My Target Markets of 2026: Theatrical Events and Streaming Habits
U.S. streaming is the mega share of TV, hitting 44.8% in May 2025. Theatrical survives, but not back to OG levels. 2025 U.S. and Canada box office landed around $8.9B, with around 780M tickets sold. That’s 20% below pre-pandemic levles, even after price bumps.
So don’t just ponder, “Should I aim for theaters or streaming?” Rather, “Which market am I pursuing?” Each requires different styles of screen stories.
Theatrical - The Event Market
People won’t leave the house for “looks pretty good.” They venture forth for “I have to see this in a room full of people.” Theatrical scribbles make a clear promise to audiences, then overdeliver. If your yarn is meant for AMC, it needs at least two of the following:
A premise people can repeat correctly via one sentence
A “why now” that evokes the culture, not just urgency of a plot
Setpieces that vibe in a crowd, laughter, shock, awe, catharsis
Emo stakes that scale with the spectacle, not lag behind it
An finale that sticks the landing, not drifts into a fade-out
If your pitch is built around at least one communal setpiece, you’re in the event arena. IMAX ticket buyers won’t punish your ambition. They’ll punish your ambiguity.
Streaming - The Habit Market
Netflix and YouTube are domains of engagement. Platforms calculate minutes, completion, retention, and repeat views. Checkout the titles that are dominating. It’s kids and comfort viewing, because audiences can return to them again and again. If your story is series worthy, you’d better deliver at least two of following:
A repeatable engine that generates story every week without feeling like homework
Fast comprehension, the audience must know what show they’re in by minute five
Button your episodes, nail a repeatable problem structure
Characters built for attachment, not just fascination
A structure that can survive IRL viewing, bathroom breaks, dopa scrolling, distracting pets, door dash
If your pitch offers a hooky weekly engine and an engaging hangout cast, you’re gonna be habit worthy. Streaming won’t punish your for scale. It’ll punish your for lack of clarity.
Event Promise vs Habit Payoff
Prior to committing the coming months to belabored crafting of your next project, try running it through this rubric.
Is it a feature flick? Then answer:
What’s my trailer sentence?
What will a big screen and crowd deliver than chilling at home?
What scene will people be talking about in the lobby?
Is it a streamer series? Then answer:
What repeats, and satisfies long term?
How do my episodes end in a way that compels the next click?
What does “I miss this show” mean in concrete terms, tone, character rhythm, world comfort?
If you can’t answer the above, you’re probably not blocked. Maybe you’re just out of alignment.
What to Create in 2026?
A genre series that can lather, rinse, and repeat - case, mission, monster, heist, rescue. Contained genre, repeatable engine, light mythology, rich character emotions.
A limited series with a shape that can nail the landing, built for completion and satisfaction.
Event spec feature, high-concept, simple moral pressure, one or two signature sequences that demand viewing with a crowd.
A procedural with a producible twist, in a format buyers can understand, add one rad differentiator you can pay off over multiple seasons.
Stories built for co-views on the couch, seems like family viewing remains bankable, it can stack audience.
Prestige genre swings that can survive imperfect attention spans, a show that can still work when the viewer glances away to scroll Instagram or text.
My Potential Portfolio for 2026
I think I’m gonna try scribbling a slate of three:
One Event Feature
One Habit Series
One small-scope swing designed for emerging platforms
Or maybe I’ll just jump aboard the microdrama hypetrain.
