What has the Dreadful COVID-19 Virus Done to Us Movie Geeks?
By: Keaton Marcus
We’ve had a good amount more than 100 days of quarantine at the moment, and then Coronavirus cases keep on growing, with approximately 3.37 million confirmed in the US alone. But what has the virus done to the entertainment industry?
Much earlier in quarantine, Universal was the first to announce that they would be bringing theatrical releases such as The Hunt, The Invisible Man, Trolls: World Tour and soon to be more straight to streaming platforms like Amazon and iTunes to rent or buy. Soon it became quite the trend, with WB giving their Birds of Prey, The Gentlemen, and eventually Scoob! to streaming services early. Netflix bought Sony’s The Lovebirds and released it for free on their platform, Bron Studios gave Capone to viewers at home, and Universal again with You Should Have Left.
There was no shortage of would-be theatrical releases that studios decided to bring straight to home. We even got the Artemis Fowl adaptation on Disney+ luckily, because it was a real car-wreck. Even Steve Carrell’s new anticipated comedy Irresistible with Focus Features got a home release. It was a whole new way to look at the future of whether theaters would last. Universal gave us Judd Apatow’s newest movie, The King of Staten Island! But there was also the slew of big blockbusters that were delayed.
First, there was Tom Hanks’ new WW2 thriller Greyhound which was originally planned to release in theaters June, but was thrown on Apple TV+ on July 10th. However, there’s also a long list of movies that didn’t come to home video. Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was pushed back twice from July 17th to the 31st, and then again to August 12th. It’s one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Disney’s live-action Mulan movie was also delayed from March 27th to late July, however, Disney also decided to throw their upcoming The One and Only Ivan straight to Disney+. Don’t get your hopes up about that one.
There’s so many more. We now have to wait on A Quiet Place Part II, Fast & Furious 9, The New Mutants, The King’s Man, The French Dispatch, and sadly Wonder Woman 1984. Oh and don’t forget Marvel’s Black Widow, which it seems like we’ll never get to see. And then there’s the final Daniel Craig-starring James Bond movie, No Time to Die, which is now scheduled to release in cinemas November 20th.
What caused a real uproar from fans was the second delay to Godzilla vs Kong. And it wasn’t just any old push-back, it’s second move was from November 20th this year to May 21st of next year. That’s right, we have to wait a whole other year to see the two titans go head-to-head in the greatest cinematic battle of all-time. Studios seem fine in releasing their smaller, more disposable movies to streaming, but with their big tentpole pictures, they are too stubborn to not give them to audiences on the big screen.
But while this looks like it could be the new thing if the Coronavirus lasts long enough, theaters are actually starting to open back up all over the world. In the US, cinemas are aiming for a grand reopening sometime this month. Regal cinemas are now aiming for a July 31st open, similar to AMC’s end-of-July aim. However, due to the virus, theaters will limit it to 25% capacity with social distancing guidelines required. So it might not be the same as it was before, but theaters are coming back.
The thing is, does anybody really want to sit in a nearly-empty theater with a few people wearing a bunch of face masks, or do you want to stay in the comfort of your nice home renting the darn thing on Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, or whatever Google’s streaming service is. It won’t be the same experience for a while, and people know that, so theaters may not make the comeback some folks were expecting.
It just makes you wonder whether studios will keep releasing what they choose to Amazon early, or even without theatrical release, or if they will stick to the good old cinemas. In the meantime, there are still several movies left to come to home streaming, but with cinemas opening ll over the world, audiences may want the big screen again. Covid, or not.
Movies Mentioned in the Article Available for Rent, Buy or Streaming.
Certified For: Ages 14+
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Certified For: Ages 11+
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Certified For: Ages 6+
If we have rated a movie 13 plus, this likely means that the given film is either rated PG-13 or even R by the MPAA, so please take caution for your kids. Otherwise, have fun watching the family-friendly picks!