Welcome to the blog of Dr. Lisa Burns' Media Studies senior capstone class (2 pm section) at Quinnipiac University. If you're looking for the latest on media industry trends and insightful media analysis, you've come to the right place!
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Film Industry Blog 6, Question 1 (March 23rd)
What has been the biggest impact of the pandemic on the U.S. film industry?
Do you think the pandemic will lead to long-term changes in the movie industry or
will Hollywood eventually return to pre-COVID practices? Limit: 7 responses
The COVID pandemic has had a major effect on just about every business and corporation around the world, but the US film industry has taken a hard hit.
Perhaps the biggest impact that the pandemic has forced upon the film industry is the constant postponement of just about everything. For starters, numerous films have had release dates pushed back due to delays in filming and production. We saw this with the movie Tenet, as it was originally slated to be released in early 2020, but COVID saw the movie delayed until August. We have also seen numerous movies fall under projections due to not having a film release. The Invisible Man was projected to make $80 million domestically as people were expected to flock to the theaters to watch the horror film (Robbins, Box Office Pro). COVID however saw the nationwide shut down of theaters, which forced Universal Pictures to release the film through On Demand. This ultimately affected the amount of money that the film brought in, as domestically it only made just under $65 million, over $15 million less than what was initially expected (The Numbers). The closing of movie theaters also saw thousands go out of business, as AMC Theaters, the largest in the country, is close to facing bankruptcy (Goldfine, The Business of Business).
I do think that the pandemic will lead to long term changes in the movie industry, and we’re already seeing it happen. One thing that we saw through the COVID shutdowns was movie studios acceptance to release films through streaming services and On Demand rather than waiting for the theaters to open. Not only did the Invisible Man do this, but Tenet did as well as others. Although these movies lost money by releasing their films on TV, in the future, we could see film studios releasing their films both in theaters and through streaming services and On Demand. This would allow those who are either unable to go to a theater or who simply still don’t feel safe doing so to still be able to pay and watch the movie from the comfort of their home. It is another way for studios to distribute their film rather than the traditional way of only in theaters for a selective number of weeks.
Sources: Goldfine, Jael. “The Largest Movie Theatre Chain in the US Could Could Go Bankrupt by January.” The Business of Business, Thinknum, 18 Dec. 2020, www.businessofbusiness.com/articles/movie-theatres-pandemic-amc-bankruptcy/.
Robbins, Shawn. “Long Range Tracking: Does The Invisible Man Show Breakout Potential?; Updates on Bad Boys for Life, Dolittle, and More.” Boxoffice, 7 Mar. 2020, www.boxofficepro.com/long-range-tracking-does-the-invisible-man-show-breakout-potential-updates-on-bad-boys-for-life-dolittle-and-more/.
“The Invisible Man (2020) - Financial Information.” The Numbers, 26 Feb. 2020, www.the-numbers.com/movie/Invisible-Man-The-(2020)#tab=summary.
Nicole Bruder Part 1: There is no doubt that the pandemic has definitely impacted the U.S. film industry tremendously. I think that streaming has been one of the biggest impacts to the film industry. Since moviegoing has collapsed due to the spread of the virus, Pamela McClintock reported that “digital subscribers hit the 1 billion mark globally for the first time”. This is interesting to think about. Would this milestone have been reached if the pandemic never hit us? This increase is mainly due to people turning to streaming their content as movie theaters needed to shut down. Motion Picture Association reported that “the U.S. box office fell to $2.2 billion in 2020, an unprecedented 80 percent decline”(McClintock). The film industry definitely should thank the world of streaming for them being able to survive the setbacks that the pandemic threw at them. The problem here is that now, big movie premieres are either being shown on their respective streaming platform or being pushed back to later dates. What many people do not know is that movie studios make deals with theater companies to hold certain windows open for the release of their movies. As the studios start to release their content on their streaming platforms instead, it is basically violating their contract with theaters. This is something that AMC Theaters acted upon in April of 2020 when, “to punish NBCUniversal for releasing Trolls World Tour simultaneously in theaters and on digital channels, it announced a boycott of all of the studio’s movies”(Burtch et al). Currently, Warner Studio announced that their temporary COVID accommodations may become permanent. I think this is pretty bad for the theaters as audiences would not want to pay the price to go see the movie in theaters. Many people think that the theaters should “fear for their survival”(Burtch et al). I think that this is going to open up many different avenues. Streaming movie premieres will appeal to a certain type of person while going to see it in the theaters will appeal to another group. I think that the theaters just need to come up with new ways to make their money once audiences are allowed inside.
Nicole Bruder Part 2: The pandemic will have made everlasting changes to almost every industry, the film industry included. I think like in all industries, it is allowing people to think of new and innovative ways to reinvent themselves. I think this is going to be a good thing. We have been doing things the same for so long and it is time to spice it up. With this, I do not think Hollywood will ever return to pre-COVID practices completely. I think a lot of the big studios will do more of what Warner has decided to do and begin to release movies simultaneously to streaming platforms and theaters. This way, they will make money from both avenues. Owen Gleiberman, Variety’s chief film critic, states that the movie studios owe the theaters something for all of the support they have given them for more than 100 years. For the theaters to make it back to where they once were, the studios “have to start figuring out a way to provide some major movies that will draw people back”(Lang et al). I totally agree with this. You need to get people excited about something again for them to actually get off of their couch to go see it in theaters. Theaters can use this to create exclusive merchandise with the studios or something along those lines in order to attract customers. This idea will help the theaters from completely collapsing and it can regain trust with the studios again.
Works Cited
Burtch, Gordon, et al. “Will Movie Theaters Survive When Audiences Can Stream New Releases?” Harvard Business Review, 15 Jan. 2021, hbr.org/2021/01/will-movie-theaters-survive-when-audiences-can-stream-new-releases.
Lang, Brent, et al. “The Future of Movie Theaters In the Age of Coronavirus: A Dialogue.” Variety, Variety, 9 Oct. 2020, variety.com/2020/film/news/movie-theaters-cinemas-coronavirus-no-time-to-die-covid-1234796779/.
McClintock, Pamela. “U.S. Box Office Fell 80 Percent in 2020 as Streaming Boomed.” The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Mar. 2021, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/official-tally-u-s-box-office-fell-80-percent-in-2020-as-streaming-booms.
The film industry has taken a major hit due to the pandemic the past year. Currently, the movie theater business is on a significant decline due to COVID protocols dealing with limited capacity. Debt is being racked up by movie theater owners so even if they do close down, they are at a loss of money (Lang, Brent). Because of the pandemic and the lack of movie theater goers, studios have opted to push back release dates of movies in fear that they would not make as much money if released during the pandemic (McClintock, Pamela). “That’s because a $200 million dollar movie capable of earning $1 billion at the global box office cannot achieve its full potential without a robust theatrical release, which triggers lucrative ancillary streams, merchandising and sequels” (McClintock, Pamela). Big releases tend to score most of their profits through being released in theaters and the purchase of tickets. This has ultimately become extremely limited. There is no doubt that the movie industry has changed drastically over the years. Over the years it has faced a lot of threats including television, DVD’s, piracy, current streaming services, and now the pandemic. However, with all of these in mind, people still choose to opt to go to a theater (Column: Will the Film Industry…). Box office revenue has been on the rise (until COVID), since the 1980’s. In 2019, total box office revenue was $11.32 billion. In 2019, streaming and cable were all still present and we still made revenue as an industry. This compares to the 2020 data of only $2.09 billion in revenue (Stoll, Julia). The pandemic had an obvious hit on the industry as a whole. However, based on the 2019 data, this proves that with all of the changes happening in the movie industry today, people still find comfort going to a movie and getting the full experience with peers. Overall, I think the changes that the COVID pandemic had on the movie industry as a whole were very drastic. People tended to find other ways to view movies like streaming or turning to cable. However, I do think it will eventually turn back to pre-COVID practices for a few reasons. Based on the 2019 box office data, we saw that theaters were still doing incredibly well even with the introduction of streaming and other movie watching options. I also think the whole routine of movie going and premiere viewings are not ready to die out yet. People look forward to the full movie experience and I think they are starting to realize with the pandemic that they used to take that for granted. Ultimately, when the pandemic dies down and theaters become safe again, I do think it will return to normal.
Lang, Brent, Owen Glieberman, and Peter Debrug. "The Future of Movie Theaters In the Age of Coronavirus: A Dialogue." Variety 8 Oct. 2020, McClintock, Pamela. "Studios Hold Out Hope for Theaters’ Return to Normalcy." The Hollywood Reporter 27 January 2021, “Column: Will the Film Industry Please Stop Predicting Its Own Demise?” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2020, www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-12-30/covid-19-cant-kill-film-industry-stop-predicting-demise. Stoll, Julia. “Box Office Revenue in the U.S. and Canada 2020.” Statista, 5 Feb. 2021, www.statista.com/statistics/187069/north-american-box-office-gross-revenue-since-1980/.
Corey Kremberg It is no surprise that covid had a big impact on the entertainment industry as a whole. It is hard to entertain an audience who is either not allowed or too afraid to attend your show. It was almost as if the whole movie industry hit a wall. However, although there are some changes within the movie industry, this doesn’t mean that it is the end. Humans are used to adapting to new environments and that’s just what we did. In an article focused on the release of A Quiet Place 2, we learn how their team persevered through this. In fact, according to the article, fans will be able to see the movie earlier than expected. Originally, it was supposed to premier in March of 2020. However, this was just moments before things got shut down. It was then rescheduled to September 17th. However, it would once more be pushed and this time up! It is now set to come out May 28th. Something great to learn by these turn of events is said in the article itself. “They always say good things come to those who wait.” An even better option came from a compromise to shorten the theatrical window of a movies showing. Before the pandemic, movies couldn’t be posted on streaming services until they were in theaters only for at least 90 days. Now, this has been shortened down to just 45 days. This makes releasing easier since it will drop on streaming services earlier than usual. This same strategy can be seen in a similar article F9 Shifts Gears, Delays Release One Month to June 2021. There were many more movies than just A Quiet Place 2, set to be released back in 2020. In fact, the article discusses how the new Minion movie will now be dropping in 2022. This sort of shows that every studio has their own individual release plan. This is a first time for everyone so no one really knows what the right way is. In good news, President Biden made an announcement that everyone who wants a vaccine by May will be able to get one. This is amazing news even if theaters open up with half capacity. Another subject mentioned in the article is how the two biggest movie going markets in the country (New York and California) are opening at different rates. New York will have 25 percent capacity while California might be opening within the next few weeks. This is great news because I think the biggest aspect of all is missing the whole vibe of going to the movies! This is talked in an article Will the Film Industry Please Stop Predicting its Own Demise? This article discusses how not going to the movie to see the film can take some of its “power” away. I believe this is true in a sense. When movie theaters opened briefly in Ventura and Orange counties, so many people went to the movies that some people even rented out specific theaters. There is something about going to the theater and seeing the film that just makes it better. The popcorn, random people, crying babies, blasting speakers, cold mixed soda, etc. All that and more adds onto the experience of seeing the movie. In the end, watching movies on streaming platforms is still great. You can sit in your bed and stream endless content without worrying about missing something if you need to run to the bathroom. Nevertheless, there is something amazing about actually experiencing the theater itself and I think once theaters open, the film industry will once again be in full force. Sources McNamara, Mary. “Why COVID-19 Can’t Kill the Movie Industry.” Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2020, www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-12-30/covid-19-cant-kill-film-industry-stop-predicting-demise. Rubin, Rebecca. “'A Quiet Place 2' Release Date Moves Up to May.” Variety, Variety, 5 Mar. 2021, variety.com/2021/film/box-office/a-quiet-place-2-release-date-moves-up-to-may-1234922520/. McClintock, Pamela. “'F9' Shifts Gears, Delays Release One Month to June 2021.” The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Mar. 2021, www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/f9-shifts-gears-delays-release-one-month-to-june-2021.
No one is surprised to hear that the US movie industry declined heavily during the pandemic, but the hardest hit aspect was the box office. According to CNN, the box office dropped 76% in revenue comparing October 2020 to October 2019 (Pallotta). Disney and Warner Media are two huge blockbuster film makers, their movies giving a substantial contribution to the box office revenues. With Disney pushing their releases back a year or following Warner Media’s footsteps in exclusively releasing content for their subscribers on the streaming platforms, the box office heavily suffered. With affordable prices to subscribe to streaming servers that is being loaded with crazy amounts of exclusive content, there is less need for fans to flock to the theaters to spend more money than what it would cost to stay in with the platforms.
With the risk of coronavirus and lack of audience willing to hit the theaters, many film studios pushed back their releases to at least 2021, in hopes that the pandemic will have faltered. Many companies have shifted to releasing their movies directly to their streaming platforms, like Warner Media who are releasing movies to HBO Max and the theaters. Disney, however, is still holding out hope to release their big Marvel hits to theaters. With Avengers: Endgame’s almost record-breaking box office numbers, it is no surprise they are waiting to release the highly anticipated Black Widow to theaters in order to bring in more success. In no way would Disney bring in that much revenue by releasing it on Disney+, even with the added cost of watching it early like we’ve seen with Raya and the Last Dragon.
Because of the delays in releases, movie theaters are being hit hard. AMC Theaters is the largest chain of theaters, “has found a way to avoid restructuring in response to major losses by raising more than $900 million in equity and debt,” giving them enough money to last them until the fall if things stay the same (McClintock). Cinemark, another big chain, only have 35% of their theaters open as of Jan. 27 (McClintock). There is hope for movie theater goers, as a National Research Group study states that, “82 percent of respondents saying they would feel comfortable going to the movies once the vaccine is broadly accessible to anyone who wants it,” (McClintock).
Unfortunately for movie theaters, I do not think they will ever return to the peak they were at before the pandemic hit. Streaming sites like Netflix and HBO Max offer exclusive content to users for a monthly fee equivalent to the price of a trip to the movies in current day. Owen Gleiberman of Variety also agrees that the pandemic may be the end for all theaters, never being able to recover from the combination of shutdowns and increase of streaming platforms. The end of the box office would be an economical and cultural catastrophe, leaving behind billions of dollars in debt to studios who rely on that money to produce the huge blockbusters (Lang). Selling them on streaming sites will not bring in that much revenue. The movie theaters and the film industry could be in a lot of trouble if the box office does not see a rise soon.
Works Cited Lang, Brent. “The Future of Movie Theaters in the Age of Coronavirus: A Dialogue.” Variety, Variety, 9 Oct. 2020, variety.com/2020/film/news/movie-theaters-cinemas-coronavirus-no-time-to-die-covid-1234796779/. McClintock, Pamela. “Studios Hold Out Hope for Theaters' Return to Normalcy.” The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2021, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/studios-hold-out-hope-for-theaters-return-to-normalcy. Pallotta, Frank. “Here's How Badly Coronavirus Has Decimated the Box Office.” CNN, Cable News Network, 14 Oct. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/media/box-office-coronavirus/index.html.
The pandemic has definitely impacted the U.S. film industry immensely. After completing the readings for this week, it is clear that the biggest impact of the pandemic on the U.S. film industry has been the increase in the usage of streaming services and the fall of the box office due to theater closures around the world. According to “U.S. Box Office Fell 80 Percent in 2020 as Streaming Boomed”, digital subscribers of online services hit a bit over 1 billion, a 26 percent gain over 2019 and the global mobile/home entertainment market gained $68.8 billion in 2020, which is a 23 percent increase from 2019. Meanwhile, the U.S. box office fell to $2.2 billion in 2020 – an 80 percent decline, and the global box office revenue sank to $12 billion – a 72 percent decrease. Clearly, the closure of movie theaters and limiting COVID-19 regulations negatively impacted the box office both in the U.S. and around the globe, while simultaneously bringing in new subscribers for streaming services. As stated in “U.S. Box Office Fell 80 Percent in 2020 as Streaming Boomed”, “The overall entertainment business was saved by strength of streaming and premium video on demand.”
Although the box office has taken a huge hit due to the pandemic, I do not suspect that it will suffer forever. As Pamela McClintock explains in “Studios Hold Out Hope for Theaters’ Return to Normalcy,” Hollywood studios are hopeful that moviegoing will resume after more vaccines roll out and we will start returning back to theaters in the fall, if not late summer. Studios have been delaying their biggest releases because theatrical releases are their most significant source of revenue. However, John Fithian, president-CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners says, “The tunnel of this pandemic for exhibitors has been long, but the light at the end of the tunnel looks very bright indeed.” That being said, rather than sending out these major released to streaming services or on-demand video services, studios have been delaying them in hopes that we will soon get back in theaters to experience the films to their full potential.
Gina Auletta Part 2 Since streaming services experienced such a strong increase in subscribers and revenue due to the pandemic, I predict they continue to be successful long after. According to The Verge, “People are continuing to cut cable, ratings are mostly down on linear TV channels, and audiences are stuck at home. But streaming isn’t about to disappear.” The article goes on to explain that big media companies like Disney, NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia, and ViacomCBS have come to realize that streaming is not just one part of their business anymore, it is their entire future, and they must focus on improving their services to survive. With so many media companies fighting to stay on top of the streaming wars, they will likely continue to find new ways to release content more frequently and at a higher quality than their competitors. All in all, the pandemic has surely changed the film industry, but I am optimistic that the box office will return to its success even as streaming continues to thrive.
Works Cited
Alexander, Julia. “Streaming Was Part of the Future - Now It's the Only Future.” The Verge, The Verge, 28 Oct. 2020, www.theverge.com/21536842/streaming-disney-hbo-max-peacock-cbs-all-access-warnermedia-viacom-nbcuniversal.
McClintock, Pamela. "U.S. Box Office Fell 80 Percent in 2020 as Streaming Boomed." The Hollywood Reporter 18 March 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/official-tally-u-s-box-office-fell-80-percent-in-2020-as-streaming-booms
McClintock, Pamela. "Studios Hold Out Hope for Theaters’ Return to Normalcy." The Hollywood Reporter 27 January 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/studios-hold-out-hope-for-theaters-return-to-normalcy
The pandemic has impacted many different industries, especially film. With COVID-19, came harsh closures and lockdowns. Movie theaters make up a huge part of the industry in this country. They have shut down a year ago and have not opened since. Many collapsed due to the continued lockdowns or bankruptcy and permanent shutdowns. The article “Studios Hold Out Hope for Theaters’ Return to Normalcy” states, “a theatrical release is their biggest source of revenue on these titles, and they cannot be profitable without such a release” (McClintock). Theaters are the lifeblood of the film industry, without them it collapses.
However, people have not lost their appetite to watch movies. According to the article “U.S. Box Office Fell 80 Percent in 2020 as Streaming Boomed”, “for the first time, subscribers of online services crossed one billion to top out at 1.1 billion, a 26 percent gain over 2019… the global mobile/home entertainment market generated revenue of $68.8 billion in 2020, a 23 percent jump over 2019” (McClintock). The streaming and premium video on demand kept the entertainment industry afloat.
I think this is very promising for 2021 and years after we recover from the pandemic. Many may have counted movie theaters out for the future, even before the pandemic. I believe that once restrictions are lifted and it’s safe, moviegoers will flock to the theaters in masses after more than a year of absence, breathing life back into it.
I also believe that the post-pandemic film industry will be a little different than it was pre-Covid. Now, we are seeing a huge increase in streaming and hybrid film releases on certain platforms. We saw this with “Wonder Women 1984,” one of Warner Media’s first releases with the “hybrid model” where the movie is released on HBO Max and any open theaters. In an interview with chief Toby Emmerich from a Variety article, “Warner Bros. to Debut Entire 2021 Film Slate, Including ‘Dune’ and ‘Matrix 4,’ Both on HBO Max and In Theaters” he says “we thought it could be a win-win and give the consumers the best choice. Unfortunately, the U.S. has been one of the most hobbled markets in terms of theatrical” (Rubin, Donnelly). Hybrid and streaming releases will never produce the amount of revenue like theatrical releases, even with huge blockbusters like Wonder Women 1984.
I do believe we will see more of the hybrid releases post-pandemic. The transition from an isolated lifestyle to being back in public will be difficult for many people. This is where the hybrid release will thrive. People who are still hesitant to leave the house can still enjoy blockbuster releases. If one thing is clear, it's that hybrid and streaming releases aren't going anywhere.
McClintock, Pamela. "Studios Hold Out Hope for Theaters’ Return to Normalcy." The Hollywood Reporter 27 January 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/studios-hold-out-hope-for-theaters-return-to-normalcy
McClintock, Pamela. "U.S. Box Office Fell 80 Percent in 2020 as Streaming Boomed." The Hollywood Reporter 18 March 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/official-tally-u-s-box-office-fell-80-percent-in-2020-as-streaming-booms
Rubin, Rebecca, and Matt Donnelly. “Warner Bros. to Debut Entire 2021 Film Slate, Including 'Dune' and 'Matrix 4,' Both on HBO Max and In Theaters.” Variety, Variety, 3 Dec. 2020, variety.com/2020/film/news/warner-bros-hbo-max-theaters-dune-matrix-4-1234845342/.
Nick Melanson
ReplyDeleteThe COVID pandemic has had a major effect on just about every business and corporation around the world, but the US film industry has taken a hard hit.
Perhaps the biggest impact that the pandemic has forced upon the film industry is the constant postponement of just about everything. For starters, numerous films have had release dates pushed back due to delays in filming and production. We saw this with the movie Tenet, as it was originally slated to be released in early 2020, but COVID saw the movie delayed until August. We have also seen numerous movies fall under projections due to not having a film release. The Invisible Man was projected to make $80 million domestically as people were expected to flock to the theaters to watch the horror film (Robbins, Box Office Pro). COVID however saw the nationwide shut down of theaters, which forced Universal Pictures to release the film through On Demand. This ultimately affected the amount of money that the film brought in, as domestically it only made just under $65 million, over $15 million less than what was initially expected (The Numbers). The closing of movie theaters also saw thousands go out of business, as AMC Theaters, the largest in the country, is close to facing bankruptcy (Goldfine, The Business of Business).
I do think that the pandemic will lead to long term changes in the movie industry, and we’re already seeing it happen. One thing that we saw through the COVID shutdowns was movie studios acceptance to release films through streaming services and On Demand rather than waiting for the theaters to open. Not only did the Invisible Man do this, but Tenet did as well as others. Although these movies lost money by releasing their films on TV, in the future, we could see film studios releasing their films both in theaters and through streaming services and On Demand. This would allow those who are either unable to go to a theater or who simply still don’t feel safe doing so to still be able to pay and watch the movie from the comfort of their home. It is another way for studios to distribute their film rather than the traditional way of only in theaters for a selective number of weeks.
Sources:
Goldfine, Jael. “The Largest Movie Theatre Chain in the US Could Could Go Bankrupt by January.” The Business of Business, Thinknum, 18 Dec. 2020, www.businessofbusiness.com/articles/movie-theatres-pandemic-amc-bankruptcy/.
Robbins, Shawn. “Long Range Tracking: Does The Invisible Man Show Breakout Potential?; Updates on Bad Boys for Life, Dolittle, and More.” Boxoffice, 7 Mar. 2020, www.boxofficepro.com/long-range-tracking-does-the-invisible-man-show-breakout-potential-updates-on-bad-boys-for-life-dolittle-and-more/.
“The Invisible Man (2020) - Financial Information.” The Numbers, 26 Feb. 2020, www.the-numbers.com/movie/Invisible-Man-The-(2020)#tab=summary.
Nicole Bruder Part 1:
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that the pandemic has definitely impacted the U.S. film industry tremendously. I think that streaming has been one of the biggest impacts to the film industry. Since moviegoing has collapsed due to the spread of the virus, Pamela McClintock reported that “digital subscribers hit the 1 billion mark globally for the first time”. This is interesting to think about. Would this milestone have been reached if the pandemic never hit us? This increase is mainly due to people turning to streaming their content as movie theaters needed to shut down. Motion Picture Association reported that “the U.S. box office fell to $2.2 billion in 2020, an unprecedented 80 percent decline”(McClintock). The film industry definitely should thank the world of streaming for them being able to survive the setbacks that the pandemic threw at them.
The problem here is that now, big movie premieres are either being shown on their respective streaming platform or being pushed back to later dates. What many people do not know is that movie studios make deals with theater companies to hold certain windows open for the release of their movies. As the studios start to release their content on their streaming platforms instead, it is basically violating their contract with theaters. This is something that AMC Theaters acted upon in April of 2020 when, “to punish NBCUniversal for releasing Trolls World Tour simultaneously in theaters and on digital channels, it announced a boycott of all of the studio’s movies”(Burtch et al). Currently, Warner Studio announced that their temporary COVID accommodations may become permanent. I think this is pretty bad for the theaters as audiences would not want to pay the price to go see the movie in theaters. Many people think that the theaters should “fear for their survival”(Burtch et al). I think that this is going to open up many different avenues. Streaming movie premieres will appeal to a certain type of person while going to see it in the theaters will appeal to another group. I think that the theaters just need to come up with new ways to make their money once audiences are allowed inside.
Nicole Bruder Part 2:
DeleteThe pandemic will have made everlasting changes to almost every industry, the film industry included. I think like in all industries, it is allowing people to think of new and innovative ways to reinvent themselves. I think this is going to be a good thing. We have been doing things the same for so long and it is time to spice it up. With this, I do not think Hollywood will ever return to pre-COVID practices completely. I think a lot of the big studios will do more of what Warner has decided to do and begin to release movies simultaneously to streaming platforms and theaters. This way, they will make money from both avenues. Owen Gleiberman, Variety’s chief film critic, states that the movie studios owe the theaters something for all of the support they have given them for more than 100 years. For the theaters to make it back to where they once were, the studios “have to start figuring out a way to provide some major movies that will draw people back”(Lang et al). I totally agree with this. You need to get people excited about something again for them to actually get off of their couch to go see it in theaters. Theaters can use this to create exclusive merchandise with the studios or something along those lines in order to attract customers. This idea will help the theaters from completely collapsing and it can regain trust with the studios again.
Works Cited
Burtch, Gordon, et al. “Will Movie Theaters Survive When Audiences Can Stream New Releases?” Harvard Business Review, 15 Jan. 2021, hbr.org/2021/01/will-movie-theaters-survive-when-audiences-can-stream-new-releases.
Lang, Brent, et al. “The Future of Movie Theaters In the Age of Coronavirus: A Dialogue.” Variety, Variety, 9 Oct. 2020, variety.com/2020/film/news/movie-theaters-cinemas-coronavirus-no-time-to-die-covid-1234796779/.
McClintock, Pamela. “U.S. Box Office Fell 80 Percent in 2020 as Streaming Boomed.” The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Mar. 2021, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/official-tally-u-s-box-office-fell-80-percent-in-2020-as-streaming-booms.
Kasey Kerrick
ReplyDeleteThe film industry has taken a major hit due to the pandemic the past year. Currently, the movie theater business is on a significant decline due to COVID protocols dealing with limited capacity. Debt is being racked up by movie theater owners so even if they do close down, they are at a loss of money (Lang, Brent). Because of the pandemic and the lack of movie theater goers, studios have opted to push back release dates of movies in fear that they would not make as much money if released during the pandemic (McClintock, Pamela). “That’s because a $200 million dollar movie capable of earning $1 billion at the global box office cannot achieve its full potential without a robust theatrical release, which triggers lucrative ancillary streams, merchandising and sequels” (McClintock, Pamela). Big releases tend to score most of their profits through being released in theaters and the purchase of tickets. This has ultimately become extremely limited.
There is no doubt that the movie industry has changed drastically over the years. Over the years it has faced a lot of threats including television, DVD’s, piracy, current streaming services, and now the pandemic. However, with all of these in mind, people still choose to opt to go to a theater (Column: Will the Film Industry…). Box office revenue has been on the rise (until COVID), since the 1980’s. In 2019, total box office revenue was $11.32 billion. In 2019, streaming and cable were all still present and we still made revenue as an industry. This compares to the 2020 data of only $2.09 billion in revenue (Stoll, Julia). The pandemic had an obvious hit on the industry as a whole. However, based on the 2019 data, this proves that with all of the changes happening in the movie industry today, people still find comfort going to a movie and getting the full experience with peers.
Overall, I think the changes that the COVID pandemic had on the movie industry as a whole were very drastic. People tended to find other ways to view movies like streaming or turning to cable. However, I do think it will eventually turn back to pre-COVID practices for a few reasons. Based on the 2019 box office data, we saw that theaters were still doing incredibly well even with the introduction of streaming and other movie watching options. I also think the whole routine of movie going and premiere viewings are not ready to die out yet. People look forward to the full movie experience and I think they are starting to realize with the pandemic that they used to take that for granted. Ultimately, when the pandemic dies down and theaters become safe again, I do think it will return to normal.
Lang, Brent, Owen Glieberman, and Peter Debrug. "The Future of Movie Theaters In the Age of Coronavirus: A Dialogue." Variety 8 Oct. 2020,
McClintock, Pamela. "Studios Hold Out Hope for Theaters’ Return to Normalcy." The Hollywood Reporter 27 January 2021,
“Column: Will the Film Industry Please Stop Predicting Its Own Demise?” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2020, www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-12-30/covid-19-cant-kill-film-industry-stop-predicting-demise.
Stoll, Julia. “Box Office Revenue in the U.S. and Canada 2020.” Statista, 5 Feb. 2021, www.statista.com/statistics/187069/north-american-box-office-gross-revenue-since-1980/.
Corey Kremberg
ReplyDeleteIt is no surprise that covid had a big impact on the entertainment industry as a whole. It is hard to entertain an audience who is either not allowed or too afraid to attend your show. It was almost as if the whole movie industry hit a wall. However, although there are some changes within the movie industry, this doesn’t mean that it is the end. Humans are used to adapting to new environments and that’s just what we did. In an article focused on the release of A Quiet Place 2, we learn how their team persevered through this. In fact, according to the article, fans will be able to see the movie earlier than expected. Originally, it was supposed to premier in March of 2020. However, this was just moments before things got shut down. It was then rescheduled to September 17th. However, it would once more be pushed and this time up! It is now set to come out May 28th. Something great to learn by these turn of events is said in the article itself. “They always say good things come to those who wait.” An even better option came from a compromise to shorten the theatrical window of a movies showing. Before the pandemic, movies couldn’t be posted on streaming services until they were in theaters only for at least 90 days. Now, this has been shortened down to just 45 days. This makes releasing easier since it will drop on streaming services earlier than usual. This same strategy can be seen in a similar article F9 Shifts Gears, Delays Release One Month to June 2021. There were many more movies than just A Quiet Place 2, set to be released back in 2020. In fact, the article discusses how the new Minion movie will now be dropping in 2022. This sort of shows that every studio has their own individual release plan. This is a first time for everyone so no one really knows what the right way is. In good news, President Biden made an announcement that everyone who wants a vaccine by May will be able to get one. This is amazing news even if theaters open up with half capacity. Another subject mentioned in the article is how the two biggest movie going markets in the country (New York and California) are opening at different rates. New York will have 25 percent capacity while California might be opening within the next few weeks. This is great news because I think the biggest aspect of all is missing the whole vibe of going to the movies! This is talked in an article Will the Film Industry Please Stop Predicting its Own Demise? This article discusses how not going to the movie to see the film can take some of its “power” away. I believe this is true in a sense. When movie theaters opened briefly in Ventura and Orange counties, so many people went to the movies that some people even rented out specific theaters. There is something about going to the theater and seeing the film that just makes it better. The popcorn, random people, crying babies, blasting speakers, cold mixed soda, etc. All that and more adds onto the experience of seeing the movie. In the end, watching movies on streaming platforms is still great. You can sit in your bed and stream endless content without worrying about missing something if you need to run to the bathroom. Nevertheless, there is something amazing about actually experiencing the theater itself and I think once theaters open, the film industry will once again be in full force.
Sources
McNamara, Mary. “Why COVID-19 Can’t Kill the Movie Industry.” Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2020, www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-12-30/covid-19-cant-kill-film-industry-stop-predicting-demise.
Rubin, Rebecca. “'A Quiet Place 2' Release Date Moves Up to May.” Variety, Variety, 5 Mar. 2021, variety.com/2021/film/box-office/a-quiet-place-2-release-date-moves-up-to-may-1234922520/.
McClintock, Pamela. “'F9' Shifts Gears, Delays Release One Month to June 2021.” The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Mar. 2021, www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/f9-shifts-gears-delays-release-one-month-to-june-2021.
Morgan Tencza
ReplyDeletePart 1
No one is surprised to hear that the US movie industry declined heavily during the pandemic, but the hardest hit aspect was the box office. According to CNN, the box office dropped 76% in revenue comparing October 2020 to October 2019 (Pallotta). Disney and Warner Media are two huge blockbuster film makers, their movies giving a substantial contribution to the box office revenues. With Disney pushing their releases back a year or following Warner Media’s footsteps in exclusively releasing content for their subscribers on the streaming platforms, the box office heavily suffered. With affordable prices to subscribe to streaming servers that is being loaded with crazy amounts of exclusive content, there is less need for fans to flock to the theaters to spend more money than what it would cost to stay in with the platforms.
With the risk of coronavirus and lack of audience willing to hit the theaters, many film studios pushed back their releases to at least 2021, in hopes that the pandemic will have faltered. Many companies have shifted to releasing their movies directly to their streaming platforms, like Warner Media who are releasing movies to HBO Max and the theaters. Disney, however, is still holding out hope to release their big Marvel hits to theaters. With Avengers: Endgame’s almost record-breaking box office numbers, it is no surprise they are waiting to release the highly anticipated Black Widow to theaters in order to bring in more success. In no way would Disney bring in that much revenue by releasing it on Disney+, even with the added cost of watching it early like we’ve seen with Raya and the Last Dragon.
Part 2
DeleteBecause of the delays in releases, movie theaters are being hit hard. AMC Theaters is the largest chain of theaters, “has found a way to avoid restructuring in response to major losses by raising more than $900 million in equity and debt,” giving them enough money to last them until the fall if things stay the same (McClintock). Cinemark, another big chain, only have 35% of their theaters open as of Jan. 27 (McClintock). There is hope for movie theater goers, as a National Research Group study states that, “82 percent of respondents saying they would feel comfortable going to the movies once the vaccine is broadly accessible to anyone who wants it,” (McClintock).
Unfortunately for movie theaters, I do not think they will ever return to the peak they were at before the pandemic hit. Streaming sites like Netflix and HBO Max offer exclusive content to users for a monthly fee equivalent to the price of a trip to the movies in current day. Owen Gleiberman of Variety also agrees that the pandemic may be the end for all theaters, never being able to recover from the combination of shutdowns and increase of streaming platforms. The end of the box office would be an economical and cultural catastrophe, leaving behind billions of dollars in debt to studios who rely on that money to produce the huge blockbusters (Lang). Selling them on streaming sites will not bring in that much revenue. The movie theaters and the film industry could be in a lot of trouble if the box office does not see a rise soon.
Works Cited
Lang, Brent. “The Future of Movie Theaters in the Age of Coronavirus: A Dialogue.” Variety, Variety, 9 Oct. 2020, variety.com/2020/film/news/movie-theaters-cinemas-coronavirus-no-time-to-die-covid-1234796779/.
McClintock, Pamela. “Studios Hold Out Hope for Theaters' Return to Normalcy.” The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2021, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/studios-hold-out-hope-for-theaters-return-to-normalcy.
Pallotta, Frank. “Here's How Badly Coronavirus Has Decimated the Box Office.” CNN, Cable News Network, 14 Oct. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/media/box-office-coronavirus/index.html.
Gina Auletta
ReplyDeletePart 1
The pandemic has definitely impacted the U.S. film industry immensely. After completing the readings for this week, it is clear that the biggest impact of the pandemic on the U.S. film industry has been the increase in the usage of streaming services and the fall of the box office due to theater closures around the world. According to “U.S. Box Office Fell 80 Percent in 2020 as Streaming Boomed”, digital subscribers of online services hit a bit over 1 billion, a 26 percent gain over 2019 and the global mobile/home entertainment market gained $68.8 billion in 2020, which is a 23 percent increase from 2019. Meanwhile, the U.S. box office fell to $2.2 billion in 2020 – an 80 percent decline, and the global box office revenue sank to $12 billion – a 72 percent decrease. Clearly, the closure of movie theaters and limiting COVID-19 regulations negatively impacted the box office both in the U.S. and around the globe, while simultaneously bringing in new subscribers for streaming services. As stated in “U.S. Box Office Fell 80 Percent in 2020 as Streaming Boomed”, “The overall entertainment business was saved by strength of streaming and premium video on demand.”
Although the box office has taken a huge hit due to the pandemic, I do not suspect that it will suffer forever. As Pamela McClintock explains in “Studios Hold Out Hope for Theaters’ Return to Normalcy,” Hollywood studios are hopeful that moviegoing will resume after more vaccines roll out and we will start returning back to theaters in the fall, if not late summer. Studios have been delaying their biggest releases because theatrical releases are their most significant source of revenue. However, John Fithian, president-CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners says, “The tunnel of this pandemic for exhibitors has been long, but the light at the end of the tunnel looks very bright indeed.” That being said, rather than sending out these major released to streaming services or on-demand video services, studios have been delaying them in hopes that we will soon get back in theaters to experience the films to their full potential.
Gina Auletta
DeletePart 2
Since streaming services experienced such a strong increase in subscribers and revenue due to the pandemic, I predict they continue to be successful long after. According to The Verge, “People are continuing to cut cable, ratings are mostly down on linear TV channels, and audiences are stuck at home. But streaming isn’t about to disappear.” The article goes on to explain that big media companies like Disney, NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia, and ViacomCBS have come to realize that streaming is not just one part of their business anymore, it is their entire future, and they must focus on improving their services to survive. With so many media companies fighting to stay on top of the streaming wars, they will likely continue to find new ways to release content more frequently and at a higher quality than their competitors. All in all, the pandemic has surely changed the film industry, but I am optimistic that the box office will return to its success even as streaming continues to thrive.
Works Cited
Alexander, Julia. “Streaming Was Part of the Future - Now It's the Only Future.” The Verge, The Verge, 28 Oct. 2020, www.theverge.com/21536842/streaming-disney-hbo-max-peacock-cbs-all-access-warnermedia-viacom-nbcuniversal.
McClintock, Pamela. "U.S. Box Office Fell 80 Percent in 2020 as Streaming Boomed." The Hollywood Reporter 18 March 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/official-tally-u-s-box-office-fell-80-percent-in-2020-as-streaming-booms
McClintock, Pamela. "Studios Hold Out Hope for Theaters’ Return to Normalcy." The Hollywood Reporter 27 January 2021,
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/studios-hold-out-hope-for-theaters-return-to-normalcy
Emma Frisbie
ReplyDeleteThe pandemic has impacted many different industries, especially film. With COVID-19, came harsh closures and lockdowns. Movie theaters make up a huge part of the industry in this country. They have shut down a year ago and have not opened since. Many collapsed due to the continued lockdowns or bankruptcy and permanent shutdowns. The article “Studios Hold Out Hope for Theaters’ Return to Normalcy” states, “a theatrical release is their biggest source of revenue on these titles, and they cannot be profitable without such a release” (McClintock). Theaters are the lifeblood of the film industry, without them it collapses.
However, people have not lost their appetite to watch movies. According to the article “U.S. Box Office Fell 80 Percent in 2020 as Streaming Boomed”, “for the first time, subscribers of online services crossed one billion to top out at 1.1 billion, a 26 percent gain over 2019… the global mobile/home entertainment market generated revenue of $68.8 billion in 2020, a 23 percent jump over 2019” (McClintock). The streaming and premium video on demand kept the entertainment industry afloat.
I think this is very promising for 2021 and years after we recover from the pandemic. Many may have counted movie theaters out for the future, even before the pandemic. I believe that once restrictions are lifted and it’s safe, moviegoers will flock to the theaters in masses after more than a year of absence, breathing life back into it.
I also believe that the post-pandemic film industry will be a little different than it was pre-Covid. Now, we are seeing a huge increase in streaming and hybrid film releases on certain platforms. We saw this with “Wonder Women 1984,” one of Warner Media’s first releases with the “hybrid model” where the movie is released on HBO Max and any open theaters. In an interview with chief Toby Emmerich from a Variety article, “Warner Bros. to Debut Entire 2021 Film Slate, Including ‘Dune’ and ‘Matrix 4,’ Both on HBO Max and In Theaters” he says “we thought it could be a win-win and give the consumers the best choice. Unfortunately, the U.S. has been one of the most hobbled markets in terms of theatrical” (Rubin, Donnelly). Hybrid and streaming releases will never produce the amount of revenue like theatrical releases, even with huge blockbusters like Wonder Women 1984.
I do believe we will see more of the hybrid releases post-pandemic. The transition from an isolated lifestyle to being back in public will be difficult for many people. This is where the hybrid release will thrive. People who are still hesitant to leave the house can still enjoy blockbuster releases. If one thing is clear, it's that hybrid and streaming releases aren't going anywhere.
McClintock, Pamela. "Studios Hold Out Hope for Theaters’ Return to Normalcy." The Hollywood Reporter 27 January 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/studios-hold-out-hope-for-theaters-return-to-normalcy
McClintock, Pamela. "U.S. Box Office Fell 80 Percent in 2020 as Streaming Boomed." The Hollywood Reporter 18 March 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/official-tally-u-s-box-office-fell-80-percent-in-2020-as-streaming-booms
Rubin, Rebecca, and Matt Donnelly. “Warner Bros. to Debut Entire 2021 Film Slate, Including 'Dune' and 'Matrix 4,' Both on HBO Max and In Theaters.” Variety, Variety, 3 Dec. 2020, variety.com/2020/film/news/warner-bros-hbo-max-theaters-dune-matrix-4-1234845342/.