I’ve always been bewildered about how people in the Jurassic Park/World universe keep returning to these dino-infested destinations despite repeated catastrophes. But that’s consumers for you—they like what they like and won’t be told otherwise. Recently, I examined how audiences vote for their preferences with their wallets, which helps explain the success of film and television based on intellectual property (IP)—comic books, novels, video games, historical events, etc. and including remakes, reboots, revivals, prequels, sequels and spinoffs. I followed by analyzing how major franchises such as Marvel use their IP to create entire ecosystems of lucrative content.
Today, I’ll round out this series by exploring how IP delivers value when deployed strategically and why studios obsess over it.
IP-based storytelling offers tremendous value because it arrives with built-in audience familiarity and interest. You already recognize Super Mario or Dracula. In today’s challenging market, that familiarity represents the closest thing to a sure bet studios can find. But the industry is still refining the formula as it searches for the perfect blend of IP, medium, audience demographic and platform strategy.
“It’s fair to say that risk mitigation is more prevalent in the marketplace now than it was five years ago,” Marc Simon, an entertainment IP attorney with Fox Rothschild LLP, told Observer. “Right now, consolidation, cost-cutting and overall industry patterns do not propel big and original ideas but rather allows for safer bets.”
The data backs this up. Across the eight major U.S. streaming platforms in Q4 2024, existing IP-based film and TV accounted for at least 38 percent of customer acquisition and 34 percent of customer retention, according to Parrot Analytics. This means existing IP drove around a third of new subscribers and retained customers. IP-based programming consistently punched above its weight by contributing more revenue than its share of supply. This trend continues to grow as articles, podcasts and short-films are being identified as new atypical funnels of IP.
“What’s changed is that the medium of that underlying IP has broadened over the last decade,” Simon said. “In a time where executives have so little bandwidth, a long-form piece of underlying IP that used to be necessary to green-light a project can be successfully condensed into an article.” The success of Hulu’s The Dropout and Netflix (NFLX)’s Inventing Anna, which are rooted in investigative journalism, provide a roadmap for shorter-form written content to translate to the screen. Similarly, Amazon (AMZN) adapted Homecoming from the Gimlet Media podcast, while the Oscar-winning Whiplash began as a short film.
The best IP for the screen: books, real events, manga or video games?
Today’s major franchises span feature films, TV series, consumer products, theme parks, video games, stage plays, comics and other experiences. But which IP types are most prevalent, which mediums suit them best, and who represents their ideal audience?
Literary sources—think Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent or Netflix’s Fool Me Once—maintain the highest share of IP-based premieres yearly and have held remarkably steady over time, according to Parrot Analytics. Go books! For example, Harry Potter appeals “to all ages and is more easily passed from generation to generation than DC Comics,” Dale Nelson, an IP attorney at Donaldson Callif Perez LLP who has helped grow and protect Warner Bros. IP, told Observer.
Though prequels, sequels, remakes, reboots, or spinoffs have declined slightly recently, they still represent the second largest IP source. (This explains the fourth Captain America movie).
Manga, the primary source material for Japanese anime, has risen in recent years as headlined by Netflix’s One Piece.
The share of titles based on real people and events has fallen since 2019, but stabilized just below 10 percent of annual film/TV premieres. True stories typically work better as films rather than TV series. “Most of the real-life stories are not necessarily long-form,” Jason Cherubini, co-founder and CFO of film and media production company Dawn’s Light Media, told Observer. “People know the endings so when you go episode-to-episode, there’s no real mystery.”
Video game adaptations now enjoy commercial success after three decades of futility. Hollywood has effectively anointed the medium as comic books’ heir apparent for blockbuster entertainment. Interestingly, a clear divergence between family-friendly video game films (The Angry Birds Movie, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and now A Minecraft Movie) and adult-skewing video game TV series (The Witcher, The Last of Us, Twisted Metal, Fallout) has emerged. But unlike the ‘90s button-mashing approach to gaming, this is no accident.
“Family-friendly stories like Super Mario are just using the IP for awareness but creating their own stories using the characters,” Dawn’s Light Media’s Cherubini said. “A lot of the more mature video games already have cinematic stories of their own and need to be given multiple weeks to achieve the same level of immersion and world-building.”
While billion-dollar movies, hundred-hour video games and immersive TV dominate traditional entertainment, franchises cannot reach full potential without organic and earned media. Nelson emphasized social media’s importance for Gen Z and Gen Alpha. “If younger generations aren’t seeing it on their phones, then they’re not seeing it at all,” she said. Blumhouse targeted these younger consumers with the video game adaptation Five Nights at Freddy’s, delivering one of 2023’s most profitable films with a sequel on the way.
How profitable is IP-based content for different streamers?
Different platforms leverage different IP to different effect. Disney+ leads the pack with 45 percent of its library comprising IP-based content, generating more than 60 percent of its estimated U.S. and Canada (UCAN) revenue in Q4 2024, according to Parot Analytics. It’s the most reliant major streamer on IP overall, which isn’t a surprise given the deluge of Marvel and Star Wars shows we’ve seen.
Apple TV+ boasts impressive efficiency as its 32 percent IP-based library delivered 54 percent of its UCAN revenue in Q4 2024—the strongest performance among the eight major U.S. streamers. It’s developed a knack for getting more value out of literary IP than its streaming rivals.
Hulu shows more modest returns, with IP content (32 percent of library) generating nearly equal revenue (35 percent).
On Netflix, IP accounts for 34 percent of its U.S. library and 48 percent of UCAN revenue. The market-leader leaves no stone unturned when seeking its next pop culture phenomenon.
Surprisingly, Amazon Prime Video maintains the smallest IP footprint at just under 30 percent, despite its global scale and ambitions. In this way, it’s the most original-focused streamer.
“Ultimately, the platforms that succeed are the ones that recognize that not all IPs are created equal,” Christena Garduno, CEO at the performance marketing agency Media Culture, told Observer. “Understanding audience behavior—when they want a one-time event versus a long-term viewing commitment—is key to driving both acquisition and retention.”
