Will Hulu Become a Blockbuster?

By Liz Shannon Miller Dec. 28, 2009, 12:30pm 28 Comments

Hulu has grown a huge audience this year, but what happens when you compare its business to the feature film world? The social media marketing firm Buzzpoint sent us a well-designed yet daunting infographic they made while wondering when Hulu might finally become a “blockbuster” — born, according to managing director Jeffrey Appelbaum, out of conversations they were having internally about the site’s plans for monetization. We’ve broken it down below, and you can also download a full version here.

It’s worth pointing out that Hulu is just one distribution platform for pre-made content, and thus comparing its revenue to that of a Twilight film doesn’t necessarily match up. But given that its October 2009 audience was much larger than the attendance figures for said Twilight film does raise questions about whether it’s reaching its full potential.

This conversation may change dramatically in 2010 if the proposed subscription plan goes into effect, or if the result of NBC’s acquisition by Comcast means that Fancast Xfinity and Hulu aren’t actually “complementary” after all, or if the service truly does make DVRs irrelevant, or if… Well, there are a lot of ifs for Hulu right now. But 2010 will probably be the year many of them are resolved.