The National Association of Theater Owners, also known asNATO, is urging the public to not lose their faith in movie theaters or movie theater-going habits asconcerns over the global coronavirus pandemicgrow. Previously, we reported movie theatersin New York City and Los Angeleswere ordered to close as major theater chains includingAMC Theatersand Regal Cinemas announced theater closures and audience capacity restrictions. In all announcements, it was made clear these decisions were made in order to both follow the orders from the CDC while doing everything to ensure the safety of moviegoers.
Now, NATO is further commenting on these movie theater closures as concerns over coronavirus ramp up here in the United States. A lengthy statement from NATO released on Tuesday afternoon begins,
“With the pandemic Coronavirus outbreak, the world is facing a difficult and trying time. As the virus takes hold in different regions at different times and in varying degrees of severity, people and public health officials are grappling with decisions about when to close public-facing businesses and when to restrict personal activity. As with other businesses that serve large groups of people, movie theaters have faced voluntary and mandated restrictions and closures. The majority of movie theaters have now closed. This industry will continue to meet its responsibilities to the public and will abide by public health mandates and adapt to local conditions.”
The NATO statement continues, referring to the numerous studios and distributors who have opted to delay the release dates of big tentpole features which otherwise would have been big drivers to movie theaters: “Our partners in movie distribution have postponed major new releases in response to the Coronavirus situation in markets around the world. Other titles beyond the immediate horizon have not changed their release dates.”
The statement goes on touch on decisions made by studiosincluding Disneyand Universal to send their movies to streamingor VOD soonerthan originally scheduled. In thecase of Universal, who announced on Monday they would be puttingThe Hunt,The Invisible Man, andEmmaon VOD, this means taking those movies currently in theaters and putting them directly in the hands of viewers. A decision like this means even more financial woes for analready-struggling box officeand movie theaters everywhere taking bigger hits than expected.
“Although there has been speculation in the media that the temporary closure of theaters will lead to accelerated or exclusive releases of theatrical titles to home streaming, such speculation ignores the underlying financial logic of studio investment in theatrical titles. To avoid catastrophic losses to the studios, these titles must have the fullest possible theatrical release around the world. While one or two releases may forgo theatrical release, it is our understanding from discussions with distributors that the vast majority of deferred releases will be rescheduled for theatrical release as life returns to normal. When those titles are rescheduled, they will make for an even fuller slate of offerings than normal as they are slotted into an already robust release schedule later in the year.”
To this end, NATO urges us to notlose faith in the moviegoing experienceeven though it feels risky to do so now. NATO also assures the public they do everything in its power to ensure no permanent changes to movie theater operations will be made once it’s deemed safe to go see movies in an actual brick-and-mortar location in the future:
“No one can precisely predict when public life will return to normal, but it will return. The social nature of human beings – the thing that exposes us to contagion, and that makes it so difficult to change behavior in response to pandemic threats – is also the thing that gives us confidence in the future. People will return to movie theaters because that is who people are. When they return they will rediscover a cutting edge, immersive entertainment experience that they have been forcefully reminded they cannot replicate at home. In the uncertain, difficult economy ahead, movie theaters will fill the role they always have in boom times and in recessions – the most popular, affordable entertainment available outside the home.”
The statement concludes with NATO telling us: “While movie theaters will suffer some financial harm in the near term, and many of their 150,000 employees will face personal hardship, when this crisis passes and people return to their hard-wired social nature, movie theaters will be there for them as they have always been, with a full slate of movies far into the future.”
For more, read up on how the coronavirus is expected to financiallyimpact Hollywood going forward.
