HAS COVID KILLED CINEMA ?
How the Pandemic has affected Cinema and the Rise of the Online Viewing Platform
The Covid Pandemic has caused the closure of many businesses for months at a time , and whilst the world seems excited to reopen it will be interesting to see whether the world of entertainment will be as we left it all those months ago . Whilst film production was largely paused during the first lockdown , 2020 and the first half of this year have marked some huge film releases , from Cruella ( Disney , 2021 ) to The Invisible Man ( Blumhouse Productions , 2020 ). But has the cost to watch ratio been thrown off through Covid and the rise of the online viewing platform ?
Cinema has been a huge part of the film industry since its conception , a lot of filmmakers and production companies largely relying on cinema ticket sales to make back their investment and generate a profit . Depending on the financial climate and country , it roughly takes twice the amount spent on the film budget to be made in ticket sales if the film is to break even . In order to make a profit it must be around 3-3.5 times the amount spent making the film .
However , by the end of March 2020 sites such as Statista suggest that the global film industry had already made a loss somewhere in the region of 5 billion pounds . In contrast to this , Netflix ’ s profits increased by 23 % in 2020 compared with fiscal year 2019 . This trend suggests surely that Covid certainly did damage the cinematic industry , whilst simultaneously boosting sales for at home viewing .
Indeed some consumers much prefer this new way to enjoy film releases . Sam , 27 , stated “ It ’ s a much cheaper alternative , and if I do want to socialise there are much better options . But if I want to sit and enjoy a film , I ’ d much rather do that from the comfort of my home . Things like the Amazon cinema releases and all the new Netflix films were more than enough for me during the
Pandemic , and will be in the future ”.
However throughout the various lifts of the lockdown rules , cinematic filming did resume and in many cases churned out highly successful films . The 22nd and 23rd of May this year saw the best ticket sales since the start of the pandemic , around 7 million pounds generated in the UK . A spokesperson for Wells Film Centre , a family run cinema said “ It was nice to reopen again , it ’ s a hard business to be in during normal times , with film licensing being so expensive , let alone when we couldn ’ t open for months on end . But we ’ re back and we hope to keep providing the local cinema lovers with their favourite films ”. Cinema appears to still hold the hearts of consumers for now but needless to say Covid has triggered a war between at home viewing platforms and film centres that will surely be waged indefinitely .
44 SLEUTH ISSUE 4