New figures show that more than 80p in every pound was going on digital formats.
New figures have shown that the UK spent a record £9.05 billion on home entertainment in 2020 – with more than 80p in every pound going on digital formats.
A new report from the Entertainment Retailers’ Association has revealed that FIFA 21 was the biggest selling video game, with more than two million downloads and discs sold.
The Call of Duty franchise also had two titles in the video games top five – Black Ops Cold War (2) and Modern Warfare (5).
Meanwhile, Disney’s Frozen 2 was the most purchased movie and Lewis Capaldi was top of the 2020 album sales chart.
The ERA said digital services had grown faster than ever before, with revenue reaching £7.8bn, up £1.4bn on 2019, reported BBC News.
ERA ceo Kim Bayley commented: “If there was ever a year in which we needed entertainment, it was 2020. The trend towards an increasingly digital entertainment market may be long established, but no one could have foreseen this dramatic leap as digital services filled the gap left by shuttered cinemas, concert halls and retail stores.
“With much of the country shut down, ERA’s members provided a welcome revenue stream for thousands of musicians, actors, directors and countless backroom staff.”
However, sales of most physical entertainment formats such as DVDs, Blu-Rays and CDs were all down, with the exception of vinyl which saw sales increase 13% to £110m. Music download sales were also down by almost 20%, as consumers switched to streaming services.
The most money was spent on video games (£4.2bn), followed by movies and television (£3.2bn) and music (£1.5bn).
Best selling films on video 2020 (source: Official Charts Company)
- Frozen 2 (unit sales: 972,996)
- Joker (827,680)
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (770,491)
- Downton Abbey: The Movie (684,688)
- 1917 (649,957)
- Jumanji: The Next Level (562,123)
- Bad Boys For Life (395,119)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (377,454)
- Onward (376,653)
- Terminator: Dark Fate (340,403)
Best selling games 2020 (source: GSD data provided by ISFE)
- FIFA 21 (unit sales: 2,182,694)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (1,420,353)
- Grand Theft Auto V (1,127,222)
- FIFA 20 (903,810)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (897,350)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (810,462 (no digital data provided))
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (665,815)
- The Last of Us Part II (539,247)
- NBA 2K20 (481,507)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (436,957)
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