The virus known as COVID-19 has changed the world as we know it. People are wearing masks in the streets, washing hands more than ever before, and doing a lot of things like work and schooling from the comfort of their own homes. We’re ordering more takeout to be delivered to our doorsteps, along with our usual trips to the grocery store replaced with online ordering. However, there is one thing that is not changing: The release of entertainment media from major Hollywood studios, even though the uptake on streaming services like Netflix and single-use streaming media like Amazon Video has increased by over 50% since the world started locking things down in March 2020.
Now you would think that Hollywood would be turning to streaming services to show their latest films to help entertain the masses downing this depressing downtime… But no, as has been evident since April 2020, movie studios are delaying film after film after film, leading to a long list of major releases that have been completed and ready for release to be shown in cinemas sometime in 2021 instead of the 2020 season.
It wasn’t so bad in the beginning. During March 2020 we saw some films like Bloodshot & Trolls World Tour released exclusively through streaming services like Amazon Video to (in the case of Trolls World Tour) amazing success. Since then, all we have seen is the announcement of the movie after movie being pushed back to either late 2020 or mid-2021.
It wouldn’t be so bad if these were films that are just keeping cinema seats warm between the major cinema release periods of Summer and Christmas, but we are seeing major films like Black Widow, Wonder Woman 1984, Top Gun: Maverick, The New Mutants, Mulan, Halloween Kills, and so on; all of which are pretty much complete and ready for release being dropped back anywhere from 8 months to a year because the studios or the directors state that they want to help the cinema industry when it reopens… and that’s one of the problems.
You see, cinemas have started reopening around the world as a lot of countries begin coming out of lockdown or have completely eliminated the virus and are returning to normal. But what are those cinemas showing? Take my own country (Australia) into consideration; we aren’t playing anything new. Because of the Hollywood freeze on new releases, my country has been reduced to playing what was out just before the crisis hit, or dragging a lot of cult classic films out of the vault and playing those. As you can see in the photo above, Australia is still playing movies like Bad Boys for Life, Bloodshot, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Jumanji: The Next Level alongside classic films like Alien, Clueless, and the Kill Bill duo.
Almost every film that is currently being shown in cinemas at the moment is already out on DVD/Blu-ray or streaming, so why should people pay upwards of AUD$25 for a ticket and over AUD$20 in popcorn/soda? Not to mention that there are fewer spaces available for patrons to use in the cinema, since social distancing has removed 2 seats between each person and only every second row is available, making pretty much 2/3rds of the cinema unusable; all of this leading to fewer people attending sessions since they don’t have the excess cash to spend on things at the moment.
When it comes to upcoming features, our cinemas are relying on things like old movies to see them through to the end of the year when (hopefully) Hollywood decides to release some new movies to them. Looking at the upcoming releases list for the same cinema chain here in Australia, July is a dead month with nothing interesting being released and the highlight being the “10-year anniversary” of the movie Inception. Come August, when we thought things would be picking up again, Hollywood has decided to remove major announced movies like Tenet and Mulan have been pushed back a second time since, in both America and Australia, cinema numbers are not up to “acceptable” levels. Because let’s call this what it is: Greed.
Hollywood, for some reason, still believes that using the overly-inflated and horribly priced cinema release method for movies is the only way to make back what they threw into the production and marketing of a movie. They still rely on this outdated method of distribution to measure success in a world where people are more than happy to sit at home and watch the content in the comfort of their own living or family room at an easier-to-swallow price point. Almost everyone on the planet seems to have a Netflix account or some other streaming service in their homes, thanks to the invention of the Smart-TV that is connected to the Internet.
Let’s crunch some numbers. In the image above, we have the cinema box office returns for the Trolls World Tour, a movie that was released in a lot of international markets before COVID-19 hit. The movie brought in a total of just over USD$6 million worldwide before cinemas shut down. However, Warner Bros had the smart idea of releasing the movie to the world through streaming services and made over USD$100 million in “online sales” in 3 weeks, which was more than what the previous film had made in the same timeframe. This showed that streaming movies and bypassing the outdated cinema system can work. Again, Warner Bros saw this and decided to do the same thing with their latest Scooby-Doo release, Scoob!, to the success of over USD$50 million in its opening weekend through online sales. Yet Hollywood seems to have gone down the route of pushing film release dates back in favor of keeping them in cinemas.
At the moment, Hollywood is doing what it can to keep itself at arm’s length from streaming services, stating that they want to support the cinema chain business when they reopen and also that by releasing online, it would feed into online movie piracy; which did increase at the beginning of the lockdown but has since slowed down and actually lessened in the months since. But we know these are just bullshit excuses to prop up an easily controlled outdated distribution system where Hollywood can maximize profits as soon as possible.
Modern distribution methods like streaming services are a viable way to get your production budget back as soon as possible, and if your movie is really good, you’ll turn a profit sooner than expected, too, leaving home releases like DVD/Blu-ray as the cherry on top of the cake or the place where you can make up for any shortfall in the initial release. Yet it seems that Hollywood doesn’t want to think like that since it will mean a lot more to them than a simple location change.
This means that they can’t delay movies in some countries until the most profitable timeframe (Australia is notorious for having films delayed for upwards of 6 months to fit in with our school holiday and peak release periods) or remove them completely from release if the country has some sort of classification differences or cultural change requirements. A universal release system like streaming services is harder to control, thus harder to make a profit from, so I doubt we’ll see anything change anytime soon.
Sorry people, but Hollywood doesn’t want to entertain you during one of the worst world events in recent history, they only want your money when they decide that you are worthy of their product.
