5 Entertainment Trends That Defined 2023
Between the dual Hollywood labor strikes, the continuing post-pandemic recovery of American movie theaters and consolidation reshaping the streaming wars, 2023 was an incredibly volatile year for entertainment. But how have the big changes in Hollywood affected the tastes and behaviors of audiences? Ranker has been publishing hundreds of votable lists covering the year’s hottest topics, then analyzing how readers vote on these lists.
Let’s look back at five of the trends that defined the year for this industry. First, we’ll review TheWrap’s detailed coverage of the events and cultural currents that impacted entertainment in 2023. Then we’ll take a deep dive into the over one billion votes cast on Ranker to see how pop culture fans everywhere reacted to these trends — and what those reactions could tell us about what’s to come in 2024.
The Decline of the Binge Model
Netflix turned TV on its head by releasing entire seasons of its original shows at once. But in 2023, the crowded television landscape makes it harder for any one show to stay top-of-mind for very long without the release of new episodes, and even Netflix is pivoting to batch releases to sustain the buzz — the next season of “Bridgerton” will drop in two parts.
Like TheWrap, Ranker has concluded that shows that release episodes once a week tend to sustain interest longer than shows that use the binge model. But the data suggests that’s more true for networks like HBO, which has trained viewers to treat its shows as “appointment TV.” During the final season of “Succession,” for instance, voter engagement increased by an average of 35% on the days after new releases; engagement increased by 34% on post-premiere dates for “The Last of Us” and by 41% for “Barry.” Meanwhile, Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” only saw an average jump of 9%, while Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” got just 4%.
In the world of TV, it’s hard to teach new viewers old tricks.
Summer Blockbuster Blues
Though movie ticket sales increased for a second consecutive year thanks largely to “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” many of the blockbuster franchises that typically drive people to theaters lost some luster with fans. Ranker found that the “Fast & the Furious,” “Transformers,” “Insidious” and “Indiana Jones” film sagas have been trending downward in terms of viewer sentiment. And while the “Mission: Impossible” movies have been generally becoming more popular with each installment, “Dead Reckoning Part 1” earned a sentiment score nine percentage points lower than its predecessor, “Mission: Impossible Fallout.”
The Barbie Bump
As TheWrap reported, the smashing success of “Barbie” has been a boon both for Warner Bros. and for movie theaters everywhere. Ranker found that it also boosted the reputations of its huge ensemble cast among readers. Of the most prominent “Barbie” cast members, all but two saw higher sentiment scores (the ratio of positive votes to negative votes across all Ranker lists, much like an approval rating) in the five weeks since the movie premiered that are higher than their respective averages.
America Ferrera got the biggest bump, with her sentiment score increasing by over 36 percentage points in the weeks after the movie’s release. Michael Cera, Ryan Gosling, and Issa Rae came in just behind her, all of whom saw bumps of 26 points or higher. The only stars whose approval ratings went down after the movie were “SNL” alumni Will Ferrell and Kate McKinnon.
Peacock Takes Flight
NBCUniversal streamer Peacock reached a milestone of 30 million paid subscribers in December. TheWrap has covered the streamer’s success in developing several hit original shows like reality whodunit “The Traitors,” mystery procedural “Poker Face,” and video game adaptation “Twisted Metal.” Peacock also garnered subscribers with exclusive streaming premieres for hit movies like “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”
Ranker data suggests that, of the new wave of streamers that came onto the scene in 2019 or later (Peacock, Apple TV+, Disney+, and Paramount+), Peacock is well positioned to climb even higher. The streamer took fifth place in Ranker’s monthly Streaming Wars segment back in March — by November, Peacock shows got 7% of all engagement from users of the Watchworthy app, just three points shy of Max’s total. Part of the platform’s appeal can be explained by its uniquely large trove of rewatchable content like “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation” during and following the Hollywood labor strikes.
Disney’s (Mostly) Successful Reboots Continue
The Mouse House continued to churn out live-action reboots of its most popular animated classics, with 2023 bringing both “The Little Mermaid” and “Peter Pan & Wendy.” But while critics say these reboots have mixed results, Ranker data suggests that they’re pretty consistently popular with viewers. In fact, more than a third of the Disney reboots produced so far are actually more popular than the originals. “101 Dalmatians” (1996), “Beauty and the Beast” (2017), and “Lady and the Tramp” (2019) are among the live-action reboots with sentiment scores higher than their beloved animated predecessors.
Ryan Mach is a content marketing manager at Ranker, a WrapPRO partner. Ranker is a source of crowdsourced rankings on the internet, where millions of people come to voice their opinions on their favorite movies, TV shows, celebrities, and more. Visit Ranker Insights for more unique information about any audience or to contact us for more information.
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