“The ability, when this is done, to go out and
enjoy something entertaining and affordable
with your family and friends is going to
be hugely important to the cultural and
psychological fabric of the country,” says John
Fithian, president of the National Organization
of Theater Owners. “We want to do that,” he says.
“But we still need to be viable.”
Moviegoing has been waning for two decades,
a decline masked by higher ticket prices. Last
year, domestic ticket sales amassed $11.4
billion. That revenue is a big reason why all but
a handful of the largest upcoming productions
have postponed theatrical release rather than
head to streaming. The big money is still at the
box office.
No one expects, whenever theaters do reopen,
that masses will stream through the doors.
Distancing protocols could still be kept in place,
at least at first. So long as there isn’t a vaccine
for COVID-19, some will be hesitant to attend
crowded indoor events. Last month the analytics
company EDO polled moviegoers and found
70% said they were likely to return to cinemas.
Some 45% said they would wait a few weeks;
11% said they’d wait months.
Theaters shuttered during the Spanish Flu
pandemic of 1918, but in a more patchwork
fashion. The establishment of the studio system
followed in the 1920s, a period recounted
by Hollywood historian William Mann in
“Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness
at the Dawn of Hollywood.” Mann believes
this pandemic will likewise reshape the
movie business.
“If out of this comes a renewed appreciation
for going back to some glamour, maybe, in the