As Coronavirus has swept across the United States and the world, there are many ways
that streaming has risen. Netflix’s stock has surpassed Boeing’s off of unexpected hits such as
the Tiger King documentary series. Disney Plus has grown to over 50 million subscribers after
opening strong with 10 million subscribers in India and opening to many European countries,
hosting a wide variety of Disney shows, Marvel, Simpsons, Pixar, Star Wars, and newly
acquired 20th Century Fox. HBO Max has offered 10,000 hours of content to stream, including
“Friends”, DC, Cartoon Network, HBO, Turner Films, and much more under new conglomerate
AT&T, who have promised the fabled “Zack Snyder Cut of Justice League” in 2021. With people
forced to stay indoors, streaming shows have become more common these days, while on the
other hand, movie theaters have suffered as a result.
This Summer’s film slate looked promising in early January, with films such as “Fast and
Furious 9”, “Wonder Woman 1984”, and “Black Widow” all looking to be guaranteed box office
wins. When the pandemic started, movie theaters were looking more and more likely to shut
down, and off course they did. Movie chains from AMC, Regal, Cineplex, and more have shut
down in response to the pandemic back in March. This resulted in the shifting of most of 2020’s
major films to be moved to 2021 and beyond. The entire upcoming Marvel slate was moved,
with highly anticipated hits like “Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” moved to 2022, and
“Spider Man 3” moved to July 2021. However, films that should have already come out such as
“Mulan” and “Black Widow” were moved until August and beyond. These release dates will have
to further be moved if theaters can’t reopen. Even if theaters were to reopen, one would have to
consider how many people would be willing to go to a confined space with strangers for 2 hours
or more. Movie theater companies have previously claimed that theaters are safe since they
did not want to lose money. For example, AMC tested workers for the virus, sprayed
disinfectant, and scrubbed down armrests every day. However, the chain was forced to close
regardless of precautions taken thanks to the stay at home policy that has shut down and
bankrupt some small businesses all across the US. All theater chains in the US are close to
bankruptcy, with recent rumors that companies like Amazon(who has greatly benefited from the
pandemic due to people indoors) have considered buying AMC. In other news about theaters,
the companies have discussed people wearing masks in the theatre, and spacing every few
seats apart. However, a lot of people like myself included won’t go to a theater in these sort of
situations even if they did open. Some places have drive ins, which make less money but are
reported to do decent business. Films in the future this year are in jeopardy of being forced to
move to a very crowded 2021, with major films such as Universal’s “Fast and Furious 9”,
Marvel’s “Shang Chi”, Sony’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”, and many more films coming
next year. The competition will be fierce and likely will affect box office sales, which in turn may
cancel or delay sequels to these popular movies.
The real winner of the media business is obviously streaming and in home releases
because of the stay at home policies. Major studios have mostly resisted sending their biggest
movies straight to direct due to higher profits. An example of this is “Tenet”, which at the urging
of director Christoher Nolen is slated to open on July 17th. Animated film “Trolls: World Tour”
was released to streaming in April and it was reportedly the most purchased streaming opening
of all time, due to demand and kids coped up in their parent’s homes with nothing to do. Warner
Brothers Scooby Doo prequel “Scoob” came out May 15th. The film skipping a theatrical release
angered AMC into banning Universal films in the future, which likely will further decrease box
office totals. Netflix’s stock has risen past 435.00 USD in stock. Disney has suffered greatly,
having had to close down its theme parks all across the world, even though Shanghai
Disneyland is reopening now that the coronavirus has cooled down in China. Disney’s stock has
been climbing past 100 in recent weeks but dropped as low as 90 USD per share when the
theme parks first closed. One of the main high points in the rise of stock for the Disney media
conglomerate is their streaming platform Disney Plus, having soared past 50 million subscribers
since it opened back in November last year. Other streaming businesses hope to compete on
the pandemic craze, with Universal/NBC Peacock coming as well later this year in an
increasingly crowded streaming market. Streaming has won while theaters have lost millions of
dollars. It will be challenging to see how movie chains struggle with bankruptcy and when films
will actually be released due to the ongoing pandemic. Even as conditions get better, the
aftermath of Coronavirus on the film industry will continue to make its presence felt in the film
industry.
