Photo by Keegan Horton ’21| COVID-19 changes the way people watch movies
Keegan Horton ‘21
THE ROUNDUP
Due to COVID-19, there have been many clear changes regarding how we operate our daily lives in America. One of those changes has to do with what we do for entertainment, such as going to the movies.
Like many other businesses, movie theaters, nationwide, have shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led big-budget movie studios such as Universal Pictures Home Entertainment to release upcoming movies to digital streaming until the COVID-19 quarantine is at ease and people begin going to the movies again.
Even though there are still ways to watch new releases via streaming, there is still speculation that despite the circumstances, that movies will continue to skip theaters and head straight to streaming services even after the quarantine
According to Zack Sharf from Indiewire, this process has already begun with Universal, as the movie studio already made more of a profit from at-home streaming services than from domestic box office sales. “A key factor behind Universal’s success with “Trolls World Tour” on PVOD is that studios keep 80% of profits made from digital rentals and digital purchases, while they only retain approximately 50% from theatrical box office sales.”
This may be a great business strategy at the moment, due to large differences in sales. A question we should ask ourseleves is will streamable movies still hold up the same in the future.
“Big studios have big streaming services in order to compete against Netflix and artists want to get their work out there. A movie I vividly remember seeing in the theaters was the original Top Gun. I feel like it would be best if movies such as that or any upcoming Star Wars/Marvel projects are seen in theaters compared to streaming them at home.” Mr. John Damaso 97’
Although, it is quite early to tell how much streaming services will really impact the future of cinema. It is still an important thing to consider because of it potentially being a sign that the way society looks at art after quarantine would not be the same.
