When can I go see a movie? Hollywood and theaters ponder what鈥檚 next.
How will social distancing change going to the movies, one of the most popular leisure activities of the past century? The coronavirus affects every aspect of the big-screen business, from release dates to cinema attendance. Your popcorn may be on hold for a while.
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage聽is free. No paywall.
How has the COVID-19 shutdown affected Hollywood鈥檚 schedules?
Why We Wrote This
How long until moviegoing returns? Hollywood and theater owners are weighing a host of issues, including when to distribute films and the logistics of gathering indoors in groups.
James Bond has narrowly escaped sharks, tigers, and even a tsunami. But in March, 007 finally met his match in the coronavirus. The 25th Bond film, 鈥淣o Time to Die,鈥� was the first movie to delay its release. Originally scheduled for April, James Bond will return in November. As COVID-19 escalated, other movies followed suit.
鈥淚 told somebody at Paramount ... 鈥榃hen are you moving 鈥楾op Gun 2鈥� to Christmas?鈥欌�� recalls Pete Hammond, chief film critic for Deadline. 鈥淗e got all mad at me. Then, only two days later, they ended up moving 鈥楾op Gun 2鈥� to Christmas.鈥� 聽
As of now there won鈥檛 be any summer blockbusters until Christopher Nolan鈥檚 action flick 鈥淭enet鈥� on July 17, followed by the belated arrival of a pair of heroines: the live-action 鈥淢ulan鈥� (July 24) and 鈥淲onder Woman 1984鈥� (Aug. 14). Mr. Hammond wonders if those dates will shift again.
When cinemas reopen, studios will likely avoid bunching the releases of delayed movies. A measured rollout will give each film space to maximize its audience share. That鈥檚 why 鈥淔9鈥� (or 鈥淔ast and Furious 9鈥�), Disney鈥檚 鈥淛ungle Cruise,鈥� and 鈥淕hostbusters: Afterlife鈥� have been pushed back a full year to 2021. Rescheduling release dates in global markets has created a multiyear domino effect. For example, Indiana Jones 鈥� originally due to return in a fifth movie next summer 鈥� will now crack his whip in July 2022.聽
Spacing out the release dates also gives studios time to complete movies whose filming was suspended by COVID-19. The scrambled production timelines may create conflicts for in-demand talent, who might have to turn down other movie opportunities because of prior commitments.
What will moviegoing look like when cinemas reopen?
That is literally a multimillion dollar question. Cinemas will have to incorporate stringent social distancing measures 鈥� think fewer seats available in each theater 鈥� as well as boost disinfection procedures. No one knows yet whether cinemas will uniformly implement policies such as taking customers鈥� temperatures before allowing entry. But the future of moviegoing depends on the effectiveness of movie-house practices, says Katherine Tallman, executive director and CEO of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, an independent art-house cinema in Boston.
鈥淲e want to make sure that people have a perception that everything is really carefully handled, really clean,鈥� says Ms. Tallman.
The last thing anyone needs, she adds, is a false start in which theaters open and are blamed for spreading the virus. The three largest movie chains 鈥� AMC, Regal, and Cinemark 鈥� remain closed for now.聽Theater owners 聽have expressed reluctance to reopen even though the state permitted them to do so in late April. And in Texas, only a handful of small cinemas have taken advantage of the green light to resume business.聽Evo Entertainment of its theaters near San Antonio and instituted checks of customers鈥� temperatures. The Santikos company locations in San Antonio, but . All eyes will be on Germany鈥檚 biggest state, North Rhine Westphalia, where聽cinemas are on May 30.聽
Most movie theaters aren鈥檛 in a rush to reopen because there aren鈥檛 new movies to screen.聽For many owners, it will likely only make sense to open when they know enough customers will attend. Drive-ins may benefit first.聽
Long term, it鈥檚 unlikely that COVID-19 will put an end to moviegoing. After all, cinemas have survived the introduction of television, videotapes, and streaming.聽
鈥淧eople really want to get together,鈥� says Ms. Tallman. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see that desire, that human desire to collect and share experiences, ever going away. In fact, I think that now that none of us can have it, it鈥檚 even more evident.鈥澛犅�
How will the Oscars be affected?
In recent years, the Academy Awards decided to forgo a host. Will the 2021 ceremony eschew a theater audience? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has had more immediate concerns than whether to, say, bring back Billy Crystal to host via videoconference.聽In late April, the academy鈥檚 board of governors聽聽that movies must screen in a Los Angeles theater for one week to qualify for consideration. The temporary rule change will benefit contenders that have had to skip a theatrical release and go straight to streaming. Once theaters reopen, the academy will also allow movies to screen in several other cities across the U.S. to meet eligibility requirements.
鈥淭he bigger question is, when will this really get ramped up again to the point where you have an awards season, where you have the ability to get all these movies out and seen?鈥� asks Mr. Hammond. 鈥淲ill they have to move the Oscars [from February] back to April?鈥�
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,聽all our coronavirus coverage聽is free. No paywall.
