Coronavirus or COVID-2019 has already killed more than 3,000 people and infected as many as 90,000 from around the globe. The rapid spread has threatened the livelihood of countries workers and now this epidemic is also going to cost a ton of money to the Hollywood film industry.
The virus first broke out in China where it has claimed the most lives and infections, several theme parks and movie theatres are reportedly shut down for much of the year. Ever since the Coronavirus spread out, hundreds and thousands of workers are reportedly jobless as several major events from around the world are being cancelled.
As per a detailed report by Variety, the movie ticket sales in China has reportedly plunged by nearly $2 billion compared to January and February last year.
"Public venues such as cinema chains, theatres, sports venues, etc. have been closed to the public in numerous markets, with cinemas closed during the key New Year period in China," noted Richard Broughton, the research director for Ampere Analysis was quoted by Daily News. "A number of [movie] releases have been postponed as a result of this in China. We would expect to see some bounce-back in box-office once the situation returns to normal and films are finally released, but it is highly unlikely to compensate for the impact on attendance from during the closure periods."
Another senior box-office analyst for the Comscore stated that in North America, all the theatres are open and they have had the usual business last week.
Coronavirus delays Tom Cruise's movie
Upcoming high-budget projects like, James Bond's new film - No Time to Die and Disney's live-action movie Mulan are among those movies that are cancelled to premiere in China.
Not only this, the production of Tom Cruise's much-awaited seventh instalment of Mission: Impossible movie series is delayed due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
At the same time, since movies like No Time To Die and Mulan won't release in China, it is surely going to cost Hollywood a lot of money.
That being said, hundreds of thousands of people are now staying at home and are streaming more movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
