Everyone loves a night out to the movie theatre with friends or family. With the coronavirus so many things including movie theatres have been closed which results in issues for both parties; the consumers and producers. For many, the movies were something you could do for family bonding, hanging out with friends, and even dates. Of course, it is logical that these theatres have been closed because of the big groups in small spaces but it is such a big part of our lives lost that we never thought would go.
In New Hampshire, the film industry has been a little wack. It's weird driving through places like concord and seeing the empty parking lot and unlit signs of cinemas. Many theatres have sales down by 75%. One chain, Chunky’s, started using their theatre venues for other forms of entertainment. They started doing live comedy and trivia nights with safety measures (Moran). I think this is a really cool way to keep unemployment from theatres low and to keep consumers happy.
We’ve seen what is happening locally with movies but what about worldwide? I found a really cool article about what the film industry is doing in China during these times. China has been continuing with movies but broadening the range. Due to how the virus has affected the US, China isn't getting as many movies from Hollywood so they are producing and showing their own movies (Xi and Qiuyan). This is creating jobs and bringing people closer together.
Overall, the entertainment industry is still on its feet; even though a huge part of it is gone, it doesn't plan on being over anytime soon.
Dbreen. Popcorn Movies Cinema. 6 Aug. 2015. Pixabay, 10 Dec. 2015, pixabay.com/photos/popcorn-movies-cinema-entertainment-1085072/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.
Derks24. Cinema Hall Film. Pixabay, 13 July 2017, pixabay.com/photos/cinema-hall-film-cinema-lovers-2502213/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.
Moran, Jessica. "Local movie theater chains get creative to stay afloat during pandemic." WMUR, 7 Oct. 2020, www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-movie-theater-chains-get-creative-to-stay-afloat-during-covid/34302656. Accessed 6 Jan. 2021.
Xi, Chen, and Qu Qiuyan. "China may be the first country to see film industry recover from negative impact of coronavirus pandemic: experts." Global Times, 27 Aug. 2020, www.globaltimes.cn/content/1199101.shtml. Accessed 5 Jan. 2021.
Katie, do you think that these issues will lead to the demise of the movie theater industry? What is happening to help with these issues?
ReplyDeleteI think that once we learn to live with the virus more and/or a working vaccine comes out the industry will bounce back. Of course there are online places we can watch movies but theatres are more about the experience than the movie itself. To help with the issues many movies just aren't being released.
Deleteare other places doing anything else to keep their theatres open?
ReplyDeleteHow do you feel about companies who still release their movies exclusively to theaters? With this decline you would expect that consumers would be less likely to view your movie given the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteWhen creating these movies, how hard is it to work without getting "too" close and catch the virus. Maybe there's a behind the scenes that show that.
ReplyDelete