It’s Official: Younger Audiences Want Fresh Content

It may be odd for a demographic that’s already crossed the boundary into the dreaded 40s to consider themselves ‘young’, but for some things, it still counts. According to a recent survey from Tubi, Fox’s FAST streaming service, one thing is resoundingly clear— Millennials and younger theatergoers want something from their cinema experience that distributors have been reluctant to provide in the post-pandemic era. Fresh, original storytelling, not “safe” franchise fare. Brandon Blake, our skilled entertainment attorney Los Angeles from Blake & Wang P.A., explores this new finding in more depth.

                                                                     Brandon Blake

A Values Dissonance

2023’s box office heyday demonstrates that perfectly. Barbie, Oppenheimer, Super Mario, and even the indie flick The Sound of Freedom— the only thing they share in common with each other, or what has been released before, is being nothing alike. While it is understandable as to why a franchise IP looks great on paper— audience familiarity, tried-and-tested formulas, existing assets to reuse— one thing is becoming abundantly clear. The big Hollywood dealmakers have relied a little too much on selling the same thing in different ways recently. Audiences increasingly want out of that loop.

The Call for Original Content

Of equal value is considering what didn’t perform to expectations last year. Namely Indiana Jones, Marvel, Jurassic World, Transformers… all the big franchise titles that were supposed to be top performers. Instead, we lived in a year where fresh-start IPs and original fare ruled the box office in a major way. Even Poor Things, with a far “artier” twist, managed a surprisingly strong performance.

Streaming Follows the Box Office

The new survey from Tubi shows us that these same lessons distill down to streaming, too. Original content is in (or back, who knows at this point?). Viewers are again seeking innovative ideas instead of rehashed stories. Encouragingly, 71% of respondents also want to see independent and small-scale creators supported. 89% want a large variety in their viewing choices. Those properties, and nostalgic content like the re-release of Suits and The Office, were by far last year’s best performers. Whether they will be as keen on the coming reboot of the Suits franchise will be an interesting question, with this trend in mind.

Will the lesson be heard by Hollywood? Short of a crystal ball, who can say for sure? However, if key players on the Hollywood scene want to see their content thrive again in a lackluster market, the time of the franchise is at an end. It’s time to think “fresh” and “original”, instead.