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What’s Trending Globally in Entertainment (2025)
1. Blockbuster Movies & Animated Surprises
Record-breaking animation: Ne Zha 2 from China became the first animated and non-English film to gross over $2 billion globally, toppling Disney's long-held lead .
Summer hits: Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch crossed $1 billion, while A Minecraft Movie earned nearly $1 billion, underscoring the global appetite for nostalgic and varied genres .
Blockbuster mix: Other high-grossers include Jurassic World Rebirth, Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning, and Superman, revealing enduring interest in reboots, franchise continuations, and action-adventure fare .
Top theatrical line-up ahead: Summer and fall 2025 promises excitement with titles like Freakier Friday, Together, Tron: Ares, Him, and The Conjuring: Last Rites .
2. K-Pop’s Pop Culture Reign
Gen Alpha's favorite: A U.S. survey shows 1 in 4 Gen Alpha kids name K-Pop as their favorite genre, powered by TikTok, YouTube, and vibrant visual storytelling .
Film phenomenon: Netflix’s animated K-Pop Demon Hunters, about a demon-fighting girl group, has sparked global sing-along screenings, chart-topping soundtracks, and soaring merch sales .
Live concert craze: Performances by Blackpink and Stray Kids in Europe drew tens of thousands, emphasizing K-Pop’s emotional resonance and immersive fan strategies .
3. Streaming Consolidation & Profitability
On a winning streak: Most streaming giants—Disney, Paramount, ESPN—are now turning steady profits by offering bundled services and stronger monetization strategies .
Strategic plays: Disney plans to merge Hulu and Disney+ into a unified app, supporting more seamless access and retention .
Sports as key driver: Paramount inked a $7.7 billion deal for UFC streaming rights, shifting from pay-per-view to all-access, signaling strategic pivot toward live events .
4. Live Experiences & Big-Tech Deals
Paramount’s expansion: Not abandoning linear TV entirely, Paramount post-merger is rebuilding its cable brands (like Nickelodeon and BET) and increasing theatrical output from 8 to 15–20 films annually .
Entertainment M&A on the radar: With deep pockets, Big Tech firms like Apple and Microsoft are poised to acquire legacy studios, signaling potential industry realignment .
5. The Future of Media: AI, Social Video & Immersive Experiences
Experiences that wow: EY notes a crescendo in experiential entertainment—from immersive theater to next-gen concerts—aiming to redefine audience engagement .
AI everywhere: From AI-assisted scriptwriting to voiceovers, studios are rapidly adopting generative AI—though legal and creative challenges are already surfacing .
Social platforms gaining ground: Deloitte highlights social video giants (like TikTok, YouTube) are encroaching on traditional streaming viewership, grabbing both time and ad dollars .
Niche & personalization: Media players are targeting micro-moments and tailored content, while ad-supported models help diversify revenue amid subscription fatigue .
Gaming as social hub: The rise of cloud gaming and social gameplay has turned gaming into a community space for Gen Z—seamlessly blending entertainment, connection, and content creation .
6. Global Entertainment Market Outlook
Industry scale: PwC reports the global entertainment & media market reached $2.9 trillion in 2024, forecasted to grow to $3.5 trillion by 2029 (CAGR ~3.7%) .
Advertising power: According to PwC, advertising will generate over half of new industry revenue in the coming years—highlighting the central role of ad tech and monetization in the evolving ecosystem .
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Why It Matters & What’s Next
1. New storytelling geographies: With titles like Ne Zha 2 leading the way, the global north isn’t the only home of megahits—animated stories from China are proving universally resonant.
2. Unified fan power: K-Pop’s massive grip on youth culture and music convergence (via film, live, social) is redefining how fandom, media, and identity intersect.
3. Streaming turns smart: Mature platforms are pivoting—balancing subscription fatigue with smart bundling, live sports, and direct-to-consumer offerings.
4. Live is still alive: Despite digital dominance, audiences crave IRL—music, films, immersive shows are thriving as premium, experiential escapes.
5. AI and social shape the content future: Algorithms and generative tech are restructuring how content is made, shared, and monetized—intelligent, tailored, and ubiquitous.
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