by Josh Sewell
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| The Invisible Man Courtesy of Universal |
Over the last week or so, our country’s new normal has changed by the day. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have shut down; grocery stores are overrun (the toilet paper thing still baffles me); and hospitals are prepping for worst-case scenarios straight out of Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion (a phenomenal movie, but one you probably don’t want to watch right now).
Although not nearly important in the grand scheme of things, pop culture is getting hit hard. Festivals and concerts are canceled; almost all film and television productions have shut down; and practically every upcoming movie’s release date has been postponed. But the public’s appetite for entertainment continues unabated, especially those who have the luxury of self-quarantining to keep the pandemic from crippling the nation’s health care system.
People are binging Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Amazon Prime and everything else they can get their hands on. Studios are starting to notice, and they need a backup plan since theatrical distribution isn’t going to be possible for quite a while.
On Monday, Universal announced it’s making recent movies like The Invisible Man, Emma and The Hunt – which opened six days ago – available to rent online starting tomorrow for $20. That sounds pricey at first, until you realize that’s less than two theater tickets. The studio’s doing the same for Trolls World Tour on April 10, its currently scheduled (we’ll see, I guess) theatrical release date.
To be honest, it’s a brilliant move that theater chains have been fighting for years because they know it’s their death knell. Think about all those parents who would gladly pay $20 to watch the animated sequel at home instead of buying four tickets, popcorn, drinks, etc. Plus, they can pause and not miss 5 minutes every time their kids need to pee. Heck, I see movies for free and I’d pay that just so I don’t have to drive back and forth to Atlanta for screenings.
Another momentous shift also happened on Monday: Regal announced it’s closing all theaters nationwide until further notice, starting tomorrow. As of my deadline, other chains hadn’t yet followed suit, but it’s probably imminent. Multiplexes are losing a ton of money when the industry was already on shaky ground, long-term.
Clearly, there are more important things to focus on right now. But when we emerge from the wreckage of COVID-19, whether it’s a month, a year or longer, movie fans are going to see a vastly different exhibition/distribution landscape. It’ll be one where theater chains play a much smaller role.
While I don’t think theaters will ever completely disappear, there will come a time when seeing movies on the big screen becomes a boutique experience. Multiplexes will be rare, replaced by fewer locations that cater to a smaller, more discerning clientele, and there’s no doubt it’ll cost more. We’re already starting to see this happen with popular Fathom Events revival/anniversary screenings.
Sadly, for nerds like me, we’ll start to see theaters vanish from small towns like drive-ins did in the 1970s and ’80s. It breaks my heart, but it’s been coming for a while. Corporate chains couldn’t keep up with the changing times, refusing to adopt a business model popular enough to compete with home viewing.
Most theaters are dirty (which people simply won’t tolerate in a post-pandemic world); the sound is either too quiet or it blows out your eardrums; and the screen is too dark. Besides, they’re already using computer files instead of film anyway, putting them on a timer instead of hiring a qualified projectionist. Hardcore movie fans often do a better job with their giant TVs and sound systems at home.
Earlier in the week, I was talking about these developments with some friends (online, of course, in this new era of social distancing) and someone astutely pointed out that one big failure of modern chains is that they aren’t persuasive when it comes to selling the theatrical experience itself. Think about all the magical big screen experiences that could never play the same on a television, laptop, or – heaven forbid – a phone.
Lawrence of Arabia. 2001: A Space Odyssey. Interstellar. Heck, even La La Land plays totally different on the big screen. That’s why, if I could re-do 2016 (something quite a few people are wishing for these days), Moonlight would easily replace it as my top film of that year.
Looking back at last spring, one of the reasons Avengers: Endgame did such huge business was because it was the only blockbuster in recent memory to sell itself as a once-in-a-lifetime event. You simply had to see in in a theater, and you had to do it opening weekend. Attendance was mandatory. The trailers kept the plot under wraps and social media marketing went with the genius strategy that you had to see it as soon as possible, before friends or social media spoiled it for you.
When that becomes the exception instead of the rule, people are going to find reasons to skip the lines, save money and watch at home. The window from theatrical distribution to rental/physical media was already down to three or four months before COVID-19 changed everything. Universal has opened a door that other studios are going to follow them through, especially since it will be their main revenue streams for the foreseeable future.
When society gets back to normal – whatever that ends up looking like – it’s going to be impossible to close that door again. I must admit, I’m curious to see where it will lead.
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