Posted on 03/31/2020 6:04:32 AM PDT by Kaslin
Among the many lasting cultural changes this pandemic is poised to bring about will be serious shifts in the entertainment industry.
China started reopening its dormant movie theaters just as the U.S. box office “hit zero for the first time” last weekend. The lights were back on at only 5 percent of the country’s cinemas, and ticket sales were paltry. Now they’re dark again. As of Wednesday, more than 26,000 AMC employees were laid off or furloughed, including all 600 members of the China-owned theater chain’s corporate staff.
Among the many lasting cultural changes this pandemic is poised to bring about will be serious shifts in the entertainment industry. Streaming technology was already wreaking havoc and propelling changes, but that process is now accelerating at a rapid clip. (See: the Golden Globes.)
The response to Quibi’s long-awaited April 6 launch, for instance, will be telling. From Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, Quibi pitch is as follows: “Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to be entertained, informed and inspired. Launching this April, Quibi will present fresh content from today’s top talent—one quick bite at a time.” Quick bites designed for truncated attention spans. Quibi is offering free 90-day trials, access to its “movie-quality shows designed for your phone,” with “new episodes every day, each 10 minutes or less.”
It’s an odd test of the model. Sure, everyone is now stuck at home with an increased appetite for streaming entertainment, but all that extra at-home time also means the 10-minute format is launching into a very different world than the one in which it was conceived.
Hollywood at large now faces a similarly odd equation: historic demand for content paired with historic budget challenges. Unscripted shows are cheap to make but most productions have been halted right now due to social distancing measures. When those are lifted, the low costs could increase the utility of unscripted content. Studios will try to do as much as they can with as few resources as possible. But it’s still hard to know whether the adjusted processes will inform any lasting change, and exactly what all that will look like on our screens.
The operative word in that sentence is “our.” Here’s the former head of Amazon Studios, Matthew Ball, quoted in a crucial Hollywood Reporter exploration of the industry’s post-pandemic future: “COVID-19 will expand the gaps between those lagging and leading in the transition to digital distributions and business models. OTT video services will surge, while pay TV loses its most valuable content — sports — and sees an accelerated decline in subscriptions and ad revenue. Parks and movie theaters are ground to a halt, while gaming companies hit new highs in usage.”
But there are competing theories. Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman thinks the pendulum will swing back. “There will be a great surge of emotional appreciation for collective experiences,” he told THR. “That’s who we are, as human beings, and that’s who we have always been since telling stories around the fire in prehistoric times, and I think it’s primal. I think it’s going to remind people how much they love what they’ve missed.”
Mark Cuban largely agrees. “People will forever get cabin fever, and ‘Netflix and chill’ is not a long-term solution for 16-year-olds who are dating, at least not in my house,” he said in the same report. “People will return to their old habits once they trust their environments to be safe. We have had tragedies in entertainment venues before, yet people have returned. I don’t expect this to be different.”
There’s a middle ground here, of course. Post-pandemic, Hollywood may well look like the leaner, more streaming-centric version of itself that it was destined to become in three years, an industry that better reflects shifting consumer demands. But that would involve an enormously painful transition process and depends on consumers sorting out exactly what our demands are.
Is it generally preferable to pay the same (or more) as a movie ticket to stream a new release at home? Will enough people still appreciate the “collective” theater experience Rothman mentioned to meaningfully sustain that industry? And at what level?
Certainly, being forced to enjoy movies at home will help consumers better understand their entertainment preferences. But these are exceptional circumstances, meaning consumer behavior can’t reliably inform the industry’s adjustments since it will not reflect consumer behavior after the virus is contained.
When that happens, people may rush back to their local AMC to load up on popcorn only theaters can seem to produce and see new releases on the big screen. Maybe we will indeed have a new appreciation for those “collective experiences,” as Rothman predicted. Or maybe only some people will. Maybe others will be convinced they should never have to leave their couch to see new releases again.
Maybe the demand will be for an even more specialized experience: If you’re going to leave your house and pay big bucks to see a movie you can queue up on demand, do you want beautiful theaters, retro offerings, and delicious food? Realistically, we’ll settle on some combination of those possibilities. (Maybe we’ll also decide to love the drive-in again?)
As of today, however, the industry really has no way of knowing how that balance will shake out. What Hollywood knows right now is that people want at-home entertainment, and the industry’s job is to figure out how to make that happen—and in a bad economy. This is streaming’s biggest test yet.
I would rather pay $5-$10 to stream a new Hollywood “blockbuster” then go watch it in a theater, which the last time was Iron Man 2. Hollywood needs to go direct and cut out the middleman.
And yes I know there are hundreds of Freepers who will chime in anti-anything Hollywood/TV/ professional sports and that is your perogative, however some of still enjoy a good movie, tv program, or ball game. So this is just my opinion and I’m not trying to change your mi ds or lifestyle.
Once school performances and sports are cancelled all those feeder industries will die out acting and voice coaches will be out of business.musical instrument manufacturing will dry up. Nancy Pelosi wants to save the Kennedy Center but she doesn’t realize the whole entertainment industry will be dead in one year. They have always been non essential.
“And yes I know there are hundreds of Freepers who will chime in anti-anything Hollywood/TV/ professional sports and that is your perogative, however some of still enjoy a good movie, tv program, or ball game. So this is just my opinion and I’m not trying to change your mi ds or lifestyle.”
I don’t go to the movies because people suck. You pay good money and you have people talking, on their phones, up and down going to the lobby. I have a nice tv and decent sound, if I can’t watch at home, I don’t watch.
I like the big screen experience. The laser projected imax in my area is the best screen I’ve ever seen bar none.
Haven’t been to see a movie in a theater for probably 10 - 15 years...
I’m not interested in streaming anything ever.
The wife and I already favor home viewing vs the theater.
Modern hi-def video provides an excellent picture, good audio systems far outdo the tizzy treble and boomy bass of the theatre.
We can stop the video at any time to venture to the restroom to take a bodacious Obama.
We can serve whatever foods we love.
Might be interesting how this will change dating. A first date often consisted of dinner and a movie.
Expect more pandemic and zombie movies — just what we need to keep the closure stampede going.
And this is why the Grifter Meghan Markle will fail as an actress.
The few movies that might be made during this virus crisis will feature
tried and bankable actors and actresses. And even then it won’t guarantee
success.
No studio will give the Grifter a well paid role when other talented actors
are starving during this crisis. They will get the well paid roles, not the grifter
Markle.
The entertainment industry serves a useful purpose: diversion and leisure. We work hard, and without a break we burn out. Entertainers show their best when they help when we are broken: The Who's performance of Won't Get Fooled Again at The Concerts for New York may be the single greatest moment in the history of rock - they made a difference. Yea, it's not the Salk vaccine but that's not what we needed that evening. Some people reach for scripture, some people reach for pills, and many people play some loud rock and roll or watch a scene from a movie when they need a pick-me-up. It works, and I'd rather have people cranking Coheed or Cream or watching Bluto talk about the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor vs drinking away their sorrows.
There IS value in entertainment...there IS value in actors providing a mirror into the human condition...there IS value in thousands of technicians, hair and makeup experts, and commissary workers. Read I, Pencil and you'll see that we are all connected in a vast economic enterprise called the Free Market that no centrally-planned overlord could ever match.
The problem arises when entertainment tries to reach beyond its realm. Just like we don't want doctors quizzing us on whether or not we have a firearm in our home, I don't want Madonna (or, to be fair, Ted Nugent) telling me how to live my life. Shut up and Play Yer Guitar was the title of a suite of Frank Zappa albums, and Shut Up and Sing was the book title from Laura Ingraham. Those are pithy phrases that encapsulate a great amount of wisdom.
My hope and prayer is that 'big entertainment' is knocked down a peg or two, and the small entertainers from bar bands to indie filmmakers grab the opportunity to deliver to the market what we want: entertainment that provides respite and vigor when we need it, that doesn't call us all a bunch of knuckle-draggers.
Hollywood can wither up and blow away for all I care. YouTubers are more talented and funny any day.
I only go to about 3-4 movies a year. That is only because I am not that interested in newer films. When I do go to the local Loew's Cinema, I never have a problem with people talking, using their phones, etc. Some of them get up and leave and return a lot, but with comfy, roomy recliner seating, they don't bother me too much. For the most part, I watch Blu-rays at home with 5.1 sound.
“I’m not interested in streaming anything ever.”
Why? Streaming is just another means of presentation. It has nothing to do with content.
Problem is what the price might be, I would pay $15 to $20 to watch a new film. Then though from the studios perspective is they charge per person to enter a theater, at home you could have a number of people watching and be paying one price only.
All the good movies and music have already been made.
“And yes I know there are hundreds of Freepers who will chime in anti-anything Hollywood/TV/ professional sports and that is your perogative, however some of still enjoy a good movie, tv program, or ball game.”
This virus experience is exposing how much of our lives and economy is devoted to frivolous activities, escapism and hedonism. Smells a bit of decadence.
Not so much a criticism as an observation...
I’m not going to purchase enough bandwidth on my account to do video and audio.
If the information isn’t textual I don’t need it at home.
Streaming has nothing to do with content only when streaming is free.
I used to like PJ Comix’ “Dummie Funnies” but I am not going to watch YouTube versions.
You disagree with what? I see your point and nothing replaces live in-person concerts or other forms of entertainment, which was not my point. I, like you, enjoy the diversion and leisure. But like another response I got, I don’t need to be in the at a packed movie theater, but that’s just me.
I hope I have an opportunity to see a few more legends of Rock, especially The Eagles, The Who, and if rumors are correct, AC/DC with Axl Rose as lead singer, is supposed to be going out on tour.
As for live sports, I have always been a bigtime college football fan but even now those stadiums are more like going to a sports bar. They need to take out the jumbo-trons and give everyone a headset to listen to the play-by play. I’ve been to my share of NFL games, but the experience and the excitement were not the same as a Saturday college football game atmosphere, and I would much rather watch in in my living room. I love being in the stands for MLB games and listening to the game. Being a child of the 60’s and all you really had was a transistor radio, the mental pictures of the game being told by the announcers, and imagining your favorite players, were as vivid as anything we see today on TV.
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