It's one of Hollywood's big rolls of the dice.
Key points:
- Cinemas across the world have been closed because of coronavirus
- The US film industry hopes many cinemas there will be open again by mid-July
- The Australian industry is hoping for a similar return across the country
After months of cinema closures around the world for coronavirus, director Christopher Nolan's epic sci-fi thriller, Tenet, is about six weeks away from opening in movie theatres.
All going well, it will be Hollywood's first blockbuster release since the pandemic closed down the film industry across the globe.
The film was written by Nolan and centres on efforts to prevent a third world war, but much of the details are yet to be released.
And the stakes are high.
Washington Post journalist Steven Zeitchik covers the "business of entertainment" and says the entire film industry in the US will be watching Tenet's July 17 release.
But what if this blockbuster movie with a superstar director and a reported $200 million budget doesn't do well?
"If it doesn't, I think we will see a lot of other movies decide not to open," he said.
Loading...
That, he said, would have major ramifications for film studios and struggling cinemas right around the world.
Already, a large number of big-budget films have been delayed, including the next Bond film, the next Ghostbusters movie and Disney's Mulan.
To do well, Tenet will need to succeed in conditions the industry hasn't seen before.
Film faces major challenges
Zeitchik said one concern was whether enough cinemas in the US would be open by mid-July.
"One of the big concerns is really whether all states will be allowing cinemas to open, there was concern just a few weeks ago that California might extend stay-at-home orders until later in the summer," he said.
The other risk is whether moviegoers will feel comfortable and confident enough about the coronavirus risk to return to cinemas, even with increased health measures.
So why has Tenet ended up as the film industry's test case? And why is it being released in July?
Zeitchik said Tenet would not be the first film to be released in July.
Russell Crowe's film, Unhinged, is scheduled to be released earlier, but as an independent film with a smaller budget it doesn't need the sort of distribution a blockbuster does.
Loading...
Zeitchik believes Tenet ended up the test case for the industry because it is ready to be distributed and the director wants it to get a wide cinema release.
Tenet's release important to cinemas around the globe
Zeitchik said he thought Warner Bros was only planning to release Tenet because it believed enough cinemas worldwide would be open by mid-July for it to get a wide international distribution.
"The way the movie business has been done in recent years, for better or worse, is that it has become such a global industry where movies are released all around the world, often on the same weekend," he said.
"Studios really rely on that when they are creating a business plan for their big franchise releases."
A long way from Hollywood, in Boronia in Melbourne's outer south-east, Tom Schouten operates his family-run business, Metro Cinemas.
In Victoria, cinemas can open with up to 50 people from June 22, but must implement social-distancing measures.
Mr Schouten's cinema will have access to Tenet from July 16, but he said that still depended on the US market.
"If something happens in say the Americas and they don't have all their cinemas open, there is always the possibility it could be delayed," he said.
Mr Schouten said he still wasn't sure when he would reopen his business.
Between June 22 and July 16 he won't have access to any big Hollywood blockbusters, but Mr Schouten said he would have other films to screen if he opened his doors.
"Disney have opened up their back library to film, they are making products available, so are the other studios," he said.
He said films that were showing when cinemas were closed down and didn't get a full theatre run, could also be shown again.
But he said many other new movies now don't have a release date or have been significantly delayed.
"The interesting one and the film that was pulled earliest was the new Bond film, No Time to Die, that was due to come out in March," he said.
"With China being in lockdown they pulled that because China is 40 per cent of the market.
"That has now been rescheduled to come out on November 12."
Cinemas, studios face uncertainty
While film studios need cinemas open to release their movies to, cinemas need to consider when they will have films to screen that will attract moviegoers in large enough numbers to make their businesses financially viable.
Mr Schouten said cinemas were also considering the financial impact of social-distancing measures.
He said the maths was difficult for his business.
"We would have to put 100 people through a day just to cover the rent and power, we are going to be restricted to 32 per cent of our maximum seating capacity when we open," he said.
Mr Schouten said it meant with multiple screenings each day, his cinema would have a daily limit of 150 people.
That would require the business to run at two thirds of its capacity to cover its bills.
Mr Schouten said he was hoping to come to an arrangement with his landlord that would help get his business operating again, but he said he knew of other cinemas that may never reopen because of financial pressures.
He said his business needed customers to feel safe to return to the movies, and it also needed films that appealed to its older customers, who make up a lot of his usual daytime ticket sales.
Mr Schouten said Eric Bana's The Dry, an Australian crime film that was scheduled for August, would be important for that demographic.
Australian industry confident new titles will be released
The National Association of Cinema Operators in Australasia's executive director, Michael Hawkins, said the industry was hopeful theatres would be opened across Australia by mid-July.
"Already, distributors are offering release dates for new content, and importantly, Australian films, to coincide with that timeline," he said.
Mr Hawkins said it would be up to individual cinemas to decide if they opened before that date, and said a limitation could be distributors wanting an Australia-wide release date, rather than state-by-state dates.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA1LTMxL3doeS1jaHJpc3RvcGhlci1ub2xhbnMtdGVuZXQtaXMtaG9sbHl3b29kcy10ZXN0LWNhc2UvMTIzMDA3NTbSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTIzMDA3NTY?oc=5
2020-05-30 20:52:07Z
52780819090461
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar