James Bond Will Wait, But Movie Theaters Have No Time for a Virus
The big exhibitors are already grappling with debt and competition from new streaming-video apps.
Time to worry?
Photographer: MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images
During a pandemic, the close quarters of a movie-theater auditorium are among the last places anyone would want to be. Already, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus has led cinemas in northern Italy and all across China to temporarily shut their doors. The reality is that soon U.S. exhibitors such as AMC, Regal and Cinemark may have to do the same — or suffer a massive decrease in patrons anyway. Studios are even starting to delay film releases, with MGM and Universal Pictures announcing Wednesday that they will postpone the opening of the latest James Bond movie, “No Time to Die,” from next month until November.
There’s still a lot of uncertainty about how badly the coronavirus will spread and what it will do to the economy. But what is clear is that the disruption couldn’t come at a worse time for the U.S. movie-theater industry in particular, where AMC Entertainment Inc., Cineworld Group Plc (Regal’s parent company) and Cinemark Holdings Inc. together control nearly half the cinema screens and ticket sales, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. That’s in addition to theaters they operate in Europe and Latin America.