How Coronavirus Is Affecting Pop Culture Around the World

As the coronavirus continues to spread around the world, the entertainment industry has begun to respond. The disease, COVID-19, was first reported in Wuhan, China, at the very end of last year and has since spread to nearly 60 countries and infected 90,000 people and counting. Understandably, concerns about coronavirus and its spread have had a major impact on the worldwide box office, altered filming plans for still-in-production movies and TV shows, and prompted major tourist destinations to close their doors—the ramifications of which are yet to be determined in the long run.

Here’s a running tally of all the ways that the coronavirus is impacting the entertainment industry.

Sonic, Mulan, and James Bond Struggle in China

Even casual moviegoers know by this point that China is a big deal when it comes to modern filmmaking, as the Chinese box office is an increasingly bigger moneymaker for studios. So it’s perhaps not surprising that the Chinese (and by extension, the global) box office has taken a hit due to the coronavirus. But the magnitude of its effects on the box office is, on paper, still a little shocking. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chinese ticket revenue in the three weeks since January 24, when many theaters began shutting their doors due to fears of the virus, totaled just $3.9 million. The previous year, revenue during that same three-week period—which is right after the Chinese New Year, historically one of the busiest moviegoing stretches in the world—was $1.52 billion.

China’s domestic film industry is seeking government support in the wake of this catastrophic development, THR reports, but several U.S. movie exports are having their Chinese premieres delayed in the meantime.

Sonic The Hedgehog was supposed to hit Chinese theaters on Friday, but Paramount Pictures postponed it. Jojo Rabbit, 1917, Little Women, and Dolittle have also all had their Chinese premieres delayed indefinitely, although Dolittle’s delay seems like a small act of mercy at this point, given how terribly the film was received.

Disney hasn’t made a decision yet on what to do with Mulan, which was expected to be a major hit in China. The film, a live-action remake of the 1998 animated film, is a retelling of the beloved Chinese myth and stars an all-Asian cast with Chinese actress Liu Yifei in the title role. Given the story's significance to China, Disney went to great lengths to ensure that the film would be embraced by audiences when it opened in the country. Mulan is tentatively still scheduled to premiere in the U.S. and China on March 27, but even if Disney doesn’t push back the release date, coronavirus will almost certainly guarantee that the film won’t be the behemoth success Disney was hoping.

The next James Bond movie, No Time To Die, has had its Chinese opening postponed and a red carpet press tour that would have started in Beijing has been canceled. The film will still premiere in the U.S. on April 10.

Mission: Impossible and The Amazing Race Alter Filming Plans

Coronavirus is affecting movies and shows that are still in progress, too. Paramount suspended production on the seventh Mission: Impossible movie in Venice, where filmmakers had initially planned for a three-week shoot. (The studio made the decision last week, in light of the virus’s spread in Italy, where more than 1,600 people have been infected so far. Tom Cruise was reportedly not in Italy for the shoot.)

“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew, and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus, we are altering the production plan for our three-week shoot in Venice, the scheduled first leg of an extensive production for Mission: Impossible 7,” Paramount said in a statement.

On Sunday, CBS suspended production on the 33rd season of The Amazing Race “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a CBS spokesperson. The contestants were in Scotland, which has not reported any cases of the virus so far, when the decision was made. “At this time, no Racers or anyone on the production team traveling with them have contracted the virus, or shown symptoms, and we are not aware of anyone being exposed to it,” the CBS spokesperson told CNN.

Tong Wars, an Amazon series from Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai about warring gangs in 1800s Chinatowns, has been canceled, although a South China Morning Post doesn’t explicitly link the cancelation to the virus. Blossoms, a Chinese production Wong is also making, has, however, been postponed due to health concerns.

BTS and Green Day Cancel Tours

The wildly popular K-pop group BTS has canceled four South Korean tour dates starting in April that were initially supposed to kick-off the group’s Map of the Soul tour. There are more reported cases of coronavirus in South Korea than there are anywhere except China, with more than 4,300 confirmed. The tour will now begin on April 25 and 26 in Santa Clara, California, before moving to LA in May.

Green Day was scheduled to go on tour in Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan next month, but the band postponed all their Asian tour dates.

“We have unfortunately made the difficult decision to postpone our upcoming shows in Asia due to the health + travel concerns with coronavirus,” the band tweeted. “We know it sucks, as we were looking forward to seeing you all, but hold on to your tickets we’ll be announcing the new dates very soon.”

Avril Lavigne has also canceled her upcoming tour of Asia, including planned April and May stops in China, Japan, Taiwan, and more. "I am so sad to announce that we are unable to tour the Asian markets due to the continuous outbreak of the coronavirus," the singer wrote on Instagram. "My band, crew and I have been working so hard to bring this tour worldwide and are completely bummed out. Please everybody take care of yourselves and stay healthy. You’re in my thoughts and prayers and we are hoping to announce rescheduled shows soon.

America’s National Symphony Orchestra has canceled Japanese and Chinese dates of a planned international tour that was initially set to begin on March 3.

Theme Parks, Festivals, and Conferences Shut Their Doors

All of the Disney Parks in Asia are, at present, closed. Tokyo Disneyland announced it would close for a two week period last Friday, in adherence with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s request that schools and most public gathering spots temporarily close to stop the spread of the disease. Universal Studios Japan and Legoland Japan followed suit, and Disney’s two Chinese parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed indefinitely in late January.

Variety reports that the Cannes Film Festival is still scheduled to take place in mid-May, although the French region recorded its first case of coronavirus on Friday.

“As of today, it is still premature to express assumptions on an event scheduled in two months and a half,” a spokesperson told Variety, although they made clear that the organizers would pay close attention to the spread and exercise caution.

The Game Developers Conference, which was supposed to take place in San Francisco starting on March 16, has been postponed. The conference organizers made the call to move the event to the summer after several major tech companies and developers like Facebook, Electronic Arts, and Sony announced they wouldn’t be attending due to health concerns.

Originally Appeared on GQ