Cinema attendance in the US and around the world slumped dramatically last weekend, as the effects of the coronavirus outbreak began to bite.
In North America, box-office revenue dropped to its lowest level in two decades as audiences began to stay away. Variety reported that the total amount for Friday to Sunday in the US and Canada was about $55.3m, the worst result since September 2000, and a 45% drop from the weekend before. The top-performing film, Pixar’s Onward, recorded a fall of 73.1% for a total of $10.53m. Box-office declines are typical for wide-release films, but, for comparison, Pixar’s last original scripted animation, Coco, dropped by 45.8% at the same point in its run in 2017.
“Social distancing” measures adopted by major cinema chains, such as Regal and AMC, including a reduction in cinema capacity, attendance capping and “enhanced cleaning”, also contributed to the diminished audience.
The picture was similarly bleak outside the US. Cinemas were closed in France and Spain, joining China and Italy, and the UK and Ireland have limited capacities and implemented social distancing, such as seat gaps. Deadline reported that the top five films recorded $30.7m in non-US territories, around 85% less than the same weekend two years ago. The Vin Diesel comic book action movie Bloodshot emerged top, taking $15.1m to add to its US first-week total of $10.5m. Its best-performing market, unusually, appears to be Russia, where it took $2.4m.
In the UK, Screen reports that box office takings for the top 5 films are down to £3.31m compared to a total of £6.47m, a drop of 49%. Like the US, Onward was the top-grossing film, but its takings of £1.3m was 50% down on last week’s. Misbehaviour the Miss World protest comedy drama, recorded £330,000 on its opening session.
Future prospects look even worse, as restrictions increase. The mayors of New York and Lost Angeles, Bill de Blasio and Eric Garcetti, have both ordered cinemas to close as part of wider-ranging efforts to safeguard public health. The postponement of almost every major film due for release in the remainder of March and April – including A Quiet Place Part 2, Mulan and No Time to Die – means that even if cinemas remain open, box-office returns will be hit sharply, with the film industry’s global losses projected at $5bn. Work on many major film and TV productions has been suspended, including The Batman, The Little Mermaid and Stranger Things.
Reports suggest, however, that as coronavirus cases drop in China, the country’s cinemas may be preparing to reopen towards the end of April, in time for the May Day holiday.