- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (40th Anniversary) £50,406
Six months after one of the worst Star Wars films opened in cinemas (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) £28.01m, the fans favourite Star Wars film opened with 0.2%.
The film was released for its 40th anniversary, Disney had originally planned to release the film in cinemas in 4K for the first time but due to disagreement with exhibitors, the film was released in 2K. This was probably due in part to Vue and Cineworld delaying the reopening of their cinemas from July 10th to July 31st due to Tenet and Mulan being delayed to l August 12th and Mulan to August 21st.
On June 25th exhibitors announced their film scheduled for July 4th with 10th anniversary screenings Inception for July 10th onwards and a week later Disney announced Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back would be shown in cinemas in 4K for the first time from July 10th.
A few days later Disney also cancelled plans to release The Empire Strikes Back in 4K and instead will show it in 2K with the 4K for Disney+. Most cinemagoers would not notice the difference in seeing a film in 2K or 4K as most people are still watching standard definition on their 4K TVs.
It is the third time The Empire Strikes Back has been #1 at the UK box office, the first time was its original release in May 1980 when it took over £9m, the first was re-released as part of the 20th anniversary of Star Wars in 1997 taking £7.2m. It then took £6.3m in 2015 with Secret Cinema.
In 1980 The Empire Strikes Back was #1 for 9 weeks; in 1997 The Empire Strikes Back was #1 for one week (opening with £1.55m) and in 2015 was in the lower end of the top 10 for the majority of it is 16 weeks run during the summer.
The Empire Strikes Back has taken £22.8m over its lifetime, but each of the four had quite different prices, in 1980 average ticket cost only £1.42, in 1997 it was $4.07, for Secret Cinema in 2015 it was £60+ and then for its current release most cinemas were about £5.
The Empire Strikes Back has been rated by the BBFC three times for cinema since 1980 but all three have three different running times, in 1980 124m 15s; in 1997 126m 52s and in 2020 127m 15s? As 2020 should surely be shorter than 1997 as sadly would be missing Fox logo?
In 1997 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope and to build the hype for the Star Wars prequels released from 1999, 20th Century Fox released the Star Wars trilogy Special Edition.
20th Century Fox launched the re-release of the films with a trailer showing how “for an entire generation people have been experiencing Star Wars the only way its been possible on the TV screen, but if you’ve only seen it this way, you haven’t seen it at all.’
Always thought that for the relaunching of the cinema after the lockdown a similar trailer would be a great way to sell the cinema experience, for the last three months you have been streaming films on your phone and tablets, now see the film as they were meant to be seen.
Streaming and VOD should be complementary to the cinema and should not be seen as competition, the only reason why it has become competition for cinema is exhibitors have killed the golden goose by pricing out many people from going to the cinemas as often as they would like to go.
People are still opting to go to the cinema paying over £15 over the last couple of weeks to see films they could watch free from Netflix or Sky Movies.
Beijing cinema chain boss said that the cinema shutdown gives the industry “once in a lifetime chance’ to reinvent the cinema experience to show streaming cannot compete with seeing films in the cinema. Which it should surely take and not go back to old habits as many were not working that well before lockdown. Always thought that the reopening of global cinema could be part of a massive cinema experience campaign similar to British Film Year in 1985 or National Cinema Day as the 125th anniversary of cinema starts later in the year in France moving to the UK next February and May in the US.
- Onward – £35,086 – £5,355,929
Up 62.2% in its 19th weekend
1,084th biggest film in the UK between Clear And Present Danger and Daredevil (close to The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Happy Feet 2 and The Angry Birds Movie 2 and Hercules) and 1,250th biggest inflation inflated film between Real Steel and Ghost in the Shell (close to John Carter, Smurfs: The Lost Village, Muppet Treasure Island and The Last Airbender).
Reviews for Onward were mixed but had cinemas stayed open with Easter holidays a few weeks later even with competition from Trolls World Tour and Peter Rabbit 2 it would have taken upwards of £15m more than The Good Dinosaur and Cars 3, instead Onward is the only Pixar film to not take over £10m the UK box office
23 Pixar films have taken over £690m at the box office since Toy Story in 1996 and over £890m inflation inflated.
As with 2015 and 2018 Disney are releasing two Pixar films this year with Soul opening in November.
Pixar has one untitled film for release in 2021, two untitled in 2022 and one untitled In 2023 all expected to be original films.
- Black Water: Abyss – £28,053 – NE
Sequel to sequel to Australian crocodile horror Black Water which took £65,000 in UK cinemas in 2008.
Last year Crawl opened in the UK with £458,796 from 483 screens, while 20 years ago Lake Placid opened with £931,472 taking £3,493,960
While Christopher Nolan might want to e seen as the saviour of cinema with Tenet being the first studio release to open after the three-month lockdown, Black Water: Abyss is the first new release to open after the lockdown.
The film opened in 79 screens
- Trolls World Tour – £19,996 – £64,835
Week 14 on release since Trolls World Tour was released on VOD after cinemas shut two weeks before its UK release.
There was much outrage from exhibitors when Universal Pictures decided to release Trolls World Tour to PVOD three weeks after cinemas were forced to close rather than delay the film, but they were in a very awkward position as the film promotional partners were already in place and would have been very costly for them to push back its release.
Sony Pictures had similar issues with Peter Rabbit 2 which had bigger promotional partners in place ahead of Easter and they must have probably thought about releasing it on PVOD, but it is a much more valuable property for the studio than Trolls World Tour is to Universal.
Warner Bros faced similar issues with Wonder Woman 1984 with the Revlon x Wonder Woman 1984 Collection launched this week which would have been less than a month away from the film’s release, which has been delayed till October.
The first Trolls film was a big hit in the UK opening in October 2016 with £5,440,878 taking £23,364,692, it was helped having featuring Justin Timberlake’s song of the summer from the film Cannot stop the feeling, the video has been viewed over 1.22bn times on YouTube
Immediately after Universal Pictures announced the film was being released straight to VOD AMC and Regal cinemas banned all Universal Pictures films and also said any films that break the theatrical window.
The problem is the current theatrical window does not work and it needs to be replaced with a flexible window tailored to each film. It would have been great to think that distributors and exhibitors would have used the lockdown to try to come up with an alternative to the current theatrical widow, as while distributors need to sign off on keeping to the window exhibitors and pull an underperforming film from cinemas within weeks and the distributor is in limbo with the film, as it’s not available legally in cinemas or on VOD so people will seek it out illegally.
If exhibitors voided the theatrical window for three months after the lockdown it would allow distributors to take some risk opening films in cinemas early, as until distributors know audiences are back they will surely not risk opening a major film, but if the distributor knew if the film failed to take a certain amount, then it could be released on PVOD along theatrical after a month then they would take the risk.
- Dirty Dancing – £15,134 – £3,953,157
Up 24.1%; Includes regular cinema screenings and also Luna Cinema drive-I screenings across the UK; regular cinema screening tickets were about £5 but the drive-in screenings were about £40.
Secret Cinema was planned to hold its third Dirty Dancing event this summer (starting July 22nd) but was delayed to net summer due to Coronavirus with tickets from £49. The previous times were in July 2016 taking £1.9m over two weeks (£946,086 week 1 and £953,520 week 2) and in 2013 when over 12,000 people attended Secret Cinema event over three days.
Dirty Dancing originally opened in the UK in October 1987 with £1.01m taking £1.62m but has played regularly in cinemas since.
Lionsgate last re-released Dirty Dancing in cinemas on February 14th for one night only to celebrate the films 30th anniversary ahead of its DVD re-release. In 2007 Dirty Dancing took £224,000 from its 20th-anniversary re-release.
The film’s soundtrack sold over 32 million copies worldwide; the album spent 18 weeks at #1 at in the US, but only got to #4 in the UK album chart staying in the top 10 for 19 weeks.
A 2007 Sky Movies survey had Dirty Dancing #1 “Women’s most-watched films”, ahead of Star Wars trilogy, Grease, The Sound of Music, and Pretty Woman and seen and was called “the Star Wars for girls.
While Baby’s “I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you.” Was #1 on “most romantic movie quotes ever” and the song, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”, is the “third most popular song played at funerals” in the UK.
Also released
27 films on release were released over a decade ago with over 150 films playing on over 1,200 screens across the UK and Ireland.
Including
Batman Begins £8,035; The Dark Knight Rises £4,656; Mamma Mia! £4,520; Shaun Of The Dead £2,119; The Shining (Re: 2019) £1,050; Labyrinth (Re: 2013) £985; Fantastic Mr. Fox £971; Lawrence Of Arabia (Re: 2012) £540; Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets £470; Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban £230; Alien (Re: 2014) £198; Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire £165; The Italian Job (50th Anniversary) £58; Withnail & I (Re: 2014) £58
Most cinemas showing the films at a reduced rate with about 50,000 admissions in total for the weekend which is far from what they were this time last year 1,789,247.
- Shawshank Redemption – £13,230 – £37,836
After just missing out of being I the top 10 last weekend the classic film returns into the first time since it was first released in 1995 when despite receiving critical acclaim failed to find a wide audience taking £2,322,042.
While Shawshank Redemption received positive reviews the film was a box office disappointment in the US and was nominated for 7 Oscars but was overshadowed by Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump and the title confused audiences.
The original title was Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption which was a short story within novella by Stephen King called Different Seasons, Apt Pupil and The Body (retitled Stand By Me) have also been made into films but the last The Breathing Method has yet to be turned into a film, last year Scott Derrickson was attached to direct the film.
Over the years that followed Shawshank Redemption became a cultural phenomenon, topping best film lists and has been regularly shown on TV.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 15 box office took £264,643 up 63.2% from last weekend (£162,117)
The weekend admissions 43,098 up 52.16% from last week (22,423)
Top three took 42.9% (£113,545) of the top 15); Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back 19.5% (£50,406); Onward 13.2% (£35,086); Black Water: Abyss 10.6% (£28,053);
2019: (£10,421,245) of the top 10; Spider-Man: Far from Home (33.2%) (£4,396,516) Toy Story 4 (28.3%) (£3,801,247); Annabelle Comes Home 16.8% (£2,223,482)
2018: (£14,198,894); Incredibles 2 (£9,650,000); Skyscraper (£1,829,830); The Secret of Marrowbone (£171,161); First Reformed (£73,233); Vertigo (60th Anniversary) (£10,845); #1 Incredibles 2 £9,650,000 1st week 664 screens (67.9% of top 10)
2017: (£19,205,602); War for the Planet of the Apes (£7,195,773); Cars 3 (£2,625,000); The Beguiled (£414,924); #1 War for the Planet of the Apes £7,195,773 1st week 597 screens (37.4% of top 10)
2016: (£16,046,904); Ghostbusters (£4,388,944); Ice Age: Collision Course (£3,780,694); Dirty Dancing (Secret Cinema) (£946,086); Keanu (£13,736); #1 Ghostbusters £4,388,944 1st week 581 screens (27.3% of the top 10)
2015; (£13,559,349); Ted 2 (£3,867,723); Love & Mercy (£105,718); Song Of The Sea (£72,172); The Human Centipede 3 (£938); #1 Minions £4,154,359 3rd week 605 screens 33$ drop (30.6% of top 10)
2014: (£22,934,264); Transformers: Age of Extinction (£11,751,427); How to Train Your Dragon 2 (£7,779,040); Begin Again (£456,438); Boyhood (£332,834); #1 Transformers: Age of Extinction £11,751,427 1st week 533 screens (51.2% of top 10)
2013: (£10,431,833); Monsters University (£3,463,917); Pacific Rim (£2,193,500); We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks (£19,309); Trap for Cinderella (£2,845); #1 Monsters University £3,463,917 1st week 525 screens (33.2% of top 10)
2012 (£18,271,575); Ice Age: Continental Drift (£10,087,052); Magic Mike (£2,651,015); Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (£357,200); Chariots of Fire (Re: 2012) (£63,857); 1st week 522 screens (55.2% of top 10)
2011 (£29,355,666); Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (£23,753,171); Cell 211 (£21,479); #1 Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 £23,753,171 1st week 582 screens (80.9% of top 10)
2010: (£21,686,365); The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (£13,756,653); Predators (£2,203,193); Leaving (£35,532); #1 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse £13,756,653 1st week 523 screens (63.4% of top 10)
2009; (£14,688,163); Bruno (£5,000,229); Fired Up (£30,691); #1 Bruno £5,000,229 1st week 456 screens (34.1% of top 10)
2008; (£16,622,538); Mamma Mia! (£6,594,058); Journey to the Centre of the Earth (£953,878); Forbidden Kingdom (£676,217); #1 Mamma Mia! £6,594,058 1st week 496 screens (39.6% of top 10)
2007:(£22,106,427); Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (£16,493,305); Moliere (£76,061); Macbeth (£2,093); #1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix £16,493,305 1st week 567 screens (74.6% of top 10)
2006; (£11,936,216); Superman Returns (£4,337,637); Atomised (£25,823); #1 Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest £6,048,087 2nd week 514 screens 56% drop (50.6% of top 10)
2005 (£11,195,244); Madagascar (£5,431,639); Wedding Crashers (£2,182,597); Festival (£34,010); #1 Madagascar £5,431,639 1st week 505 screens (48.5% of top 10)
2004 (£12,636,832); Around the World in 80 Days (£1,631,963); Fahrenheit 9/11 (£1,304,115); Walking Tall (£356,193); Twisted (£108,235); #1 Shrek 2 £7,097,154 2nd week 512 screens 56% drop (56.1% of top 10)
2003 (£4,889,023); Daddy Day Care (£796,259); Veronica Guerin (£271,996); Whale Rider (£121,610); The In-Laws (£108,031); #1 Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle £1,581,273 2nd week 475 screens 52% drop (32.3% of top 10)
2002 (£10,406,087); Scooby-Doo (£5,129,109); Resident Evil (£801,628); Bad Company (£382,949); Nine Queens (£49,438); #1 Scooby-Doo £5,129,109 1st week 472 screens (49.2% of top 10)
Other Box Office News
Ever since China shut down all of their cinemas in January the film industry should have been proactive in the way they would deal with Coronavirus, but instead, they relied on government advice rather than the experts. Europe and the US always had an advantage over Asia as they could learn from how other counties dealt with the pandemic, but instead, they did it their own way.
John Fithian talked about postponing release dates could do lasting damage to the industry, calling the coronavirus pandemic “existential” for the movie theatre industry and that “If we go a year without new movies, it’s over,”, he warned that continuing to postpone release dates could do lasting damage to the industry. But what is more likely to do much more damage is opening Tenet and Mulan too soon and if either or both underperform might scare studios away from releasing major releases for many more months.
US box office for this year is expected to drop up to 70% from last year; 2020 box office will be $4.4bn compared to $11.4bn in 2019.
While it’s understandable the need to reopen cinemas as soon as possible and ask studios to release their big films immediately they will not want to release them until they can be sure cinemagoers are back, as all the research shows it will be months before cinema attendance returns to pre-lockdown levels.
If cinemas were to reopen next month this probably would not happen till October, so why would Warner or Disney risk opening Tenet or Mulan to take less than half the box office they would have taken 6 months ago. There is the added issue if these films were to perform very badly it could spook studios so much they will not risk opening anything big for the rest of the year.
If exhibitors are so eager for studios to risk opening these films in cinemas they need to give back to the studios for taking the risk and that must be shorter theatrical windows and these films allowed to be released on VOD if they fail to attract the expected audience, or be released on VOD within weeks of release giving people who feel uncomfortable to go to the cinema at the moment to see the films. Of course, this is not something exhibitors will want to do as, especially so soon after getting their knickers in a twist over Universal Pictures releasing Trolls World Tour direct to VOD.
While AMC and Regal immediately said they would ban Universal Pictures films did not say anything about Warner releasing Scoob on VOD or Disney releasing both Artemis Fowl and The One and Only Ivan straight to Disney+ and shortening the home entertainment windows with several of their recent films.
Much has been made from the possible bankruptcy for AMC and Cineworld, but both were in trouble long before Coronavirus as both exhibitors overstretched buying rival cinema chains in markets that have had little growth in recent years, trying to be #1, global exhibitor. While bosses are working remotely staff have to deal with customers who are not temperature checked or not forced to wear masks putting them at risk.
Had it not been for Nolan, Tenet would have moved to October in March as would have Mulan as all other summer releases, the only reason for the continued delaying of these films is Nolan’s insistence Tenet is released this summer as he wants to be the first major released opened after lockdown so he can be “the savour of cinema”.
Tenet should have moved to October 2nd in March as soon as Venom 2 was delayed and summer 2020 would have been null and void; Nolan has a lot to answer for wanting to be ‘the saviour of cinema’ his demands probably pushed back opening several months while costing lives and money.
Warner should stop pandering to Christopher Nolan and just tell him if he wants Tenet to open in the summer will be summer 2021 as the industry likewise all films need to be dated TBD until Coronavirus cases are in decline even if that’s 6+ months or more safety has to come first.
If Tenet is to open on August 12th then Warner Bros should issue cinemagoers with Tenet promotional oxygen masks
On Monday, July 13th California Governor Gavin Newsom announced all movie theatres to close again, giving no date when they might reopen due to Coronavirus cases increasing in the state and in 40 other states across the US with Florida severely affected.
The cinema industry has a once in a century chance to relaunch itself and this needs to be when people feel cinema is risk-free and this is not currently now. UK exhibitors have asked studios if they could release new releases before the US but that is not going to happen until China cinemas reopen and that is not likely before October.
International exhibitors have suggested that studios still release films like Tenet and Mulan now despite US cinemas likely to forced closed until at least September, this is unlikely as the US is still the most important market in the world. Maybe if Chinese cinemas were reopened by now Disney might have opened Mulan outside the US with it going to Disney+ in the US. It is unlikely Warner would want to do the same with Tenet with it opening cinemas internationally and be released o HBO Max in the US.
As Chinese cinemas have been closed for 6+ months so far it was idiocy by studios and exhibitors to think US movie theatres could reopen before September and had it not been for Nolan wouldn’t have even considered reopening before September?
On July 13th it was announced that face masks will be mandatory in shops and supermarkets in England from July 24th, if face masks are mandatory in shops you would also expect them to be mandatory in cinemas, as the risk to Coronavirus is higher indoors as there is less fresh air circulating and the need of air-conditioning which has added issues.
Late last month Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced air conditioning filters with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) rating capable of filtering COVID-19 particles would be mandatory for large malls and movie theatres and they would not be allowed to reopen without them.
Malls and movie theatres were expected to reopen as part of phase three in New York at the start of July but he said “The reason … we slowed on the malls, movie theatres, gyms … these interior spaces with large numbers of people that have recirculating air conditioning systems pose an issue. And I have spoken to a number of engineers about it. You get a movie theatre, you get a mall, you have a large number of people. So, there is a possibility that you have a virus in the air because you have a large number of people.”
With cinemas shut from March 17th and films including Trolls World Tour and Scoob being released on VOD and concerns, audiences won’t return to pre-lockdown levels for many months after cinemas reopen there has been much spoken about more films being released on VOD and if and when a blockbuster would be released straight to VOD.
With cinemas shut now for over 3 months studios have many unreleased films to add to all of the existing films that were dated for the rest of the year, this has seen many pushed back into 2021. While there are also questions over if some of the films that were in production for release next year will be completed in time, but with some analyst not expecting US cinemas to be fully back until Thanksgiving.
Research from April says 55% are willing to try PVoD instead of the cinema, with 20% saying they had brought a PVoD film during the lockdown and this is higher with children (26% ) as Trolls World Tour and Scoob were the two PVoD biggies.
The one issue that is holding back people from buying is the price, but at $20 that is cheaper than many cinema tickets, but for a single person it could feel expensive but when it is a family $20 is far cheaper than seeing the film in the cinema.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Predictions
More cinemas are slowly reopening across the country with Scottish cinemas also reopening this weekend, but it will not be until July 31st before the majority of cinemas will reopen with Vue and Cineworld reopening. Vue and Cineworld delayed the opening of their cinemas after Tenet and Mulan were delayed and it’s expected with Coronavirus cases dramatically increasing in the US both films will be delayed again probably this time to October. It will be interesting to see if exhibitors keep cinemas open when Tenet and Mulan are delayed as there are a few smaller times opening.
UK exhibitors have asked US studios to open films like Tenet and Mulan ahead of the US, but this is unlikely to happen as the US and China are still the most important markets and opening early without confirming dates would see massive piracy. So rather than getting US studios to open their films early, why don’t distributors release some their non-US films as many of them have been also delayed due to cinemas being closed for the last three months?
Om Wednesday VAT was reduced for the hospitality sector from 20% to 5% till January and while Theatre tickets, amusement parks, caravan bookings, zoos, restaurants, and takeaways were cheaper exhibitors did not pass on the savings to their customers.
At last week’s Screendaily talk exhibitors said they will use the cut will pay staff, “I’ll be honest and frank. The intention is not to pass the savings on [to customers],”… “If we passed it straight on, it would do little. I don’t think people are choosing to come out to an Everyman, or not to come out to an Everyman this weekend, based on whether our tickets are £14 or £12.60.”… the VAT reduction will “enable us to consider keeping staff on furlough for longer; it will enable us to open more cinemas earlier.”
Also on Wednesday, the U.K. Cinema Association launched a campaign to try to assure cinemagoers they were safe going to the cinema, that the measures they brought in would protect cinema workers and audiences during the pandemic.
The U.K. Cinema Association said there was an overwhelming desire amongst cinema-goers to return to the cinema as soon according to research done by themselves and others, but all of this research has said it will be several months, not weeks before the majority will feel safe going back to the cinema.
The Cineworld Action Group said, “With the announcement that face coverings will be compulsory in shops in England from the 24th, we are pushing for this legislation to apply in retail areas within cinemas as well as in foyers, corridors and toilets where social distancing will be harder to observe.”
Odeon Workers Union said “Workers’ groups across UK cinemas have been calling for this obvious safety measure for weeks, only to be ignored by our employers. This industry needs to do better by us all.”
If cinema staff have to be temperature checked and wear masks then temperature checks and masks should be mandatory for all customers, the UK announced confusing plans for mandatory masks to be worn in shops and supermarkets as they are currently on public transport, but the staff in shops and workers in offices are exempt.
As air-conditioning has been seen as a possible way for Coronavirus to travel through a building if the filters aren’t up to standard this makes little sense, France also announced mandatory masks and they were far simple everywhere with the exception of eating food in a restaurant, bar or café, but all other times your their masks are mandatory.
Masks and temperature checks are showing customers immediately that these companies are thinking about their staff and their customers’ safety ahead of sales and this would surely make people more likely to go back to cinemas sooner, I know I would return next week if I knew this was happening at my local.
The reopening of cinemas feels similar to the reopening of Disney World as Disney’s corporate offices are shut with management working from home, but they still demand their theme park staff interact with the public. The one thing they do have over cinema floor staff is that customers are temperature checked before entering and masks are worn at all times whilst also being outside.
Long before cinemas hut they have had hygiene issues, so while they have announced more intensive cleaning they are still heavily reliant on customers, before lockdown almost 70% of men didn’t wash their hands going into a public toilet, this is probably far less now but the issue is more about how much do you trust your fellow cinemagoers, as there is a lot of touching different surfaces in the cinema if hands aren’t washed.
I might be going a bit overboard, but the other issues areas the UK has yet to have a track and trace app are cinemas keeping track of everyone who attends to the cinema. I just believe in the first few months safety measures should be very tight and if they are very visual they will make people feel safer and more people will come back quicker.
At the Screendaily talk exhibitors, the U.K. Cinema Association said On the issue of face masks, there is not yet a UK-wide consensus on this. However, in England… “no requirement for guests or staff to wear face coverings…in terms of the guidelines we have been given by Public Health England, there is no requirement.” “That may change,” … “We have had some criticism about that but ‘cinema trade bodies second-guess public health experts’ is not [the headline] I am going for.”
This is similar to the comments he made about not bringing in safety measures in March until they got government advice, but who knows cinema better government officials or the industry, if exhibitors can see customers and staff are concerned then these extra safety measures should be put in place, the problem is exhibitors aren’t proactive, they are always reacting, which has been also the reason why they have been so slow to react to how people are choosing to watch films differently as they are set in their ways and don’t like change.
“I am not going to sit here and pretend I am a virologist or second guess the advice we’ve been given,” You might not be a virologist but you can see how incompetent the English government has been dealing with Coronavirus and can see how other countries have dealt with it far better so rather than wait for the English government to stop dithering and make decision exhibitors should be making these decisions for themselves?
The most recent from June 25th and July 2nd asking 3,000 people through MCM Comic Con online channels. 66% said they would go back to the cinema within two months of reopening and another 11% said within three months. This is similar to other surveys that said the majority of cinemas will return but it will take time, but time is not what Warner and Disney have if they plan to open Tenet and Mulan within two weeks of the majority of UK cinemas reopening.
Their top 10 most anticipated films; Wonder Woman 1984; Bill & Ted Face the Music; A Quiet Place Part II; Tenet; Mulan; The King’s Man; The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It; Monster Hunter; Candyman and The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run.
Their choices showed these were people who will rush out to see these films immediately they open, so if they were still slightly hesitant then it would surely be far too early to release films like Tenet and Mulan as they are unlikely to attract the audience that would go to see them if they were delayed a few months.
In an alternative universe Christopher Nolan’s Tenet would have opened this Friday against Top Gun: Maverick In the UK; would have been an interesting battle for supremacy as ten years earlier Inception opened with £5,912,814 in July 2010 and Tenet would have likely opened similar.
Much harder to have predicted Top Gun: Maverick box office opening 34 years after the original film, Blade Runner 2049 opened 35 years after the original film with £6,071,625 but Top Gin was a much bigger hit in 1986, but the two films could have cannibalized themselves as both targetting older audiences.
The same week last year The Lion King opened £16.67m
