Just yesterday afternoon, I published my box office report that talked about how this past weekend was the worst three-day frame in the last 22 years for Hollywood. And yet, even over the last three days, the vast majority of theaters were open and hoping that people would show up despite the threat of coronavirus. However, that’s all about to change.
READ MORE: Weekend Box Office Hits 22-Year Low As Coronavirus Forces People To Stay Indoors
According to THR, the governments of both New York City and Los Angeles have made the decision to force all the movie theaters in each city to close for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ban isn’t just on theaters, but also includes other public gathering locations and hot spots.
“This is not a decision I make lightly,” said New York City mayor Bill de Blasio. “These places are part of the heart and soul of our city. They are part of what it means to be a New Yorker. But our city is facing an unprecedented threat, and we must respond with a wartime mentality. We will come through this, but until we do, we must make whatever sacrifices necessary to help our fellow New Yorkers.”
Before this announcement, it was already clear that the theater industry was going to be in for a tough month or so, as there aren’t any new wide release films scheduled to arrive until April 10. However, even with most theaters capping occupancy at 50% to attempt to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission, studios were at least hoping to make some money in the weekends to come. Now, in two of the biggest film cities in the country, that’s not going to be the case. And likely, by the upcoming weekend, other major cities will follow suit.
With the speed in which this story changes, with closures and cancellations happening almost hourly, it’s silly to even try to guess what this might look like by Friday. But it’s clear that the movie industry, at least on the box office side of things, is going to see some unprecedented weekends ahead.