Post by mr. excellent on Dec 28, 2020 20:09:32 GMT -5
I don't think they will ever go away completely, but there may be many fewer theaters than there are now. I will certainly go back to supporting the theater industry as soon as the missus gives me the green light (hopefully April or May). Without getting political, I am happy that the $900 billion dollar stimulus package includes relief for the theater industry.
That said, I want to point out that people have been declaring the end of movie theaters since VHS was introduced, but the industry has found a way to survive. At the end of the day, this pandemic just reinforces how social we are as a species. People are clamoring to go back to social events: sports contests, concerts, movies and even school (for non academic reasons, but still!!) So I do believe people are eager to get back out there and participate in that communal viewing experience. For what it's worth, I was reading yesterday and today that WW84's performance has helped to boost movie theater stocks. Also, WW84 exceeded WBs expectations across all of their key viewing and subscriber metrics. Shortly after I read that, WB announced they'd officially signed Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot for Wonder Woman 3. Why they still hadn't locked them down and put a ring on 'em, I'll never know. I mean, they made the same mistake after failing to sign Jenkins following the success of the first WW. Today I also saw that DC is looking to put out as many as 4 movies in theaters per year and 2 on HBO max (are those releases mutually exclusive? I dunno...)
So, things are looking up man.
That said, I want to point out that people have been declaring the end of movie theaters since VHS was introduced, but the industry has found a way to survive. At the end of the day, this pandemic just reinforces how social we are as a species. People are clamoring to go back to social events: sports contests, concerts, movies and even school (for non academic reasons, but still!!) So I do believe people are eager to get back out there and participate in that communal viewing experience. For what it's worth, I was reading yesterday and today that WW84's performance has helped to boost movie theater stocks. Also, WW84 exceeded WBs expectations across all of their key viewing and subscriber metrics. Shortly after I read that, WB announced they'd officially signed Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot for Wonder Woman 3. Why they still hadn't locked them down and put a ring on 'em, I'll never know. I mean, they made the same mistake after failing to sign Jenkins following the success of the first WW. Today I also saw that DC is looking to put out as many as 4 movies in theaters per year and 2 on HBO max (are those releases mutually exclusive? I dunno...)
So, things are looking up man.