Coronavirus claims 'Batman' and 'Jurassic' as victims, with Broadway staying dark until May

Alexandra Canal
·Senior Reporter
Updated 4 min read
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It was a rough week for the entertainment industry.

On Friday, it was officially announced that Broadway will extend its coronavirus shutdown through May 2021 — leaving hundreds of thousands of theater works without a job.

Meanwhile, major tentpoles like Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion” (CMCSA) and Warner Bros. “The Batman” (T) have pushed back their release dates — with both films now scheduled to debut in 2022 instead of 2021.

The announcement comes amid a coronavirus scare on the set of the “Jurassic World” sequel. The film’s production, which still has a little less than a month left of shooting, will now be on pause for two weeks.

“The Batman” faced a similar fate back in early September, after leading man Robert Pattinson tested positive for COVID-19 — forcing the film to shut down.

Although director Matt Reeves was pushing to have production completed by the end of this year, the surprise delay muddled that timeline.

Warner Bros. announced it would swap out the Caped Crusader’s debut with sci-fi thriller “Dune,” which was originally scheduled to hit theaters in December 2020. It will now open on October 1, 2021

Meanwhile, other high-profile films like Disney’s “Black Widow” (DIS) and James Bond’s “No Time to Die” have also delayed their respective theatrical release dates to 2021.

So far, the only big blockbuster left in 2020 is “Wonder Woman: 1984,” which is still on track for a December 25, 2020 debut date.

Movie delays due to COVID-19
Movie delays due to COVID-19

In the interim, cinemas are scrambling to cut costs amid a shortened and slim theatrical season, and looming financial strains.

IMAX (IMAX) announced on Thursday that it would be furloughing 150 employees for several months, mainly in North America.

The company said it is hopeful that these cost cutting measures will not include tangible layoffs just yet — although other media giants are leaning into job cuts to help weather the coronavirus storm.

AT&T’s WarerMedia is planning ‘thousands’ of job cuts in a bid to lower costs by as much as 20%, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company has been hard hit with the pandemic slamming movie ticket sales, cable subscriptions and TV ad spend, according to the report.

Meanwhile, AMC (AMC) is sticking to its reopening plan. The theater chain said it expects to reopen 520 out of its 600 locations by mid-October. The stock popped Thursday on the news.

Currently, about 70% of U.S. cinemas are open, with the exclusion of major markets like NYC and LA. Yet many of these reopened locations still face possible bankruptcies or even future closings due to low ticket sales.

Earlier this week, Cineworld (CNNWF) — which owns Regal theaters — announced its plan to shut down theater locations in both the U.S. and the U.K. as a result of the blockbuster delays.

Earlier this week, Cineworld — which owns Regal theaters — announced its plan to shut down theater locations in both the U.S. and the U.K. as a result of the blockbuster delays
Earlier this week, Cineworld — which owns Regal theaters — announced its plan to shut down theater locations in both the U.S. and the U.K. as a result of the blockbuster delays

However, theater owners are still hopeful that a comeback story is within reach.

“We know that we won't be hugely profitable this year, but we're trying to ramp back up and get back into business so that, when we do get to the other side of the pandemic in 2021, we can return to record-breaking form,” National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) John Fithian told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview.

“What we need between now and then is a bridge to get between 2019 and 2021” he continued.

Last week, NATO — along with the Directors Guild of America and the Motion Picture Association — plus over 90 prominent Hollywood types, wrote a letter to Congress urging them to pass more relief funding for the struggling industry.

“Cinemas are an essential industry that represent the best that American talent and creativity have to offer. But now we fear for their future,” the document read. “Our country cannot afford to lose the social, economic, and cultural value that theaters provide.”

At the moment, theaters are asking the government to redirect unallocated CARES Act funds, or enact new proposals like the “RESTART Act,” which would extend hundreds of billions of dollars in loans for hard-hit businesses.

Alexandra is a Producer & Entertainment Correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193

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