GTA 6 could cut into cinema and streaming revenues
Hollywood believes GTA 6 could draw some audiences away from cinemas and streaming services.
According to Bart Spiegel of PwC, the release could have its biggest impact on the time people spend watching films and TV series at home. A console and a streaming app are competing for the same evening in front of the TV.
The Game Awards producer Geoff Keighley believes GTA 6 will take up some players’ free time through the end of the year. Spiegel also allows that interest in the game could persist into December, when Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three hit theaters.
An Ipsos poll in the UK revealed why some people want to play soon after release. Among Gen Z respondents, 36% fear they’ll be left out of conversations with friends if they don’t play GTA 6. Among those planning to play, 42% expect to watch less TV and streaming content.
According to Open World, interest in GTA 6 at launch is particularly high among players who enjoy chases, unpredictable situations, and deciding for themselves what to do in an open world.
In an October GameSquare poll, 39% of respondents said GTA 6’s release would make them less likely to see The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping during its opening weekend. The poll surveyed 1,000 full-time US workers who identify as gamers.
GTA 6’s impact is also being discussed by creators of streaming projects. A source The Hollywood Reporter spoke to, who is working on an upcoming release, said colleagues are discussing just how big the game’s launch will be. The publication did not disclose the source’s name or the project’s title.
Netflix has already drawn GTA 6’s audience to its platform. In August, the service was the first to show a 27-minute gameplay video. From August 24 to 30, Netflix recorded 31.1 million views. The video topped the platform’s English-language film chart in 87 of the 93 countries for which it publishes data.
Cinemas are also tapping into interest in the game. US chain Regal will host a week of Miami-themed films, ending with a screening of the director’s cut of Miami Vice on the eve of GTA 6’s release. On launch day, streamer Vlad_CKa will play the game for an audience on the big screen at Le Grand Rex cinema in Paris.
