The Questionable Future of the Film Industry
Issa Rae & Kumail Nanjiani in LoveBirds
It’s a toss-up right now if something like a leisure trip to the movies will return to normal at the end of the lockdown. Could the COVID-19 pandemic mean the end of movie theaters? Maybe not the end, but it looks like there will be some changes.
When the country went into lockdown, movie theaters bolted the locks on their doors. The freshly-made popcorn no longer overflows out of the machine, but pops in our home’s microwave or above a stovetop in a matter of minutes. With everybody staying at home, Video On-Demand and streaming services are at an all-time high. For example, ViacomCBS tracked their domestic streaming revenue as increasing by more than fifty-percent and their subscriptions passing 13.5 million. However, what will happen when lockdown ends? Theaters will likely reopen. If so, will they roll out the red carpet and provide guests with the pre-COVID experience? Or will it benefit both the industry and the world if movie-nights remained in the living room?
Already, Universal’s The High Note and Paramount’s The Lovebirds swapped their theatrical release for VOD/streaming services. While other films that already had their time in theaters, like Bad Boys for Life and Just Mercy, rushed quicker to VOD. One can see how these films have had huge success. In its first week of release, The Lovebirds held a spot in Netflix’s Top 10 in the United States. Bad Boys for Life racked up almost twenty-million dollars in domestic DVD and Blu-ray revenue. Meanwhile, The High Note has received moderately high reviews, scoring a sixty-nine percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
With the transition to and the success of digital releases, one may find it interesting to think back to the statements made by renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg last year about streaming services and their original films. In an ITV News interview in March of 2019, Spielberg remarked on how studios now prefer films with a guaranteed big box-office rating and no longer “take chances on smaller films. And those smaller films studios used to make routinely are now going to Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix.” Spielberg makes a point, illustrating how upcoming filmmakers don’t have the opportunity to have their work succeed in theaters.
However, Spielberg had more to say about the films that go straight to digital release, declaring in the same interview, “I don’t believe that films that are just getting given token qualifications and a couple of theaters for less than a week should qualify for the Academy Award nomination.” Spielberg believes that digital release undermines the value of the film, implying that the film gains more importance every time it plays in theaters. But, if it means a better control over the safety of moviegoers, can it really be all that bad? Whether one likes it or not, more Academy Award nominees will most likely be digitally released films in the future. Overall, Spielberg thinks that the solution is not in modifying the qualifications for Academy Award nominations, but in the studios revising the types of films they release in theaters.
Unfortunately for Spielberg, it doesn’t look like the studios will follow his proposition anytime soon. Despite the films being sold to streaming services, studios are still holding back on releasing their most-anticipated films to VOD in hopes of theaters opening back up to normal. Films like Mulan, Candyman, The Personal History of David Copperfield, and many others have had their theatrical release dates pushed back. At this point, Cineworld apparently plans to open all of their theaters sometime in July and is ready to have some of those films up on their screens. If the studios weren’t already using the pick and choose method, they will surely be doing so now.
As for the Academy Awards, the organization has also adjusted their rules in the opposite direction of Spielberg’s statements. According to their Rules and Eligibility document, the Academy issued that “until further notice and for the 93rd Awards year only, films that had a previously planned theatrical release but are initially made available through commercial streaming, VOD service or other broadcast may qualify for awards consideration in Best Picture and general entry categories for the 93rd Academy Awards […].” The document assures that these rules are only set in place for this upcoming awards year, but that can easily change if demand of theatrical release shifts as well.
What do moviegoers have to say about the return of theaters? An EDO, Entertainment Data Oracle, survey “Movie Theaters and Social Distancing” presents how more people said they were somewhat and highly likely to return to theaters when reopened. However, those same people said they were more likely to return if changes were made in hygiene and social-distancing. Some examples of the modifications moviegoers would prefer: multiple hand sanitizer stations, allotted time for intense cleaning in between showtimes, and facemasks worn by both guests and employees.
A close friend of mine recalls to me the last time she went to the movie theater before the country went into lockdown, the employees had each guest sit in every other seat – even if they did arrive with a guest or group. Can we expect the same strategies when the establishments reopen? If theaters were to have less showtimes and have theaters at half-capacity, then there’s the question if these blockbuster movies still have the potential to be successful?
These moviegoer responses pose some long-term impacts on the film industry. You also have to consider the people that say they are unsure or unlikely to return to theaters. Just because theaters doors are open, it does not guarantee one-hundred percent safety from contracting the virus. Legendary filmmaker Spike Lee assures he will hold off on going to a theater until a vaccine is in place. Many may share Lee’s opinion and might be willing to stay at home more often even after all businesses and other establishments open up. If more people voluntarily choose not to return to theaters, then there might be a higher demand for new movies on VOD.
Spielberg also refers to social media and other modern technology as “escapism”, stating, “we’ve been stuck with all kinds of that’s called portals to escape through for sixty, sixty-five years. That’s not going to change. It’s only going to become more revolutionary.” Just a little more than a year later, that same escapism has now become life-saving. It is true now more than ever that modern technology will not go away. It is very influential, but it is also keeping us safe. It is revolutionary in that it is bringing us together while also benefiting films in different ways than we are used to. Maybe Spielberg is also now reflecting on the statements he made.
Given the uncertain times, it seems that nothing will return completely back to normal. We can expect at least some things to change, both in theaters and within the industry. With that, we shouldn’t assume that we need to see a film in a theater just because it’s been the norm for so long. We shouldn’t base our opinions of a film on the medium it plays on. An amazing film is still an amazing film whether it’s playing at the Arclight Hollywood on a 70 mm screen or on our smartphones while we sit on the couch.
