The COVID situation steadily increasing in seriousness, and Thanksgiving in full bloom.
But there will be few movie theaters to watch anything in by the time the turkey is devoured by your family.
646 movie theaters in the U.S. closed down again virtually overnight this past weekend amid an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases, according to Comscore. There were also 60 cinemas reclosures in Canada, meaning that in the span of several days, the North American box office lost 706 locations compared to a week ago..
The holiday season is virtually over before it begins..
What hope will future theaters have?
Paul Dergarabedian of Comscore gave the Hollywood Reporter a rosy scenario:
“Movie theaters over the decades have proven to be extraordinarily resilient and have survived every challenge from the pandemic of 1918, through the Great Depression to the introduction of TV through the home theater revolution and now the streaming boom,” says Dergarabedian. “COVID-19 has presented a modern-era challenge unlike no other and weathering this storm will be no easy task, but if history tells us anything it’s that the movie theater experience is an essential component of the entertainment ecosystem and thus will find a way to survive.”