Can US Movie Theaters Stay Open With Coronavirus Fears and No New Studio Films?
Between the ongoing anxiety about the coronavirus pandemic and Hollywood studios’ decision this week to postpone of the next month’s slate of wide releases, movie theaters are facing increased pressure to make some tough decisions about whether they can and should remain open. “It is pretty obvious what is going to happen,” Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock told TheWrap on Thursday. “With everything else that is public shutting down, from sports leagues to concerts to Disneyland, it will begin to seem irresponsible for movie theaters not to do the same. This is the way public sentiment is going and I just don’t see a lot of theaters, at least in major cities like Los Angeles and New York, staying open for long after this weekend.” As recently as Tuesday, one exhibition executive who asked to remain anonymous said that closing theaters was not something that had been widely discussed, as the focus remained on whether or not to hold the CinemaCon trade convention later this month in Las Vegas. That event was canceled on Wednesday, the day before studios announced that tentpoles like Paramount’s “A Quiet Place Part II,” Disney’s “Mulan” and Universal’s “F9” would not be hitting theaters in...
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