Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the North American box office is on track for historically low totals. that of Christophe Nolan Principle failed to usher in the theatrical recovery hoped for by exhibitors, leading to an avalanche of blockbuster film delays until 2021. Cineworld, the second-largest cinema chain in the United States, has shut down theaters. 536 of its national Regal theaters in early October due to the financial crisis. Yet abroad, the rebound of the exhibition is well underway.
Paramount Pictures President Jim Gianopulos delivered a keynote address at the TIFFCOM Tokyo content market on Wednesday via video. In it, he pointed out that in Japan, where “COVID-19 is much more contained”, 100% of theaters in the country have reopened, for Hollywood journalist. It helped the anime blockbuster Demon slayer opened for a record $ 43 million in mid-October. Since then, the film has become the fastest film in Japanese box office history to break the $ 100 million mark and is expected to exceed $ 250 million in the end, according to the outlet.
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In China, the second largest box office region in the world behind America, theaters closed for the first time in January. “In August, the cinemas reopened and The eight hundred created with great success, â€said Gianopulos. “The film will ultimately gross over $ 450 million and will likely be the highest global box office film of 2020, marking the first time a non-English film has won this accolade.”
The Paramount official believes the current health of the East Asian market indicates that “the public wants to go back to theaters.”
“The truth is, while the experience of watching movies at home has improved over the past few years, nothing replaces the thrill of watching your favorite movie stars on the big screen with booming sound and a bucket-list. of fresh popcorn in your lap. ” he said.
While encouraging for the overall health of the film industry, such rapid rebounds are unlikely to occur in America in the near future. In the past three weeks, new cases of COVID have skyrocketed to levels higher than the pandemic’s previous peak in April. America set a new record on October 30 with 99,784 new cases reported. While deaths are still lower than the peaks in April and June, an average of nearly 847 people die each day from COVID in the last week alone. Theaters in major film regions such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco remain closed. With national concerns about public health and safety still in place and a lack of fresh hit products on the market, the domestic box office will continue to suffer.
Due to the pandemic, Paramount was forced to delay A quiet place II and Top Gun: Maverick see you next year. The studio also sold Lovebirds and The Chicago 7 trial to Netflix, and Without remorse and Coming to America 2 at Amazon Prime.
