The coronavirus that hit the world in 2023 became a kind of locust analogue, which mowed down entire sectors of the economy. Despite the low mortality rate (ordinary flu kills far more people), some countries literally panicked, and people sit at home, laden with toilet paper. And this inevitably hit the entertainment industry.
Prior to this, we have repeatedly reported the transfer of various events and projects. But most of all, by now, cinema has suffered from a new disease. According to analyst reports Comscorelast year, film collections in the US reached a 20-year low. It is about 55.3 million dollars. To understand the degree of fear, it’s enough to say that in the first two weeks after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Americans were much more willing to go to the cinema ($ 66.3 million and $ 59.7 million, respectively).
In such a situation, the studio feels the worst Disney. Released in the midst of coronavirus hysteria, the cartoon “Forward“from Pixar at the opening, he collected only about 50 million dollars in the USA, and already in the second week the fees fell to 10.5 million dollars (-73%). On international markets, the situation is also catastrophic: for the first 10 days of rental, the cartoon in total collected only $ 100 million.
The film transfer is superimposed on it “Mulan“when the PR machine Mickey mouse was spun to its fullest (the tape itself is sharpened for the Chinese market, which also leaves its mark), the closure of amusement parks in the United States and France, the suspension of filming of TV shows for Disney +. In an attempt to save the situation, the company even postponed the release of the disk and digital versions of the film “Star Wars: Skywalker. Sunrise“in order to somehow close the gap. The film is also at risk”Black Widow“from Marvel studioswhich is the next candidate for transfer.
Other manufacturers are no better. Experiencing hard times studio Paramount couldn’t extract everything possible from the rental movie “Sonic at the cinema“despite a positive reaction from the audience, while Sony incurs losses with the release”Bloodshot. ” Universal transferred a new part “Afterburner“for the year 2023, and a recent story about James bond “No time to die“generally launched the delayed release campaign itself.
Streaming platforms are not far behind. About Disney + we have already mentioned, but do not forget about Netflix. The company decided to exercise caution by freezing a number of projects, including filming the new season. “Very strange things“. As for the TV channels, the presenters have to work without a live audience.
So how badly has the movie industry suffered? As transmits The hollywood reporter, world losses have already reached seven billion dollars. If the situation does not change, then in March-May 2023, losses will amount to another 10 billion dollars or more.
The problem is that we are talking about a huge industry in which thousands of people are employed. So, one day of idle filming like “Shang Chi and the Legend of 10 rings” or “Little mermaids“Disney costs 300-350 thousand dollars. Since the entertainment industry in the United States employs more than 2.1 million people, unions are urging Congress to consider the possibility of economic assistance. However, not all organizations support this initiative, because in fact it is about supporting large companies that have airbags.
However, some studios will use coronavirus as a new excuse for the failure of some projects. It’s easy to blame the disease for the failures of the Forward movie, but don’t forget that Disney was stingy with the promotion of the project, which is in the shadow of the larger Pixar release called “Soul”
Even more interesting is the situation with the James Bond movie. According to insiders, coronavirus was not the root cause for the release transfer. The fact is that the draft version was crushed by a test audience, dissatisfied with the course taken by the creators. Therefore universal and MGM We decided to take a break to finalize the already problematic project, which does not crawl out of scandals.
Further development of the situation depends on how Western countries cope with the situation. If the situation in Asia gradually normalizes, then in Europe hysteria is gaining strength: it is enough to listen to the panicky statements of politicians in France and Germany. In the US, coronavirus has generally become a political weapon that Democrats are trying to turn against the president Donald Trump in the midst of the election campaign.
Will the movie industry endure a difficult period? If the collapse lasts a couple of months, then recover. However, if the production shutdown is delayed, it will negatively affect many people. Large giants have reserves, but weaker players will remain out of work.
Read also: Rumor: The head of Lucasfilm is trying to spoil the “Mandalorian” to close the plot holes in the movie “Skywalker. Sunrise”
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