Hollywood filmmakers and movie studios could be looking at massive losses because of coronavirus, and lost revenue could climb to an astounding $20 billion for the already struggling American film industry, the Hollywood Reporter said Sunday.
Theaters across the globe are closing or limiting hours in order to comply with “social distancing” policies set in place by governments seeking to curb the spread of the virus, which has sickened tens of thousands and killed several thousand worldwide. In China, all 70,000 movie theaters are shut down, the Hollywood Reporter added, and in Europe and the United States, theater attendance is way down.
Mega-studios like Disney have been forced to pull so-called “tentpole” projects that should have delivered billions of dollars worldwide, including the live action spectacular, “Mulan” — a feature that Disney believed would deliver huge international box office numbers and, accordingly, plenty of profit.
And the problems are just beginning.
“The dust is far from settling on the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic,” the Hollywood Reporter said. “But early estimates indicate that the blow will be unlike anything Hollywood has experienced before and losses will well eclipse the eleven-figure mark, even if conditions remain the same instead of taking a turn for the worse.”
“As it stands now, the global box office has already taken a coronavirus hit of at least $7 billion,” the outlet continued. “If the remainder of March, April and May are included, lost revenue would climb another $10 billion, making a total loss of approximately $17 billion. And if the crisis continues beyond May, all bets are off.”
In addition to “Mulan,” the 25th James Bond movie “No Time to Die,” and the horror sequel “A Quiet Place II” have had their release dates pushed back, costing MGM and Paramount each $30 million. Universal Studios has halted the release of “Fast and Furious 9,” pushing it well into 2021 and costing the studio at least $15 million (and that’s just the price of two Super Bowl ads promoting the movie).
Pushed releases, though, represent only a small portion of projected studio losses. Disney, Universal, MGM, and others have also halted production on major projects.
“On Friday, Disney announced that it will ‘pause’ a number of productions for ‘a short time,’ including Marvel Studios’ ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,’ which is shooting in Australia, and the live-action ‘Little Mermaid’ film in London,” per the Hollywood Reporter. Warner Brothers has had to stop production on an Elvis Presley biopic after its star and producer, Tom Hanks, and his wife, Rita Wilson, fell ill from coronavirus while shooting in Australia.
Television studios are also struggling, production on key shows and new pilots has been halted, and major networks, like CBS, have noted that a lack of sporting events will have an immediate and dramatic impact on their bottom lines. Now that the NCAA “March Madness” college basketball tournament is canceled, CBS is scrambling to fill empty slots in its lineup.
Broadway, too, is slated to go dark for four to six weeks, obeying the United States’ government suggestion to limit gatherings of more than 100 to 250 people. The Metropolitan Opera will shut for the rest of March and most of April.