Gitnux/Report 2026

Cartoon Statistics

Streaming is now a household habit and the spending behind cartooning keeps accelerating fast, with animation revenues projected to hit $9.1 billion in 2024, while the global animation market reaches $154.0 billion in 2023. You will also see how platform viewing behavior, from YouTube’s 31% share of global video watching to Netflix’s 30 billion plus Top 10 minutes, stacks up against box office reality where animated films are only 10.7% of US domestic gross.
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June 27, 2026Updated
Cartoon Statistics
Priya ChandrasekaranWritten by Priya Chandrasekaran·Edited by Helena Kowalczyk·Fact-checked by Claire Beaumont
Published ·Updated
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Netflix reported over 30 billion viewing minutes for its trending titles in 2023. This article compiles statistics on streaming adoption, production volume, and market value to quantify the scale of animated content.

Key Takeaways

  • 67% of households in the United States subscribe to at least one streaming service (2019, as reported in the cited report).
  • In the UK, adults watching TV online monthly were 64% in 2023 (survey statistic reported in the cited publication).
  • The average online movie/TV usage across OECD countries was 58% of adults in 2022 (survey statistic reported by the cited OECD dataset/report).
  • 5,100+ hours of animation were produced in the US in 2023 (US animation production output estimate as reported by the cited industry tracker).
  • US animation is projected to reach $9.1 billion in revenue in 2024 (projection cited in the source).
  • The global animation market was valued at $154.0 billion in 2023 (as reported in the cited forecast).
  • The global children’s media industry (animation and related content) generated about $52.2 billion in 2022 (revenue figure reported by the cited publisher).
  • Netflix’s content spending was $18.2 billion in 2022 (annual content expense reported in Netflix financial statements).
  • Disney’s International content and marketing costs for 2023 were $6.6 billion (reported in Disney’s Form 10-K; figure includes content-related costs).
  • In 2023, animation and VFX accounted for 1.7% of employment in the US creative industries workforce (share reported in the cited analysis).
  • YouTube accounted for about 31% of global consumer video watching in 2022 (as reported by the cited data provider on viewing share).
  • In 2023, the average VOD title length for animation on major platforms in the US was 22–30 minutes (typical episode duration range reported by the cited distribution/industry data).

Streaming dominates kids animation, with US households streaming widely and global animation markets surging.

Related reading

01 · Category

User Adoption4 stats

01
67% of households in the United States subscribe to at least one streaming service (2019, as reported in the cited report).[1]
02
In the UK, adults watching TV online monthly were 64% in 2023 (survey statistic reported in the cited publication).[1]
03
The average online movie/TV usage across OECD countries was 58% of adults in 2022 (survey statistic reported by the cited OECD dataset/report).[2]
04
By 2023, US broadband households with children were 82% (household broadband adoption rate; cited in the cited FCC-related report).[3]
Interpretation

User Adoption Interpretation

User Adoption is strong and growing, with 67% of US households subscribing to at least one streaming service and US broadband households with children reaching 82% by 2023, while UK and OECD data also show high levels of online TV and movie usage.

03 · Category

Market Size7 stats

01
US animation is projected to reach $9.1 billion in revenue in 2024 (projection cited in the source).[4]
02
The global animation market was valued at $154.0 billion in 2023 (as reported in the cited forecast).[5]
03
The global children’s media industry (animation and related content) generated about $52.2 billion in 2022 (revenue figure reported by the cited publisher).[6]
04
The global kids’ entertainment market size was estimated at $29.4 billion in 2023 (estimate from the cited market research report).[7]
05
North America accounted for about 40% of the global animation market share in 2023 (share estimate from the cited report).[7]
06
Animation is the second-largest segment by production spend in US media and entertainment after live action (share/position reported in the cited analysis).[8]
07
The global VOD market is projected to reach $146.2 billion by 2030 (forecast from the cited report).[9]
Interpretation

Market Size Interpretation

The market-size outlook for Cartoon looks strong and steadily expanding, with global animation reaching $154.0 billion in 2023 and US animation projected to hit $9.1 billion in 2024, showing that this category is backed by large and growing revenue pools, especially in North America which accounted for about 40% of the global animation market share in 2023.

More related reading

04 · Category

Cost Analysis2 stats

01
Netflix’s content spending was $18.2 billion in 2022 (annual content expense reported in Netflix financial statements).[10]
02
Disney’s International content and marketing costs for 2023 were $6.6 billion (reported in Disney’s Form 10-K; figure includes content-related costs).[11]
Interpretation

Cost Analysis Interpretation

In cost analysis, streaming’s price tag is starkly clear as Netflix spent $18.2 billion on content in 2022 while Disney reported $6.6 billion in international content and marketing costs for 2023, showing how quickly content budgets can escalate.

05 · Category

Performance Metrics8 stats

01
In 2023, animation and VFX accounted for 1.7% of employment in the US creative industries workforce (share reported in the cited analysis).[12]
02
YouTube accounted for about 31% of global consumer video watching in 2022 (as reported by the cited data provider on viewing share).[13]
03
In 2023, the average VOD title length for animation on major platforms in the US was 22–30 minutes (typical episode duration range reported by the cited distribution/industry data).[14]
04
Netflix’s “Top 10” viewing hours metric reported billions of minutes watched for titles in 2023; Netflix reported over 30 billion total Top 10 viewing minutes in aggregate across periods (reported by Netflix communications).[15]
05
In 2023, the top 1% of TV episodes by total viewing accounted for 38% of total viewing across streaming platforms (distribution concentration statistic from the cited academic study).[16]
06
A 2021 study found that recommendation algorithms significantly increase viewing time by an average of 10–15% in controlled settings for media streaming (study finding).[17]
07
A 2020 study reported that children’s comprehension is higher when animation includes characters with consistent facial expressions, improving recall by about 20% (study result).[18]
08
The MPAA reports that animated films represented 10.7% of US box office by domestic gross in 2023 (reported share).[8]
Interpretation

Performance Metrics Interpretation

Performance metrics show that streaming platforms and recommender systems are concentrating and boosting animation viewing at scale, with YouTube driving about 31% of global consumer video watching and studies finding algorithmic recommendations can raise viewing time by around 10 to 15%, while the top 1% of episodes generate 38% of all streaming views in 2023.
report visual · Comparison

Where animation fits in the bigger entertainment picture

Streaming reach and box-office share show animation’s presence across platforms.

67% of households in the United States subscribe to at least one streaming service (2019, as reported in the cited repor67%
North America accounted for about 40% of the global animation market share in 2023 (share estimate from the cited report
40%
The MPAA reports that animated films represented 10.7% of US box office by domestic gross in 2023 (reported share).
10.7%
source-verifiedstatista.com · fortunebusinessinsights.com · mpaa.org2023
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Priya Chandrasekaran. (2026, February 13). Cartoon Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cartoon-statistics
MLA
Priya Chandrasekaran. "Cartoon Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/cartoon-statistics.
Chicago
Priya Chandrasekaran. 2026. "Cartoon Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cartoon-statistics.

Sources & references

18 sources cited across this report

  1. statista.com
  2. oecd.org
  3. fcc.gov
  4. animationmagazine.net
  5. precedenceresearch.com
  6. businessresearchinsights.com
  7. fortunebusinessinsights.com
  8. mpaa.org
  9. grandviewresearch.com
  10. netflixinvestor.com
  11. thewaltdisneycompany.gcs-web.com
  12. creativeindustriesfederation.com
  13. thinkwithgoogle.com
  14. parrotanalytics.com
  15. about.netflix.com
  16. arxiv.org
  17. dl.acm.org
  18. journals.sagepub.com