How Are Movie Theaters Going to Survive ?

Even knowing what is going on and having to wear one at times on shoots myself, I still look at people out in public with them on and automatically, reflexively, think, "Is that person sick? What's wrong with them? Are they going through chemo or something similar that has compromised their immune system?". It's just not a "normal" thing here in the US outside of a medical or industrial/work environment.
 
I think kids are the only ones going to the movies after this. With high quality low cost 4K large screen TVs at home why would anyone want to go out to the movies with their overpriced popcorn, candy etc. I also prefer to watch directors etc. talk about their work.
 
ahalpert said:
Yeah but they're advertising these projector screens for a 100" projection size. Sure, you could throw the image farther/larger, but you need the physical space at home to do so. (We have a projector and get an 8-10' wide image.)

Meanwhile, the average cinema screen is about 50' wide.
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When I was selling big screen TV's in the late 80's-early 90's, one of my coworkers always had his go-to line ready - "how far would you be sitting from your TV, sir/ma'am?". Back then, it was fairly common to sit at double-the-screen-width. In the store, we may have sat at double-the-screen for the laser discs and triple or more for the lower resolution OTA signal. Obviously, we tried selling what we had in stock. In other words, if a customer could afford a 60" (the largest available at the time) but we didn't have it, we moved onto something else.

We tried being practical. At our end.

But the current recommendations is that someone should sit at about 1.67 X screen size. At 50ft, you should be ~ 95ft away and, in most movie theaters, that's 30-40 rows back (adjusted for the tiers). At home, a 10-foot wide screen would mean your optimal location is 17 feet away. There is really no "bigger is better" in this realm.
 
Run&Gun said:
Even knowing what is going on and having to wear one at times on shoots myself, I still look at people out in public with them on and automatically, reflexively, think, "Is that person sick? What's wrong with them? Are they going through chemo or something similar that has compromised their immune system?". It's just not a "normal" thing here in the US outside of a medical or industrial/work environment.
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Yeah, def something I had to get used to at first. I think in America there's a stigma/association involved with wearing a mask which has hopefully lessened with this crisis...
 
Run&Gun said:
Even knowing what is going on and having to wear one at times on shoots myself, I still look at people out in public with them on and automatically, reflexively, think, "Is that person sick? What's wrong with them? Are they going through chemo or something similar that has compromised their immune system?". It's just not a "normal" thing here in the US outside of a medical or industrial/work environment.
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Whats that say about the US?
 
joe1946 said:
I think kids are the only ones going to the movies after this. With high quality low cost 4K large screen TVs at home why would anyone want to go out to the movies with their overpriced popcorn, candy etc. I also prefer to watch directors etc. talk about their work.
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Simple answer, I'm not a couch potato or a homebody. Same for the bedroom, no TV. It's for only two things, and one of them is not watching tv.
 
It's a dead duck insofar as "showtimes" and the available film selection goes but possibly a start of future cooperation between the theater chains and the studios. The key will be the selection of titles and their PPV pricing. On the one hand, studios want to place all releases on their own streaming services; on the other, they want a slice of the opening couple of weekends. My prediction is that the unlimited viewing - i.e., anytime within the first 45 or so days - of major titles will be somewhere around $50 per member. Studios will get a 65%-70% cut of total revenues.

And brick&mortar chains will still get annihilated because you can't sell popcorn to home streamers.
 
Yep. So much for threats that weren't idle. It didn't take long for AMC to fold. 17 days to make up for 90? Maybe the share they get is bigger, but that theater debt burden may be the straw that breaks their back. Staffing and turning on the air conditioning for empty seats is not a good plan.
 
Hollywood Is Finally Admitting That the U.S. Is a Lost Cause
The country’s sluggish pandemic response has forced movie studios to release big movies, such as Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, abroad first—a highly unusual move for the industry.

Finally, there’s some good news for Hollywood: Yesterday, Warner Bros. announced that Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated action thriller, Tenet, will debut next month following multiple delays. As the pandemic has shut down cinemas across the globe, Tenet has been widely regarded as the film that could revive a depressed theater industry, and now it has its chance. Starting August 26, the movie will screen in more than 70 countries, including South Korea, Australia, Canada, and much of Europe. But not the United States. Instead, Tenet will arrive in “select” American cities two weeks later, in time for Labor Day—and given the country’s ever-growing coronavirus caseload, that “select” list is likely to be very, very short.
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https://www.theatlantic.com/culture...UrsYvi9gfp45nCEGvA_0EOPFo5aY-w695FpgSZQH8Ixhc
 
The global production for the global product has been around a long time. Even before the pandemic, the US was home to about 60% of what is considered a "Hollywood" film, with Hollywood itself dropping lower and lower in film production ranking.

But major US studios still account for about two thirds of the global box office.

And, as streamers are jousting for the pole position, there's a huge infusion of capital into all sorts of programming. However it is labeled.

Paul F said:
Yep. So much for threats that weren't idle. It didn't take long for AMC to fold. 17 days to make up for 90? Maybe the share they get is bigger, but that theater debt burden may be the straw that breaks their back. Staffing and turning on the air conditioning for empty seats is not a good plan.
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Well, it's hard to predict a pandemic.

What I see in this cooperation is potentially a lot more product reaching the theaters. Meaning that, instead of 150 films playing for three months, the chains might get 400 playing for one month. Got a miniseries to premier? Release it in theaters first. And second.

And watch your paying membership churn.
 
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DLD said:
Even before the pandemic, the US was home to about 60% of what is considered a "Hollywood" film,
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Amigo, during the pandemic that figure will drop to 10%. And then bounce back only to 40% afterwards. My prediction. We have one of the worst outbreaks in the world and it is hampering business activity
 
ahalpert said:
Amigo, during the pandemic that figure will drop to 10%. And then bounce back only to 40% afterwards. My prediction. We have one of the worst outbreaks in the world and it is hampering business activity
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It's California, Florida and Texas. And a film can be shot on location outside of them. With location being in Canada, Georgia and Louisiana.
 
DLD said:
It's California, Florida and Texas. And a film can be shot on location outside of them. With location being in Canada, Georgia and Louisiana.
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We're having flare ups all over the place. Have you looked at comparative international caseloads? If you were a producer, would you want to plan a shoot in the US or Canada?
 
ahalpert said:
We're having flare ups all over the place. Have you looked at comparative international caseloads? If you were a producer, would you want to plan a shoot in the US or Canada?
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Technically speaking, a film can be shot anywhere there isn't a moratorium of commercial activities imposed by the local officials. And, even if there is, some activities can be excepted because money always plays an important part.

And, if one needs a giant soundstage with experienced crews, it's not that difficult to set up basic medical testing and follow the common sense precautions.

Whether a lot of people have common sense is another question.
 
I get the impression that Production is having difficulty restarting in the US and that the medical and safety requirements can be expensive and onerous. Not to mention the cost of delays due to crew getting sick.

The issue is not what current conditions are. It's the uncertainty of future conditions. You say cali tx and fl are the trouble spots. A couple months ago it was NY. There is no certainty anywhere in the world right now, but even less in the US
 
future of films

future of films

ahalpert said:
I get the impression that Production is having difficulty restarting in the US and that the medical and safety requirements can be expensive and onerous. Not to mention the cost of delays due to crew getting sick.

The issue is not what current conditions are. It's the uncertainty of future conditions. You say cali tx and fl are the trouble spots. A couple months ago it was NY. There is no certainty anywhere in the world right now, but even less in the US
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Also films are having trouble getting insurance with Covid fears so no financing. And foreign is 80% of box office I believe. Much in China which may be in doubt.
 
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