The Lasting Effects of the Pandemic on the Movie Industry
by Kevin Goetz and Lucille Palmiere
In 2021, as the shutdown caused by the pandemic started to lift, an upward trend in box office started to occur, looking to perhaps ease what some industry journalists described as “the dog days of 2020.” There was a loud cry that movies (in-theater) were back. This optimism took hold with the theatrical release of Godzilla vs. Kong in March, 2021 (earning over $100M domestically); grew in continuing upward movement with the May, 2021 release of A Quiet Place Part II (over $160M DBO); turned to outright excitement with the June, 2021 F9: The Fast Saga release (over $173M DBO); and peaked at the end of the year with Spider-Man: No Way Home (which earned over $800M domestically and was the biggest movie of 2021 worldwide).
Much has been made of how the pandemic rode roughshod over the movie business, exacerbating trends already in motion, i.e., hastening the inevitable. Studio chiefs were in discussions regarding these trends well before the pandemic hit. The lead story of the Hollywood Reporter, October 30, 2019, covered an executive summit which took on such issues as box-office results (and whether to report), the impact of emerging platforms, and trends likely on the horizon. The definitive take-away was that the “the traditional film business is under siege.”[i]
Issues surrounding streaming vs. in-theater, about release strategies and platforms have been at the forefront – both before in-theater moviegoing was interrupted…. READ MORE – CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE FULL NEWSLETTER
[i]Matthew Belloni, “Studio Chief Summit: All 7 Top Film Executives, One Room, Nothing Off-Limits (and No Easy Answers),” The Hollywood Reporter (Movie Features), October 30, 2019, hollywoodreporter.com.