CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, October 07, 2020

As ‘The Batman’ Gets Delayed, The Future Of The Theatrical Model Is In Jeopardy

www.forbes.com: As the theatrical model continues to crumble amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Warner Bros. announced an overhaul for their release calendar in 2021. Multiple tentpole films on their slate were pushed last night, chief among them being Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

8 comments:

Reesha A. said...

The Batman is one of the few movies that I have been looking forward to watch in the theaters since it was first announced. But this year is just terrible. The pandemic is really out to here to get all of us, as it refuses to get under control.
But that is the issue with it not dying down, because it is impacting so many industries, particularly the entertainment industry, which is all about human interaction and experience. The number of theaters that have been shut down because of this pandemic continues to grow because of the everlasting impact of the pandemic and how it is actively impacting the functioning of the industry and the employees, rendering them jobless.
Hopefully, this will turn around for the better and the industry could go back to being the way it was before the world came crashing down. Maybe The Batman will finally be released.

Ella R said...

I love the title of this article, because the theatrical model is very much in jeopardy. It's reassuring to see someone write that. It's sad that Warner Bros had to overhaul their release calendar in 2021. It’s sad to think that so many people are uncomfortable with the idea of going back to large social spaces, such as movie theatres, or drama theatres. It’s also crazy to think about the fact that box office revenue is down 93%. That’s an extremely significant percentage. The fact that Cineworld and AMC are experiencing huge losses is beyond devastating. New York especially is very vital to a lot of entertainment venues revenue streams, so it will be interesting to see what Cuomo does for NY and how the entertainment industry -- especially the one that relies on the release of content into movie theatres -- will react. Theatres will be gone before there is a vaccine.

Sarah Bauch said...

It is not very surprising to me that so many films are having to be pushed back, but being someone who used to go to the movies whenever possible I completely understand the disappointment. In a way I am extremely happy to hear that these dates are getting pushed back because that means that many film shoots will not have to take place until the virus is under (hopefully) somewhat more control. Contact tracing seems nearly impossible on a film set where so many departments have to share space and equipment, and social distancing seems even more improbable. Perhaps the lead of Batman contracting the virus was a very unfortunate and avoidable wake-up call for Warner Brothers to realize that making blockbusters right now is not the best idea. I know many studios are continuing or starting to shoot films and TV shows again, which just seems almost reckless to me. While I know that people on set can create pods and are being tested constantly, their work just seems a bit more risky and unpredictable to me than wearing a mask to work at an office.

Eva Oney said...

The film industry has always been important, and I have been wondering about how and when cinemas are going to make a comeback after this pandemic. I feel like streaming services have started taking over throughout the past years, and now more than ever. However, a film's success is usually based on how much it made in box office sales. How does that translate over to streaming? I don't think there is an answer now. Highly anticipated movies such as "The Batman" are struggling to move forward in production. I feel like this article did a good job of pinpointing what films and studios are struggling, however I want to know what the industry is planning on doing moving forward. Is there a plan?

Ariel Bernhard said...

“Batman” is an interesting case, especially if Covid-19 does prove to be having sourced from bats… it might not be the most timely of films. At the same time, I was and am really excited for this film and am bummed that it might be awhile before it is brought to audiences, in whatever platform that will be with Regal and so many cinema theaters closing their doors. I am glad that “The Flash” is still planned to come out in 2022, even if a few months late, since I have been looking forward to that release for years. One of the things I miss most in isolation is going to theaters. Movie theaters are opening in some places, only to close long term in some cases, but not a single one is being allowed to reopen in my area outside of drive-in theaters. It is easy to see why these industries are taking such a big economic hit. I hope that everything can be normal and fiscally stable as soon as possible and as safely as possible.
-Ariel Bernhard

JuanCarlos Contreras said...

Of course, with my luck, I decided this was going to be the year where I would go to the movie theatre at least once a month to see something new. I made a good effort at the start of the year and saw a lot of great films. I also was looking forward to The Batman film. I actually think Robert Pattinson is a great actor and was interested to see his take on the part. If I recall, I think Robert Pattinson contracted the virus pretty early too. I can imagine when the lead gets sick it is nearly impossible to do serious contact tracing. A lot of our industry (theatre, film, dance, etc.) are really being pushed to their limits in how they can safely conduct business while this virus is still out strong. I know awhile ago there were some articles that were posted here about TV sets that managed to go by without a case. Maybe film like this is just too large for that to happen?

Taylor Boston said...

I am not surprised that the release calendar has been changed for Warner Bros movies. It's been a theme these last few weeks for any movies planning on being released between now and the end of 2021 to pushed back. (I myself was very much looking forward to see The King's Man last month (if released digitally) and that has been pushed back to next year.) It doesn't shock me in the least that it's because of people's disinterest in going to a theater, but I raise them: what happens if coming your release date for Batman, there are only a fraction of theaters still in operation; will you release to those theaters or digitally release the movies, which means you could have been making money in the months prior? (Like the end of the article hints at.) I don't care how excited I am for a movie, I don't think I'll be visiting a theater any time soon and studios banking on crowds going in to theaters because it's a DC movie may want to rethink their strategies.

Evan Riley said...

I found this article very sad and depressing. I feel so bad for all of the movie theatre workers who will be out of jobs for the unforeseeable future. I know that some film companies have decided to release their movies on streaming platforms. I watched Trolls 2; World Tour the day it came out and it was about $20 to watch for a day. I think that is a reasonable price for a movie seeing that myself and two of my family members watched it and if we were to see it in a theatre it would cost much more. I think of going to the movie theatre as a whole experience and I think the ventilation is the biggest problem. Cause you cant really have loud sounds of fans going on as the movie playing because it destroys the viewing experience. I was wondering whether movie theatre would come back and I didn't really think about the fact that even if they were open there wouldn't be that many movies to see.