How do movies and TV shows make money?

The top 10 movies in the U.S. made $2.7 billion at the summer box office this year.

And on the small screens, Statista researchers found that streaming revenues are on track to reach a value of more than $95 billion, catching up to revenues of traditional TV, which is on track to reach $132 billion this year.

But despite those big numbers, experts say that actually making money from TV and film is quite rare.

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“For TV, it’s the Netflix, Amazon, Disney Plus, Paramount. It’s the streamers that buy it, and they pay for it and it’s theirs,” said Sky Moore, an entertainment attorney and partner at Greenberg Glusker. “For films, you’re really either going to the streamer and selling it, or you’re hoping that it does well theatrically.”

Moore says streaming and the loss of revenue from DVD and Blu-ray sales makes show business all the more risky.

“Unfortunately, 80% of the time, they lose money, and it’s the winners that make up for the losers,” Moore said.

And for the entertainment companies buying these properties, revenue doesn’t just come from ticket sales, advertising and subscribers. It also comes from selling merchandise.

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According to the e-commerce experts at Omnisend, Netflix’s hit-period drama “Bridgerton” raked in more than $7 million in revenue this summer from merchandise sales, far outselling its competitors.

And last year, Funko Pop — the company behind those little licensed pop culture figurines you’ve likely seen, gifted or been gifted if you’re a fan of anything nerdy — made $1.1 billion in net sales.

“It’s a very hungry, hungry industry for capital, that’s for sure,” Moore said.

Video streaming revenue in the U.S. is expected to further increase, probably due to the surge of ad revenue generated by services like Prime Video.

This evolution reflects changes in consumer habits, with streaming video on track to reach a value of $95.4 billion in 2024, while the revenue of traditional TV is likely to further decline.