TVoD (Transactional Video on Demand) service. This result is similar to the one in CresCine markets (see: Circulation on VoD). The numbers reported in this graph indicate the number of distinct feature films available across all localized catalogues of the service.

The highest number of feature films in Netflix’s catalogues were contributed by Spain. While only 65 different CresCine features are present in the Netflix catalogues (see: Circulation on VoD), there were 1,037 feature films from the six large markets in October 2023. France had the highest number of films on HBO (Max), while the UK had the highest number on Disney+ catalogues.