Digital entertainment spending passes global box office

Global box office revenue hit a record in 2019, thanks to “Avengers: Endgame” and “The Lion King.” But the cinema was no match for the booming market for online viewing.

Spending on digital home entertainment rose to $48.7 billion last year, up 24% from 2018, according to a new report from the Motion Picture Association.

Worldwide theatrical ticket sales were $42.2 billion, up 1% from the prior year, said the association, the Washington lobbying group that represents the major Hollywood studios and Netflix.

Digital media, which includes subscription services and online purchases of movies and TV shows, accounted for nearly half (48%) of spending on theatrical and home entertainment in 2019, up from 42% in the prior year, according to the report. Meanwhile, spending on physical DVDs and Blu-rays declined 18.5% to $10.1 billion.

The data mark a significant milestone for the entertainment industry, which has seen rapid shifts in viewer behavior in recent years because of the rise of streaming services including Netflix and its burgeoning list of competitors. Digital home entertainment spending totaled $39.3 billion in 2018, according to updated figures from the trade group, which was shy of the $41.8 billion movies generated at the box office that year.

“The film, television and streaming industry continues to transform at a breakneck pace — and as this report will show, audiences are the big winner,” wrote association CEO Charles Rivkin in the report.

The pace of change is expected to increase this year as studios dramatically adapt their businesses by offering their own streaming services.

Walt Disney Co. released Disney Plus in November, charging $7 a month for access to its trove of films and shows. Disney has reported amassing an impressive 28.6...