The visual effects market has seen considerable growth due to a variety of factors.
• The visual effects industry has seen a robust expansion in its size over the past few years. It's projected to move upwards from a market value of $11.55 billion in 2024 to $12.58 billion in 2025, witnessing an annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9%. The past growth trend in this sector is linked to factors such as user experience expectations, budget allocations and investments, the rise of digital streaming platforms, skills and talent development, and the overall growth of the film and entertainment industry.
The Visual Effects market is expected to maintain its strong growth trajectory in upcoming years.
• Expectations are high for swift expansion in the visual effects market size in the upcoming years. The market is predicted to climb to $19.74 billion in 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.9%.
The anticipated growth during this forecast period can be credited to the advancement in content consumption, the rise of streaming platforms, augmented and virtual reality, globalization of media content, and the demand for more life-like visuals. Key trends to watch out for over this forecast period consist of integrating practical and digital effects, sustainable production methods, a high degree of personalization and customization, the use of remote collaboration tools, user-generated VFX content, and a growing emphasis on environmental and climate issues.
The escalating utilization of digital video streaming services is projected to drive the growth of the visual effects market. Defined as an online platform that transmits video file data to a distant user over the internet, digital video streaming services are becoming more popular. Visual effects software, used mainly to generate animations, special effects, and to enrich films with digital components, will be needed more as demand for these streaming services grows. More high-quality visual effects will be needed for TV shows and movies, ultimately leading to growth in the visual effects market. For example, in 2022, Netflix, a subscription-based video streaming service from the U.S., reported the addition of 2.41 million global subscribers to its video streaming service in Q3 2022. This brings the global total to 223.09 million subscribers, and an additional 4.50 million subscribers were registered in Q4 and Q5 of 2022. Hence, the surge in digital video streaming services consumption is fuelling the visual effects market's expansion.
The visual effects market covered in this report is segmented –
1) By Type: Matte Painting, Simulation FX, Compositing, Motion Capture, Character And Creature Animation, Concept Art, Previs Or Pre-visualization, Other Types
2) By Component: Software, Hardware, Services
3) By Application: Movies, Advertisements, TV Shows, Gaming
Subsegments:
1) By Matte Painting: Digital Matte Painting, Traditional Matte Painting, Photo-Based Matte Painting
2) By Simulation FX: Fluid Simulation, Particle Effects, Rigid Body Dynamics
3) By Compositing: 2D Compositing, 3D Compositing, Color Correction And Grading
4) By Motion Capture: Optical Motion Capture, Inertial Motion Capture, Performance Capture
5) By Character And Creature Animation: 2D Animation, 3D Animation, Rigging And Skinning
6) By Concept Art: Character Design, Environment Design, Prop Design
7) By Previs Or Pre-Visualization: Storyboarding, 3D Previs, Animatics
8) By Other Types: Special Effects Makeup, Visual Effects For Live Events, Augmented Reality Effects
Technological progress is a significant trend emerging in the visual effects industry. Major enterprises in this sector are concentrating on the creation of AI-enabled solutions to reinforce their presence. Illustratively, in July 2023, Netflix Inc, a US-based subscription streaming service provider, introduced an AI-sustained green screen. This AI-powered technology aims to enhance visual effects, making them more realistic and detailed in real-time, achieving superior results than conventional green screens in just a quarter of the time needed to edit a scene. The introduction of the magenta green screen, which provides a faster and more accurate approach to creating visual effects, has shown the remarkable progress of artificial intelligence in the film and television sectors.
Major companies operating in the visual effects market include:
• Digital Domain Holdings Limited
• Rodeo FX Inc.
• Hydraulx Visual Effects Inc.
• Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.
• Technicolor SA
• Deluxe Media Inc.
• Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd.
• Foundry Visionmongers Limited
• Zoic Studios LLC
• Animal Logic Pty Ltd.
• RE:Vision Effects Inc.
• Video Copilot and Final Image Inc.
• Framestore Group Limited
• Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc.
• Lucasfilm Ltd.
• BUF Compagnie
• The Moving Picture Company Limited
• Cinesite Visual Effects Studio Limited
• ImageWorks Inc.
• Double Negative Visual Effects Limited
• Scanline VFX Inc.
• Animal Logic
• Weta Digital Limited
• The Mill Film
• MPC Limited
• Method Studios Inc.
• Pixomondo GmbH
North America was the largest region in the visual effect market in 2024. The regions covered in the visual effects market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa.