Covid-19 has affected many different aspects of life throughout the last few months, and the movie industry has seen similar drawbacks. Almost all films coming out this spring and summer are being delayed, and, in the next six months, there will be new tactics put in place by filmmakers to earn a profit while consumers are stuck at home.
“It hasn’t sunk in what the impact will be. Disney, in particular, has major concerns and theater owners are especially nervous. It’s unprecedented—akin to 9/11. Home entertainment could thrive, but with production slowdowns there will be a pipeline problem,” said Newsweek’s “Hollywood Takes an Economic Beating from COVID-19.”
Covid-19 has affected films in different ways: some have had to stop filming and others have to push their release dates in fear of not drawing a big enough crowd. “Mission: Impossible 7” had to stop filming in Italy while the country went into lockdown. This was a drastic blow, for example, as Business Insider explained, “Under the working title of ‘Libra,’‘Mission: Impossible 7’ is set to be the latest in a line of blockbuster films for the Paramount Pictures franchise.” It is unclear at this time if this set back will stop the movie from coming out on its original release date, but if other aspects of the film are delayed, a Mission Impossible release will be pushed back.
Other films have pushed their release dates back months, up to a year. The Disney and Pixar Movie “Soul” has been moved from its original theatrical release date of June 19, 2020 to Nov. 20, 2020. The date was moved to November to allow the movie to be released in theaters.
Universal’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” has also been pushed back from July 3, 2020 to July 2, 2021. Universal moved “Minions: The Rise of Gru” to the original release date of “Sing 2,” as the sequel will now be released on Dec. 22, 2021.
With all major companies moving around their films and pushing back release dates, “We knew 2020 wasn’t poised to be anywhere near as big as 2019 in terms of grosses; it was due to be a transition year. But no one ever thought it was going to be quite as harsh as this,” Deadline.com expressed.
Some Companies are taking a different approach to the situation by releasing films digitally for consumers to watch while they are home, bored. One of Disney’s new animated movies, “Onward,” released on March 6, was quickly transitioned to digital access. Two weeks after “Onward” was released, Disney had the film available for 20 dollars online, and, a few weeks later: free on Disney+.
STK’s Guy Ritchie-helmed “The Gentlemen” also transitioned their film onto streaming service and digital access quickly. Only 60 days after its theater release, “The Gentlemen” was in homes across the country.
The change on how quick big titles are coming to people’s homes after their initial release could change the way the film industry works in the future. Prior to 2020, it took films four-to-five months to be transitioned out of theaters and into homes; now, it is two months or less.
Covid-19 will change many things in the world, and the near future of the movie industry might just be one of them.
