Last year had some serious consequences for the film industry.
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – and at a time when many movie theaters weren’t open – North American box offices are expected to hit a shocking new low.
After five years of annual ticket sales in excess of $ 11 billion, they are expected to reach just $ 2.3 billion this year, the Associated Press reported.
That’s not only 80 percent lower than 2019, according to data company Comscore, but also a low of nearly 40 years, the AP notes. Globally, where certain areas have seen more reopenings, box office sales will reach between $ 11 billion and $ 12 billion, which is a long way from the 2019 mark of $ 42.5 billion.
“It’s been a year like no other,” Jim Orr, president of Universal Pictures’ domestic theatrical distribution, told the AP. “We have never seen this small business in the industry.”
Across the continent, most movie theaters remained closed for six months in a row after the spring outbreak. And while they’re still dark in New York and Los Angeles, reopenings in late August and early September required limited indoor seating, and not so many movies had theatrical releases. About 35% of movie houses are now open in the US.
The COVID-related closures coincided with the popular summer season, which can bring in about 40% of the annual profit. A total of $ 176.5 million came in this summer – a huge drop from the $ 4.3 billion in the summer of 2018 and 2019 – mainly from pandemic-friendly drive-in theaters.
Meanwhile, streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu and the recently launched HBO Max, have entertained viewers who watch the releases largely from their couches. But “Wonder Woman 1984,” which debuted on HBO Max last weekend, also hit 2,100 North American theaters, for $ 16.7 million.
But with vaccines being distributed, there is hope – not to mention the classic experience of seeing a movie in theaters that will never go out of style.
“I think there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel,” Orr told the AP. “As vaccinations continue to spread, I am 100% convinced that people will run back into theaters when it is possible in their area. The model does not go away. “