C@LAg said:
makes sense. you are not losing market share OR mindshare to a rvial studio while the current status quo is in effect.
but the reality is, people in many parts of America are still scared to reengage.
a year of fear and even the current/ongoing fear-porn has gotten too far into people's heads.
in lots of cities/states, teachers unions are fighting getting kids back in class. "because of the virus"
leaders are doubling down on masking (even double masking). In spite of the ridiculous of double-masking.
the hype of variants with no upticks in deaths just stokes the fear even more.
e.g., Locally, MS announced that they plan to bring 50% of their workforce back into the offices in the near term. The amount of howling , whining and cursing locally has been freaking ridiculous. People are acting too scared to go back to work And we are one of the states on the higher end of both having had COVID and % of population vaccinated. And this is from a group of people who are smart and generally young/mid-age and healthy.
It is going to take some industrial level of psychology to get large numbers back to the theaters. And that is going to take a while.
There's some extreme hypocrisy and self-serving that comes in to play here. Don't be fooled into thinking the teachers unions care about the kids. It's an overall play to cover their base...the teachers and not the kids. It's odd how it was all about science until the science (3 ft instead of 6 ft in schools) didn't help their cause. It also goes to show that the science is "flexible" depending on the desires of the administration and who the CDC is trying to pander to.
I wouldn't use the reluctance to work in an office as an indicator either. Social media is a funny thing. "I can't come in to the office because it's dangerous, but please disregard the party I went to last night and the numerous encounters I have with people 'outside my protective bubble.'" No different than the teacher unions, employees are using the virus to get what they want.
Japan was able to hit box office weekends over the last few months that rivaled a normal blockbuster season. Once the virus is no longer a political tool or clickbait in the US, it's on to the next big crisis. I do agree there is going to be some level of impact for the remainder of 2021 and, to a lesser extend, a complete change in habits for some movie watchers. The overall impact to box office and how the operators respond will be a big focus over the next 6-12 months. Studios and theater operators have been fighting over their share of the pie for decades. Hopefully the pie can stay divided in a way to benefit both parties that won't negatively impact the business and quality of movie-going.
