Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema

Across the world, and to varying degrees, cinemas and movie theaters were closed, festivals were cancelled or postponed, and film releases were moved to future dates or delayed indefinitely.

[18][19][20] Percentage box office losses (outside of mainland China) for January to March 3, 2020, were 70–75% in Italy, 60% in South Korea, 35% in Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Singapore, and 30% in Taiwan.

[21] The Los Angeles box office, a key movie market and local economic backbone, was projected to fall by 20% in April 2020 compared to its 2019 figures, based on the state of emergency declared in the county at the start of March 2020.

[21] Despite the state of emergency, as single screens within movie theatres did not hold more than 1,000 people, they were granted an exemption from the ban on mass public gatherings in California.

The ceremony had already been downsized into a non-televised event due to boycotts of the organization by media companies and creatives (including its regular broadcaster NBC) over the lack of diversity among its membership.

This prompted worry that, should March film openings underperform, blockbusters set for release in May (specifically Disney/Marvel's Black Widow and Universal's F9) would move their dates later in the calendar.

This came amid continued closures of cinemas in the key U.S. markets of Los Angeles and New York City, as well the reinstatement of restrictions in the United Kingdom due to a second wave.

[132] The lack of theatrical releases from Hollywood studios resulted in an anime film—Demon Slayer: Mugen Train—becoming the first non-Hollywood film to ever top the annual worldwide box office.

[135][136] During that month, Disney announced that Black Widow would open in theaters on July 9, 2021, and would also be available on Disney+ the same day with Premier Access, following the same release strategy that was used for one of the company's other films, Raya and the Last Dragon.

[144][145] On September 1, 2021, Paramount announced that the releases of Jackass Forever, Top Gun: Maverick, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One would be delayed to February 2022, May 2022, and July 2023, respectively, amid surging cases of Delta variant.

[152] On September 6, Sony moved the release date of Venom: Let There be Carnage up to October 1, 2021, replacing Hotel Transylvania: Transformania on its schedule after selling it to Amazon Prime Video in a nearly $100 million deal.

[153][154] Spider-Man: No Way Home, a Marvel Cinematic Universe film distributed by Sony Pictures, was released on December 17, 2021, and grossed over $601 million worldwide in its opening weekend.

The popularity of No Way Home, as well as other pandemic-related factors, were cited in the box office failure of another prominent holiday release, Steven Spielberg's West Side Story.

[157][158] This growing trend would continue into 2022, with audiences beginning to show refusal to see and support prestige films that were not of any franchise or the comic book and horror genres in theaters for the entire second half of the year.

[171][172] At the time, Chinese regulators, as well as the U.S. National Association of Theatre Owners, highly discouraged film distributors from engaging in this practice, in defense of the cinema industry.

[175] NBC Universal CEO Jeff Shell told The Wall Street Journal on April 28 that the film had reached $100 million in revenue, and stated that the company had not ruled out performing releases "in both formats" as cinemas reopened.

[176][177] On April 28, in response to Shell's comments, American chain AMC Theatres announced that it would cease the screening of Universal Pictures films effective immediately, and threatened similar actions against any other exhibitor who "unilaterally abandons current windowing practices absent good faith negotiations between us".

[178] On July 28, the two companies announced an agreement allowing Universal the option to release a film to premium video on demand after a minimum of 17 days in its theaters, with AMC receiving a cut of revenue.

[194][195] On January 7, 2022, it was announced that the Pixar film Turning Red would be skipping theaters entirely in the United States and Canada and would instead be released to Disney+ on March 11 along with one-week limited engagements at the El Capitan Theatre, AMC Empire 25, and Grand Lake Theatre, as well as several Showcase Cinema de Lux venues across the United Kingdom, amid the surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the Omicron variant.

[208][209][210] During the start of the pandemic, film productions in the key outbreak zones (predominantly China, South Korea, and Italy) were forced their schedules, locations, or shut down completely.

[95] One of the first big production shutdowns was that of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, which was scheduled to begin filming in Venice, Italy when the crew was sent home and the sets left behind.

Production company Warner Bros. began working with the Australian public health services to identify other people who may have been in contact with Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, who had been performing at venues including the Sydney Opera House shortly before both were tested positive.

[213] The Marvel Studios film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which was also shooting in Australia, had its first unit production temporarily suspended on March 12, 2020, due to director Destin Daniel Cretton self-isolating while awaiting results for a coronavirus test, which came back negative.

[216][217] An industry task force of studios and unions submitted a report on June 1, 2020, which included recommendations on health and safety guidelines for cast and crew of productions.

These guidelines included regular testing, wearing face coverings at all times when not filming, actors practicing social distancing "whenever possible", reducing or modifying scenes involving "close contact", and recommending that casting be performed via videoconferencing or self-recorded video rather than in-person.

[221] The next day, a group of unions (including the Directors Guild of America, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and SAG-AFTRA) published a 36-page report detailing safety protocols agreed upon for union film and television productions, including regular testing of cast and crew members, closed sets, access zones, shooting limited to 10-hour sessions, and all productions requiring an on-set health safety supervisor.

[230] The falls were a result of AMC closing selected cinemas in Italy[229] and the lack of confidence in the market created by No Time to Die moving its release date.

[231] Cineworld, the world's second-largest cinema chain, warned on March 12, when multiple films pushed back their releases, that extended disruption and continuing falling stock could cause the company to collapse.

"[241] Cinemark announced later that month that it planned to reopen selected cinemas in the Bay Area and Santa Clara County, operating in compliance with the concessions prohibition.

[254][255] On April 21, 2021, The Decurion Corporation, the parent company of ArcLight Cinemas, the Cinerama Dome, and Pacific Theaters, announced they would be shutting down all of its locations, due to the financial impact of the pandemic.