As the pandemic doesn't seem to slow down, the movie industry changes day by day. Mulan will hit Disney+ for extra fee and some theaters around the world while Tenet and New Mutants will try their luck exclusively on the big screen. If they fail the results will have serious implications. Also, the winter might bring with it another quarantine so that might have severe implications as well.
Black Widow is now set to come out on November 6, 2020. However, November might still be strong in the hold of the pandemic. Marvel could push the movie back to May or we could see the movie going the Mulan route. To Disney+ for an extra fee in the U.S. and theaters around the world. However, Disney+ is not a great place for Marvel movies as Marvel fans go a movie at least twice in theaters and some go up to 8 times, so even that 29.90 dollars price point is a major loss for them. However, if you consider that movie tickets money splits between the theaters and the movie, suddenly straight to digital sounds a lot more profitable as the company keeps 100 percent of the earnings. The rumor is that only 14 million Disney+ subscribers need to purchase Mulan for the movie to make enough money to cover its costs. That sounds so much better than 800 million dollars at the box office. Which is what Tenet needs to make to simply break even. That's crazy. Movies are making around 5 million dollars worldwide right now. Although not really good or big movies. Digital may lack the big movie experience, but they bring fast and much needed cash to the movie studios at the expense of movie theaters.
WB is considering another delay to Wonder Woman 1984. However, at some point the movie will simply go to HBO MAX for extra pay. WB needs more subscribers to HBO MAX which is doing poorly, and people are tired of waiting for the movie. It should have come out on November 1, 2019. That's almost an entire year of delay for the current October 2, 2020 release date. I think another delay should go to digital. Especially if the finale trailer will air during DCFandom and reveal the finale look of Chita. There is only so much you can delay one movie before people get tired of waiting.
Also, I don't see how movies can make blockbuster money during a pandemic. The biggest markets for movies are closed. Well, their theaters are closed. New York, L.A. and almost all of the theaters in China are still closed. No movie can make a decent amount of money, or even a billion dollars without them. And this is without taking into consideration the shortening of the theatrical widow until a digital release is available.
However, loss seems to be the only way forward. Movie theaters might not even survive the pandemic and go the route of music stores. Go extinct, while all content goes to digital. It sucks because the movie going experience is an experience, but now it is also a hazard in the foreseeable future. And that future is all we have so far.
I really miss going to the movies, the big screen, the reaction of other people to the movie. But for now, I think the future is digital until we pandemic passes or we get a vaccine. As people can't stay quite or off their phones during a movie, I can't see them wearing a mask or adhering to any processions. Maybe I would have gone anyway, but there are no theaters open so I don't need to decide anyway.
Do you think you'll go to the theater to watch a movie anytime soon?
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