When Moana 2 was released last Thanksgiving, it became the highest-grossing opening weekend for an animated film globally. Shortly before the release, the original Moana film became the most-streamed movie ever when it hit over 1 billion streaming hours, a surprise for a movie released eight years prior. Now the much-anticipated live-action remake of Lilo and Stitch is set to hit theaters this weekend and is expected to have the best showing for a Disney live-action ever, with an estimated four-day domestic debut of $120 million.
With that in mind, let’s talk about movies and TV shows that are produced about, by, and for Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities.
Inclusion and representation can pay off
While a study by the University of Southern California found that the percentage of Asian characters with speaking roles in popular films jumped from 3.4% in 2007 to 15.9% in 2022, the researchers concluded that inclusion in Hollywood still has a long way to go for many marginalized groups, including Asian Americans.
The lack of inclusion means that Hollywood is currently missing out on a multibillion-dollar opportunity. Researchers from McKinsey recently found that Asian Americans spend significantly less of their income on film and television than their peers from other racial groups, but would be willing to spend more if their experiences were represented more authentically on the screen.
While some business executives may not be swayed by hypotheticals, a 2023 Nielsen report demonstrates that the representation of AANHPI individuals can lead to more engagement, and thus more profits. Streaming services offer a much wider variety of content than traditional broadcast or cable TV options, by the sheer fact of what they are, which means that they also offer more screen time to Asian and Pacific Islander characters (10.3% on streaming vs. 3.3% on cable). Interestingly enough, Asian Americans consume 27% more streaming content than the general population, and streaming giants have noticed.
Investing in content from Asia
Netflix, in particular, has led the charge in producing content from Asia. In 2023, the company committed to spending $2.5 billion by 2028 on content from South Korea. It had previously spent $1 billion since 2016, with international hits such as Squid Game. According to Netflix’s self-reported data, South Korean content is second only to content from the U.S. in terms of most viewing hours on the platform.
Although the initial peak growth that stemmed from the pandemic era has slowed, U.S. content has remained popular in the streaming market of many Asian countries and is considered important for acquiring and maintaining streaming subscriptions in those regions. A report found that Netflix dominates in these markets, with 50-75% of market share, in large part due to the availability of local subtitles and dubs when the titles are launched rather than after their initial release.
The impact of tariffs on those investments
President Trump recently proposed adding 100% tariffs on foreign-produced movies in order to save a “dying” Hollywood. What exactly that would mean is still to be determined, as it’s not clear if that would apply to U.S. companies that produce films abroad or if it would apply to movies that are solely for streaming services, such as the content Netflix has pledged to produce. However, the proposal has potential negative impacts on Hollywood too.
The Chinese market is the largest international box office for Hollywood, and it has spent years trying to get their films into the country, going as far as to alter content to appeal to the consumers while also staying in line with the government’s strict regulations to avoid censorship. In response to U.S. tariffs, the Chinese government announced that it would reduce U.S. movie imports. This makes it more difficult for movie producers as they have already been struggling in recent years to compete in the Chinese market, as the domestic audience has continued to gravitate toward their own country’s growing film industry.
