That Disney Gallery episode is absolutely fascinating to watch, excited to see how this affects things moving forward.

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/amc-entertainment-stock-upgraded-reduction-bankruptcy-risk-1234617275/

Disney+ reached their 2024 subscription target in 2020 due to COVID-19. Pretty impressive and it'll be interesting to see how sticky the subscribers will be over the next 12 months or so.

https://www.thelocal.de/20200527/when-and-how-will-cinemas-around-germany-open

Interesting article on opening movie theaters in Germany. They talk about spaced out seating but also potentially Plexiglas between seats:



Also this image is included in the article from the Berliner Ensemble. It also has been making the rounds on social media and makes me really curious on the financial viability of some of the smaller performing arts companies/producers:

Just from that picture my family of four wouldn't be able to sit with each other.

I agree to a large extent. But I also think about it from the point of view of someone who has operated several large venues and them looking at liability and reasonable precautions to protect patrons.

I haven't been on that side in almost a decade now but I would think a lot of this will come down to insurance and what kind of coverage you can get for your facility or business to open at full capacity.

I can see someone going to a performance or a film or whatever getting sick, passing away and the family says "well the only thing they've done is gone to X" and out come the lawsuits. That's probably on the pessimistic side but I've seen venues sued for less.

It's also why you've got a lot of the major producing theaters and performance companies around the country basically throwing in the towel on 2020 already. They are waiting for all of this to play out and don't want to be the ones in the press for being ground zero of another outbreak. Same with even some of the bigger concert promoters like AEG.

Here's a really interesting article from the NYT with a lot of quotes and interviews from different producers around the US:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/24/arts/reopening-dance-music-theater-virus.html

I realize we're talking two different things a bit - Movies vs Live Performance - but I think there's a lot of overlap in the two. At the end of the day I don't completely blame these companies and organizations from trying to figure out how to re-open while limiting risk and liability.

Exactly. Seems like that would (hopefully) cover it.

My biggest fear about theaters not coming back this summer has less and less to do with lawsuits or even the risk, and more to do with the financial realities. There's no way theaters come back this summer without social distancing requirements. But it's those very requirements that all but ensure theaters can't make money, with so few seats sold. In other words, considering the already razor-thin margins theaters were operating under, socially distant theaters simply aren't a viable business model, a fact I'm seeing brought up more and more by industry experts, with no solution other than a vaccine. And even if theaters were to somehow allow full capacity in, say, July or August, there won't be enough willing bodies to fill those seats in the first place (in some parts of the country, maybe, but certainly not in the bigger markets). We've reached a point where I think studios like Warner Bros. are actually willing to take the gamble, but it's looking more and more like the casinos themselves won't even be able to operate for quite some time. So, where that leaves us, I have no idea...

Sounds like July is happening for TENET.

https://nypost.com/2020/05/28/regal-movie-theater-owner-cineworld-expects-to-reopen-in-july/

I agree with you about the hurdles, which is why I think and hope reason and logic prevail. By the end of June this entire corona thing is going to be completely flipped on its ass and the states who aren't taking part in moving on won't be able to afford not to either.

The new CDC estimates just came out and have the symptomatic fatality rate at 0.4%, and 0.05% for people ages 1-49.

That's not even justification for social distancing measures. That's just general "be cleaner people" PSA levels.

Knock on wood, but this week, especially, has really started to feel like the virus is "retreating" - or, rather, the virus hysteria, at least, seems to be considerably more subdued, as summer finally kicks into gear. To the point where the panic porn on cable news is feeling more out of touch than ever. That doesn't mean I'm joining the "nothing burger" crowd, and I don't mean to at all speak cavalierly as we pass the 100,000 death mark this week. But I can absolutely sense a new, far-more-hopeful attitude emerging as of late. I don't know if that attitude will necessarily result in people coming back to theaters in droves by July 17. And there's still no way theaters won't practice social distancing guidelines when and if they do re-open then, which goes back to my original financial concern. But yeah, hopefully the numbers continue to drop, the panic continues to dissipate, and there's no second wave. If so, by the time July 17 rolls around, theaters will at least have a fighting chance and can maybe even go back to full capacity way sooner than anticipated (by, say, September instead of next year, as many still anticipate).

Sex Panther said:

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I don't know a ton about liability laws or insurance, but couldn't any theater, stadium, event, etc put into their fine print that upon purchasing a ticket you waive all liability when it comes to something like a pandemic or virus?

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You can put whatever waivers you want into the fine print -- it doesn't prevent people from filing lawsuits.

Even if lawsuits are eventually thrown out, there can be significant damage done in both the public media as well as in legal fees.

For sure. It certainly seems like a flimsy case at best, but I work in a very corporate environment and I've seen first hand how risk-averse companies are when it comes to liability.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/uk-starts-film-high-end-tv-production-under-new-covid-19-guidelines-1293062

TCTTS said:

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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/uk-starts-film-high-end-tv-production-under-new-covid-19-guidelines-1293062

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On a somewhat unrelated note, I want to live wherever Sex Education is filmed. It is just amazingly beautiful.

Wtf is this now?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/media/amc-theatres-business-coronavirus/index.html

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Wtf is this now?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/media/amc-theatres-business-coronavirus/index.html

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Annnnnnd sold.

Bottomline AMC investment result: -$8.50

Yeah, this isn't good. As was my big concern last week, most theaters aren't going to be able to make money under social distancing guidelines, and I think that reality is finally hitting AMC. I think our only hope is that if, a couple weeks from now, virus cases haven't spiked again from the protests, and the summer heat really knocks the virus out, to the point of everyone basically being fine with filling theaters again come July/August. But that seems like a long shot.

I swear, every day is a roller coaster...

https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1137117-cinemark-theaters-to-reopen-june-19-confidence-high-for-tenet

https://www.thewrap.com/cinemark-wont-require-moviegoers-to-wear-masks-when-theaters-reopen/

It's just weird cause it sounded like worries had kind of eased a bit last month with that big influx of cash.

Yeah, I know. I just think it's becoming increasingly clear to them that there's no money to be made from half full theaters. But maybe there's a still a way forward. With Cinemark now announcing a June 19 opening, and being the canary in the coal mine, so to speak, maybe people do come out in droves, even if for old movies, which gives AMC the confidence investors need, and they can last a little longer...

TCTTS said:

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https://www.thewrap.com/cinemark-wont-require-moviegoers-to-wear-masks-when-theaters-reopen/

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Good. So tired of the world being afraid.

I'm ready to go back to full blown everything with minimal precautions. I'd go sit in a full theater tomorrow to see a good movie like Tenant.

Not to get political or derail this thread, but the science (and I'm literally a scientist by profession) shows this virus does not affect everyone equally. The vast majority of the public is not in the most vulnerable demographic. And with the goalposts getting moved from flattening the curve to having a full blown vaccine before we go back to normal, we're at risk of drastically, irreparably damaging not just movie theaters but the majority of the world economy. Many top, well respected scientists around the world are now saying these drastic measures we took in the early days of the pandemic should be walked back somewhat (or a lot) now that we have more, better info.

Sorry, rant over.

https://deadline.com/2020/06/cinemark-wins-points-from-wall-street-analysts-for-theater-reopening-plan-1202951150/

https://theplaylist.net/theater-owners-tenet-july-opening-20200604/