So…in what might be the first time since I started writing about movies online, which was back in February of 2014, I will have gone a Thursday night not going to see a movie in a theater – not counting that one month where I was in India a couple years back. There is no review coming on Cinema Sanctum today, nor a Trailer Talk. Granted, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been watching anything or written out any reviews, I have a several screeners in my e-mail that I’m going through; I watched two earlier on Wednesday, and have already completed reviews for them, though they won’t be published for another couple weeks.
Like many of you, I have been keeping myself as safe as I can given the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. Hopefully, everyone reading this is avoiding gathering, washing their hands, and such. I’ve spent most of my time writing, and watching movies, so honestly, not all that much has changed, except I’m going out even less, which doesn’t bring much of a change to my daily routine. Though, I do empathize with folks out there whose world is practically flip-turned upside down because you’re trying to pass time in self-quarantine.
Anyway, I want to get into something that’s been on my mind, and a lot of others as well. Recently, we’ve seen the many delays of films that were slated to release in the coming months, the closures of movie theaters across the country, and the recently announced release of several newer films such as The Invisible Man, Emma, Trolls World Tour, Bloodshot, Birds Of Prey, among others being made available through VOD, some of which will be done with a higher price point. There are articles out there explaining it in detail, give it a look because that’s not what I’m interested in.
What I am interested in is the reinvigorated debate about the fate of the moviegoing experience. Could this be the final nail on the coffin that destroys movie theaters for good? I have seen some people, many of whom are people I trust and find value with their opinions, seem to think so. However, I’m gonna have to disagree here. I think the situation with COVID-19 is a very unique one, and any reactions to that are ones that are simply done out of necessity. This isn’t the case of people deciding they no longer want to go to the movies anymore. At this point, they literally can’t, even if they want to.
Now, will some people like the convenience of seeing newer releases at home? Definitely! However, you go online, and there are some strong negative reactions to the news, regarding the price. I believe the Universal films will be 48 hour rentals for $19.99. The thing is, if you live in a big city like New York or Los Angeles, this isn’t bad at all. Ticket prices in LA are already well over $15 to begin with, so a couple more bucks, plus you don’t have to risk dealing with obnoxious moviegoers and unclean auditoriums and expensive concessions? Yeah, it’s practically a steal. But for most people, that likely won’t be the case. The average cost of a movie ticket in America was $9.26 during the second quarter of 2019, and I doubt it would be any far off from whatever it is now or when things go back to normal.
Plus, have you been online recently? People seem to really hate being at home. Humans are social creatures, and going to the theater has been one of the staples of having a communal experience in America for about a century. As much as people like to complain about prices, other people, the movies themselves, people like going out, whether alone or with friends, to see a movie on the big screen. And with the addition of stuff like Regal Unlimited, AMC Stubs A-List, the new Alamo Season Pass that they were just rolling out to their screens, people are more incentivized to see more movies than they ever have before. Sure, a lot of it will likely go to bigger movies than the smaller ones, but that doesn’t mean the audience for smaller movies isn’t there, just look at Parasite’s success. I’m confident people will rush out in droves as soon as it’s OK to go to the theaters again.
Now, does that mean everything will go back the way it was once everything reopens? Probably not. I am very curious to see what the numbers are for Trolls World Tour, since that will be Universal’s first release that goes to theaters and On Demand at the same time. I want to know what the numbers are for that, as well as some of these other ones. Because if those numbers are good, then I do think it will begin to effect which movies are given more of a theatrical push. It might end up being closer to Netflix’s model where some films just go to streaming unceremoniously while others get bombastic promotion and a theatrical release. I can also seen the time between the theatrical release date and the online availability being much shorter as well. It all really depends on the figures that comes out of this, and whether those numbers hold water after theaters reopen.
I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest expert when it comes to the business side of these things. This is all pure speculation on my part. Perhaps, my own love for the theatrical experience is blinding me from obvious truths about its future, maybe, I don’t know. But frankly, none of us do because we are dealing with very unique and strange circumstances. All we know for sure is that this virus will have a pretty catastrophic effect on the industry as a whole, and I cannot imagine what the release schedule will look like for all these big movies. I mean, is 2021 going to have a blockbuster every week? How will that effect IMAX contracts? Will movies scheduled for 2021 be pushed for a later date to make room for 2020 movies? Nobody really knows at this point, but whatever happens, it will surely be fascinating to watch unfold.
By the way, I revisited Contagion the other day since that spiked in popularity these past few weeks. Shocker, it’s very good. Steven Soderberg’s direction is as concise, the writing is sharp and vicious, the performances are all great, it’s damn near prophetic in certain moments, and that Cliff Martinez score is a total banger. If you haven’t seen it, it’s good, it’s definitely worth checking out. That’s it. I don’t really have an elegant way to end this post. Visit the CDC website for the latest updates, and stay safe, everybody.