Not All Animated IP Is Created Equally on Netflix

Family-friendly animation has come to be defined by both high floors and ceilings at both the theatrical box office and on streaming. The last 15 years of entertainment across the big and small screens has been dominated by adaptations of intellectual property (IP). Yet despite what you may think, not all IP is created equally and Netflix is the perfect Darwinian distillation of this very idea. 

Universal’s animated theatrical films from DreamWorks and Illumination account for a whopping 20% of all Kids & Family genre engagement on Netflix, per The Kids StreamerSphere. Many of the best-performing titles under this banner are franchise IP (Despicable Me, Kung Fu Panda) or pre-established IP (The Super Mario Bros. Movie). This genre is supercharged by parents with kids under 13 and an even gender split among kids, according to Greenlight Analytics data. Netflix is effectively activating high value cohorts such as Family Co-Viewers, Younger Streaming Families and Ad-Supported Viewers. 

Yet IP alone doesn’t guarantee traction. Notable original animated IP misfires on Netflix from 2022-Present include Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (17.7 million global “views,” according to Netflix’s self-reported data), Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (35.4 million), Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (74.4 million), and Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (86.2 million). Despite brand-name IP from SpongeBob to Ninja Turtles and previously successful theatrical entries, these performances are a far fry from The Super Mario Bros. Movie (209.9 million), Minions (192.5 million) and even Sing 2 (156.6 million). 

Naturally, Greenlight Analytics finds that the gap between Theatrical Intent and Willingness to Pay - representing the percent of respondents who would pay to see a film in theaters, via PVOD/TVOD, or by subscribing to a streaming service to watch - is far greater for streaming and streaming-related releases than it is for traditional theatrical films. This reflects a lack of urgency and partially explains why, even when adapting popular IP, Netflix original animated features struggle to match the heights of theatrical IP. 

Then again, Kpop Demon Hunters is on pace to surpass 500 million global “views,” so what the hell do we know?