It was the first time since 2007 that the top-grossing film of a given year had earned less than $1 billion and the first time a non-American film was the top-grossing film of the year. The highest-grossing film of 2020 was the anime film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, which earned $503 million worldwide. North America saw its lowest box office weekend since 1998 between March 13–15. The Chinese film industry had lost US$2 billion by March 2020, having closed all its cinemas during the Lunar New Year period that sustains the industry across Asia. This, in turn, created openings for independent cinema productions to receive wider exposure. Many blockbusters originally scheduled to be released since mid-March 2020 have been postponed or canceled around the world, with film productions also halted. Due to cinemas and movie theaters closing, the global box office has dropped by billions of dollars, streaming has seen a significant increase in popularity and the stock of film exhibitors has also dropped dramatically. Across the world and to varying degrees, cinemas and movie theaters have been closed, festivals have been cancelled or postponed, and film releases have been moved to future dates or delayed indefinitely.
The association has also asked for tax benefits to assist theater owners who are still paying their employees and to make up for their losses.The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on certain films in the early 2020s, mirroring its impacts across all arts sectors. The trade group represents more than 33,000 screens in 50 states and has asked the federal government for loan guarantees to help the industry through a time when moviegoers are not able to travel to theaters. Last week, the theater owners group asked Congress to provide relief measures for its 150,000 employees.
All the rest of the movies will come back up this fall and into next year with the same kind of business model we had before the crisis." "Literally, it's only one movie from one studio where the signal has been a change in the business model. "We don't see any other studio doing that with their major titles," Fithian said. The only theatrical movie that is set to be released online instead of in theaters is Universal's "Trolls World Tour." The film was originally going to be simultaneously released in theaters and at home before all theaters were shuttered. However, John Fithian, the group's president, joined CNBC's "Squawk Alley" on Monday to say that these closures are only temporary and there will be no major changes to how cinemas operate going forward.ĭisney's "Onward," Universal's "The Hunt," "Emma" and "The Invisible Man," Warner Bros.'s "The Way Back," Lionsgate's "I Still Believe" and Sony's "Bloodshot" have all opted to go to home video earlier than expected in the wake of theater closures.