When stars returned to the red carpet in early January after two bruising strikes to celebrate the success of “Oppenheimer” and “Succession,” one existential threat above all was on everyone’s mind: Hollywood is shrinking.
The era of “peak TV,” is over, said 17 entertainment business executives, agents and bankers who spoke with Reuters. From fewer original series and movies to greater scrutiny of budgets and a further squeeze on movie theater profits, people who call the shots said the television and film industries are adjusting to sober economic realities.
The overall number of scripted series is expected to shrink dramatically from the pinnacle of 633 shows released in 2022. The combination of the Hollywood strikes and constrained spending dented production last year, with just 481 U.S. series released in 2023, according to data from market research firm Ampere Analysis.
Even market-leading Netflix (NFLX.O) slashed the number of scripted series it released by more than one-third from 2022 to 2023, Ampere said. The profitable streaming service, which reported record subscriber gains in its fourth quarter, declined to comment.