Movie Industry Set For $20-31 Billion in Losses Due to COVID-19 Shutdown

The movie industry is set to lose an astounding $20-$31 billion in revenues in 2020 due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. In stark contrast, it had made close to $42 billion just last year, according to media and tech research firm Omdia. [via CineEurope/ Variety]

“Cinema is critically hit,” said David Hancock, director for cinema at Omdia. “Major distributors rushed to rework their film slates with knock-on effects two years down the line. The period from March to July is almost devoid of any new films being released — the most important part of the year.”

As for the return of the theatrical experience, Hancock states that it’s going to take some time before mainstream audiences feel comfortable and safe enough to go back to the movie theater:

“The key issue now is reassurance,” said Hancock. “At its core, cinema is a social medium that brings people out of their homes for a communal experience. This is the point that critics of cinema always miss. During this unprecedented circumstance, cinema’s strength has become its weakness. Being social is perceived as a threat today with physical distancing being labelled social distancing. Hence the public needs to be convinced that being in a social space is a safe place to be.”

This July’s release of “Tenet,” and “Mulan” will undoubtedly be a good litmus test for how far the industry can go in repairing the damage that has been done these last three months. Think of these two releases as assessments — in a normal non-COVID inflicted world, they were going to be almost-guaranteed billion-dollar successes, but will audiences actually show up now to watch them? That is, indeed, the million-dollar question. If “Tenet” and “Mulan” end up grossing only even half of what they were estimated to make, then this could bring about numerous delays of other titles in the fall. Studios will be wondering, why release such high-prized and expensive movies if you’re not going to be making the full monetary potential out of it?