With Amazon, Netflix, Disney Plus and others fighting for viewers’ attention, the recent announcement that James Bond’s next article will be delayed until April 2021 could be the final nail of the film’s ill ffin.
Odeon (Lon: Ode.f), Vue, and Cineworld (Lon: Cine) all post to reflect what is a frenzied deal for film exits that rely on physical attendance. Since then, hope has been keen to release the pent-up demand created by the lockdown, just like restaurants, bars and even housing markets.
And while social distancing certainly limits capacity utilization (up to about 30%), the main problem is that there are not many products that are simply worth sending back cinemas. The 2020 Slate already looked rather bland, but with Tenet receiving mixed reviews, the family film “Soul” skipped the cinemas and moved straight to an on-demand streaming service, and now the James Bond Mega title “No Time to Die” has been postponed.
James Bond gives Cineworld license to be killed
Cineworld, the UK’s big cinema chain, stands in front of the pack in that it is absolutely blinded by James Bond’s delay.
The Times, which already booked a loss of £1.3 billion, reported that the film plans to close all 128 people in British theatres.
If the theatres reopen in the new year, staff may be asked to accept redundancy.
In his statement, Cineworld said, “We can confirm that we are considering temporary closures of British and American films, but the final decision has not yet been reached.”
“We will update all staff and customers as soon as possible once a decision is made.”
The news follows an attempt to seduce viewers by lowering ticket prices to £4. He wrote to the Prime Minister and said that James Bond’s delay made the industry “unfeasible.”
Legal and political failures can spell the end of cultural and social institutions
Many have quickly condemned the lack of support for the UK government to protect the work of cinema staff such as Cineworld. And certainly, this criticism is only natural.
However, in the US, where studios are clearing chunks from the film industry and making sure nothing is given in return, they need to condemn both changes to both laws and their lack.
During the AMC Universal deals shorten theatre window (enable streaming sites to view new releases faster), the overturn of the Paramount Consent Act of 1948 (preventing studios from buying cinemas), and the lack of studios that prevent studios such as Disney from dying with big titles only on online platforms, Cinemas dies slowly.
We should not only lament the political failures of the West over the years, and the likely chance that viewers will meet viewers at the request of the bishop’s online company, but also lament the possibility of film collapse as a cultural and social institution within society.
If Cineworld went and failed to fully support the country’s theatres, they could see the towns where theatres and films were once culturally empty during the year.
-domcavendish (@omcavendish) October 3, 2020
Looking at the current situation, Harry Barnick, analyst in the senior third bridge sector, commented:
“Now, more than ever, support from the landlord and the UK government is essential for the survival of cinemas.”
“The announcement confirms what we already know: cinemas can’t exist without compelling content.”
“This has many broader implications for this sector. For example, how will competitors like Odeon and Vue respond, and releases like Soul will move directly to PVOD.”
“People chains like Cineworld are suffering due to the pandemic, but smaller independent chains feel a tough recession. Cineworld is likely to reopen its site in the new year, but smaller operators can offer another six months of closure and spell out the end of the UK’s independent film sector.”
