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In a recent report, analyst Eric Wold of financial services provider B. Riley, commented on the impact that the delay of the latest James Bond film is going to have on cinema shares. Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, No Time to Die has been postponed until April 2021, which is yet another blow for the exhibition industry.
With this news, a two-month calendar gap has been created for theatres: “The already shaky near-term film slate that we have been concerned about since June has now become a virtual ghost town during the months of October and November,” said Eric.
On top of that, he also mentioned that at least one more reschedule could take place around Thanksgiving time. The delay of either one of the animated films Soul and The Croods: A New Age means that “the industry’s film slate could essentially be on hold until December.”
The way Hollywood studios and local authorities could help the industry is if they are willing to take a hit themselves, suggested Eric. Although understandable why the studios want to hold releases “we also believe studios must be willing to take a hit to feed the industry and keep the exhibitor group from completely falling apart.”
Although other entertainment options seem to face less severe state-level restrictions, theatre operators are still struggling. “We have been to the movies three times since the pandemic began […] and have never felt anything less than comfortable about the cleaning procedures and consumer acceptance of the mask and distance requirements,” explained Wold. He then went on to praise the cleaning procedures that are in place at movie theatres, hoping it would get notice “before the exhibition industry is irreversibly harmed”.
Earlier in the week, Cineworld, the world’s second-largest cinema chain, announced it would close its US and UK theatres after a nearly 40% fall in revenues. Meanwhile, in the US, AMC Theatres’ stock was down more than 12%, with Imax stock falling too by 6%.
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