Hollywood and COVID-19

February 19, 2021 – Volume 31, Issue 7

Will the pandemic permanently reshape the entertainment industry? By Lorna Collier

Footnotes

[1] Kerry Flynn, “Warner Bros. will stream movies on HBO Max the same day they drop in theaters,” CNN, Dec. 4, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/17gxt6ua.

[2] Brandon Katz, “Did the ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Gamble Pay Off for HBO Max?” Observer, Jan. 4, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/y5gdg2uk; Sara Whitten, “HBO Max activations double to 17.2 million in fourth quarter,” CNBC, Jan. 27, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/juhj7nlz; and Kelly Gilblom and Bailey Lipschultz, “‘Wonder Woman’ Draws $16.7 Million as Viewers Opt to Stream,” Bloomberg, updated Dec. 28, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/sohlr0y1.

[3] Pamela McClintock, “It's Official: 2020 Domestic Box Office Fell 80 Percent to $2.3B Behind China's $2.7B,” The Hollywood Reporter, Jan. 1, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/1iw7huvv.

[4] Brooks Barnes, “The Streaming Era Has Finally Arrived. Everything Is About to Change,” The New York Times, updated Nov. 19, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/gcf9c6if.

[5] Pamela McClintock, “Frequent Moviegoing Slipped in 2019, Fewer Tickets Sold Across All Age Groups,” The Hollywood Reporter, March 11, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/2mr6opgy.

[6] Ciara Linnane, “Why cinema will survive the coronavirus pandemic,” MarketWatch, Dec. 4, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/16jh570i.

[7] Kim Masters, “Christopher Nolan Rips HBO Max as ‘Worst Streaming Service,’ Denounces Warner Bros.' Plan,” The Hollywood Reporter, Dec. 7, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/32d54pf8.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Kyle Buchanan, “George Clooney on ‘The Midnight Sky’ and Donald Trump,” The New York Times, Dec. 23, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/y6q5yryl.

[10] Lucas Shaw and Kelly Gibbon, “Warner Bros. Guarantees Filmmakers a Payday for HBO Max Movies,” Bloomberg, Jan. 9, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/19yc2794.

[11] Alex Weprin, “Trump Signs $900 Billion COVID Relief Bill,” The Hollywood Reporter, Dec. 27, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/1ao2yacr.

[12] Alexander Gladstone and Soma Biswas, “AMC's Pandemic Survival Gets Boost From Trading Mania,” The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 27, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/fcnnt6zp.

[13] “Censorship as a Non-Tariff Barrier to Trade,” United States Senate Committee on Finance, June 30, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/y6acmn7k; James Tager and Jonathan Landreth, “Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing: The U.S. Film Industry and Chinese Government Influence,” PEN America, Aug. 5, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/2vkqp3df.

[14] Dino-Ray Ramos, “New Study Finds Hollywood Studios Could Lose Money From Movies That Lack Diversity,” Deadline, Oct. 6, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/1jys9riu.

[15] Maria Puente, “New USC diversity study shows paltry progress for inclusion in 13 years of Hollywood movies,” USA Today, Sept. 10, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/2446to4k.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Pete Hammond, “Oscar Shakes Up Best Picture Eligibility Standards; Strict New Diversity Requirements Take Full Effect in 2024,” Deadline, Sept. 8, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/jxk322v7.

[18] Sarah Perez, “Pandemic accelerated cord cutting, making 2020 the worst-ever year for pay TV,” Tech Crunch, Sept. 21, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/4vytq2nn.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Brett Holzhauer, “Americans Are Cord Cutting In Record Numbers — And It's Not Slowing Down Anytime Soon,” Forbes, Nov. 2, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/yuse79mm; Jared Newman, “Cutting the cord? Here's why your cable company barely cares anymore,” Fast Company, Aug. 6, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/19eu89mm.

[21] Adam Holmes, “Following AMC Deal, Universal Is Partnering With Another Major Theater Chain,” Cinema Blend, Nov. 16, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/yg5mwchg.

[22] Eric Eisenberg, “Disney Is Making Big Moves To Focus On Streaming,” Cinema Blend, Oct. 12, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/5yme7vhx.

[23] Joe Flint and Micah Maidenberg, “Netflix Tops 200 Million Subscribers for the First Time,” The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 19, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/gvog15l0; Dan Gallagher, “Netflix Delivers a One-Two Punch,” The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 19, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/yfpc47rk.

[24] Erich Schwartzel and Allison Prang, “Disney Ekes Out a Profit Under the Weight of Pandemic Problems,” The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 11, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/y4qvvbr2.

[25] Eric Gruenwedel, “NBCUniversal's Peacock Streaming Service Tops 15 Million Subs Since Launching in July,” Media Play News, Sept. 15, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/10eb226o; Elaine Low, “Discovery Plus to Debut to a World Still Stuck at Home, Yearning for Comfort TV,” Variety, Jan. 1, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/2vagbj88; and Samuel Roberts, “Paramount Plus release date, price, shows and everything we know,” Tech Radar, Jan. 25, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/5nzjlqu9.

[26] Stephanie Prange, “Survey: 80% of U.S. Consumers Subscribe to at Least One Paid Streaming Video Service Post-COVID-19,” Media Play News, June 23, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/g9vvkdel.

[27] Phil Contrino, “Latest Ernst & Young Study Shows Movies With Theatrical Push Are More Likely To Be Streamed,” National Association of Theatre Owners, Feb. 9, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/5df98cay.

[28] Gordon Burtch et al., “Will Movie Theaters Survive When Audiences Can Stream New Releases?” Harvard Business Review, Jan. 15, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/2wuwn2v7.

[29] Kelsey Sutton, “Analysts Explain What This Year's Seismic TV Changes Mean for 2021,” Adweek, Dec. 28, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/16l9reog.

[30] “Nielsen Estimates 120.6 Million TV Homes in the U.S. for the 2019-2020 TV Season,” Nielsen, Aug. 27, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/4df9dwbl; Linnane, op. cit.

[31] Perez, op. cit.

[32] Ibid.

[33] Sutton, op. cit.

[34] Michael Schneider and Kate Aurthur, “R.I.P. Cable TV: Why Hollywood Is Slowly Killing Its Biggest Moneymaker,” Variety, July 21, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/ojkr0ua8.

[35] “COVID-19 Pandemic Accelerates Pay-TV Cord-Cutting in 2020,” ABI Research, Oct. 13, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/5veu68tb.

[36] Ibid.

[37] “New Survey Shows 27 Percent of U.S. Households Plan to Cut Cable TV Subscriptions in 2021,” press release, The Trade Desk, Jan. 12, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/2svd7pbf.

[38] Alex Sherman, “Here's How NFL TV rights are expected to shake out for the rest of the decade, according to sources,” CNBC, Feb. 23, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/fcbct33e.

[39] Schneider and Aurthur, op. cit.

[40] Brandt Ranj, “Discovery+ Review: Here's What to Know About Discovery's New Streaming Service,” Rolling Stone, Jan. 4, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/yypuu2dq.

[41] Schneider and Aurthur, op. cit.

[42] Ibid.

[43] Shelby Rose and Jessie Yeung, “Tencent-backed ‘Top Gun’ cuts Taiwan flag from Tom Cruise's jacket,” CNN, July 22, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/323kupae.

[44] “China Population 2021 (live),” World Population Review, https://tinyurl.com/yvnz7v9e; Tatiana Siegel, “Hollywood Is ‘Increasingly Normalizing’ Self-Censorship for China, Report Finds,” The Hollywood Reporter, Aug. 5, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/yemn6cep.

[45] PEN America, op. cit.

[46] Ibid.

[47] Catherine Shoard, “Bohemian Rhapsody's Chinese cut: no homosexuality, no frocks — and no Aids,” The Guardian, March 19, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/1tuiz2rz.

[48] Si Yang, “Hollywood Executive Reveals How China's Politics Have Shaped Movie Industry,” Voice of America, Oct. 16, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/2wjdug83.

[49] Ibid.

[50] Siegel, op. cit.

[51] Jesse Rifkin, “SCRIPT Act would ban government from assisting American movies that change or censor for the Chinese market,” GovTrack Insider, June 5, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/kxn1mskj.

[52] Ryan Faughnder, “PEN America calls for Hollywood transparency on China censorship to ‘protect artistic freedom,’” Los Angeles Times, Aug. 5, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/1j1pp6lv.

[53] Scott Mendelson, “2020: The Year China Crushed Hollywood At The Box Office,” Forbes, Dec. 31, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/1nvdbkk3; “Comscore Announces Global Box Office Totals for 2020,” press release, Comscore, Jan. 15, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/h9w1l03y; and Jesse Rifkin, “China's The Eight Hundred Becomes First Non-Hollywood Film to Top Yearly Global Box Office w/ $450.4M,” Box Office Pro, Jan. 29, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/2oac92j9.

[54] Sonny Bunch, “Opinion: How film festivals can help combat Chinese censorship,” The Washington Post, Dec. 4, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/hjsmqx3u.

[55] “Edison and the Lumiere Brothers,” Britannica, https://tinyurl.com/c1lyx8wr; “Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze, January 7, 1894,” Library of Congress, https://tinyurl.com/5ftufdwo; and “The Kinetoscope,” American Experience: PBS, https://tinyurl.com/2m8qk8m4.

[56] Godfrey Cheshire, “Fleet French filch film glory,” Variety, May 15, 1995, https://tinyurl.com/u94n1c0n; “The Lumiere Brothers: Pioneers of Cinema and Colour Photography,” National Science and Media Museum, June 10, 2009, https://tinyurl.com/10emkmeo; and Sarah Pruitt, “The Lumiere Brothers, Pioneers of Cinema,” History, updated Aug. 22, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/o3d62gvd.

[57] Tim Dirks, “The History of Film: The Pre-1920s (Part 2),” Filmsite, https://tinyurl.com/5d6ez74c; Erin McDowell, “The rise and fall of movie theaters — and how the coronavirus pandemic might change them,” Business Insider, May 26, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/3kf588uz.

[58] Dirks, ibid.

[59] “First nickelodeon opens,” History, last updated June 17, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/1slbyx39; Ibid.

[60] Carrie Specht, “First Movie ‘Palace’ Opened on This Day in 1914 in New York City,” Classic Film Fan, April 11, 2007, https://tinyurl.com/14ku6me7; Aramide Tinubu, “Movie Theaters and Cinema Through The Decades,” Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Aug. 10, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/y6v42xwb.

[61] Kat Eschner, “Movie Palaces Let Everyday Americans Be Royalty,” Smithsonian, April 12, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/1iyk10oy; “RKO Warner Twin Theatre,” Cinema Treasures, https://tinyurl.com/r6yuhcao.

[62] Dick Lehr, “The Birth of a Nation,” Britannica, updated March 23, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/1dtpmu41.

[63] Dirks, op. cit.

[64] Nellie Andreeva, “Historian William Mann on How the 1918 Spanish Flu Changed Hollywood Forever & How COVID-19 Might Too,” Deadline, April 6, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/3g79kt2n.

[65] Ibid.

[66] Charlotte M. Canning, “Theatre and the Last Pandemic,” American Theatre, March 24, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/ygadl79n.

[67] Andreeva, op. cit.

[68] Ibid.

[69] Katherine J. Wu, “Hollywood's ‘Golden Age’ Saw Massive Dip in Female Film Representation,” Smithsonian Magazine, April 3, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/4rc4hh3t.

[70] Tim Dirks, “The History of Film: The 1920s,” Filmsite, https://tinyurl.com/8du635vb.

[71] “Motion Picture Association of America. Production Code Administration records,” Online Archive of California, https://tinyurl.com/1wr99tt4; “The Pre-World War II Sound Era,” Britannica, https://tinyurl.com/djud7xvo.

[72] Bob Mondello, “Remembering Hollywood's Hays Code, 40 Years On,” NPR, Aug. 8, 2008, https://tinyurl.com/ycuszhxu.

[73] Barbara Crossette, “Celebrating the 30's, When Nearly Everyone Went to the Movies,” The New York Times, Oct. 18, 1979, https://tinyurl.com/29g3l8zl.

[74] Caterina Cowden, “Movie Attendance Has Been On A Dismal Decline Since The 1940s,” CinemaBlend/Business Insider, Jan. 6, 2015, https://tinyurl.com/w700njdd.

[75] “The American Film Industry in The Early 1950s,” Encyclopedia.com, Jan. 12, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/2uglpb5d.

[76] “The Paramount Decrees,” U.S. Department of Justice, Oct. 30, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/y8mkfm46.

[77] “Our History,” NBCUniversal, https://tinyurl.com/y9dw6s9w; Tim Dirks, “The History of Film: The 1950s (Part 1),” Filmsite, https://tinyurl.com/29kb4oak.

[78] “The American Film Industry in The Early 1950s,” op. cit.

[79] Jason Roe, “The Multiplex is Born,” The Kansas City Public Library, https://tinyurl.com/1jznlv6s.

[80] Mondello, op. cit.

[81] Rita Lobo, “How Star Wars changed the special effects industry,” The New Economy, Oct. 9, 2014, https://tinyurl.com/1r2s3jet.

[82] “Cable's Story,” The Internet and Television Association (NCTA), https://tinyurl.com/1vt8hcwk; Erik Gregersen, “HBO,” Encyclopedia Britannica, updated Jan. 17, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/y8nn9k95.

[83] “First Blockbuster store opens,” History, last updated Oct. 16, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/9foban5c.

[84] “About Netflix,” Netflix, https://tinyurl.com/hrfqda9; Kaya Yurieff, “Everything Amazon has added to Prime over the years,” CNN, April 28, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/6qlr3o8s.

[85] Lydia DePillis and Ivory Sherman, “Amazon's Extraordinary Evolution,” CNN.com , Nov. 13, 2018, https://tinyurl.com/yb4a6obv.

[86] Tim Dirks, “The History of Film: The 2010s,” Filmsite, https://tinyurl.com/r0tthih4.

[87] Makena Kelly, “Netflix becomes first streaming company to join the MPAA,” The Verge, Jan 22, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/yc75qoad; Nick Perry, “What is HBO Max?” Digital Trends, Feb. 4, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/22wtejtj.

[88] William L. Hosch, “Hulu,” Britannica, https://tinyurl.com/46jwwrva; Joan E. Solsman, “Apple TV Plus: Everything to know about Apple's streaming service,” CNet, Nov. 13, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/btgombt5; Brooks Barnes, “Netflix Was Only the Start: Disney Streaming Service Shakes an Industry,” The New York Times, Nov. 10, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/2adjyv82; Joan E. Solsman, “HBO Max: How to watch movies like the Snyder Cut, Judas and the Black Messiah,” CNet, Jan. 27, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/jcigmskv; and Julia Alexander, “NBC's Peacock streaming service will launch on July 15th with three different price tiers,” The Verge, Jan. 16, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/3sdrka5y.

[89] Bill Frost, “Best TV Streaming Services of 2021: Live and On Demand,” CableTV.com, Jan. 21, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/yyxatax5.

[90] Michael Grothaus, “It's official: Disney now owns Fox,” Fast Company, March 20, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/69hfebpa; Diane Bartz and David Shepardson, “U.S. Justice Department will not appeal AT&T's, Time Warner merger after court loss,” Reuters.com , Feb. 26, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/28n89ctm; and “CBS, Viacom complete merger in a win for Shari Redstone,” Reuters, Dec. 4, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/1tm14us7.

[91] Brandon Katz, “The Implications of the Biggest Legal Decision to Hit Hollywood in Decades,” Observer, Aug. 14, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/gyko4t4b.

[92] Eriq Gardner, “Judge Agrees to End Paramount Consent Decrees,” The Hollywood Reporter, Aug. 7, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/t0mxc22p.

[93] Bryan Alexander, “AMC, Regal and Cinemark close all movie theaters amid coronavirus pandemic,” USA Today, March 16, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/hxfnjw20.

[94] Nellie Andreeva, “Los Angeles Production Grinds To A Halt Amid COVID-19 Surge; Netflix is Latest Major Studio to Pause Filming,” Deadline, Jan. 4, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/kfqqjdt5.

[95] Michael Balderston, “Nielsen: Streaming Made Up Quarter of TV Viewing in Q2 2020,” TV Tech, Aug. 13, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/6eza4qm7.

[96] Todd Spangler, “‘The Office’ Was by Far the Most-Streamed TV Show in 2020, Nielsen Says,” Variety, Jan. 12, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/ygn3933w; “The Office,” Internet Movie Database (IMDb), https://tinyurl.com/ypwn4dls.

[97] Jonathan Ponciano, “AMC, World's Largest Movie Theater Chain, Raises $100 Million Lifeline, But It Needs $750 Million To Survive Next Year,” Forbes, Dec. 11, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/1d2t8zss; Sarah Whitten, “AMC could benefit from bankruptcy, analysts say,” CNBC, Dec. 16, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/ifq0gl1m; and James Brumley, “3 Reasons Amazon Might Actually Want to Buy AMC Entertainment,” The Motley Fool, May 14, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/2aslepyn.

[98] Sarah Whitten, “AMC Entertainment says bankruptcy is off the table after raising more than $900 million since December,” CNBC, Jan. 25, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/4uoub58t.

[99] Gladstone and Biswas, op. cit.

[100] Alexander Gladstone and Soma Biswas, “Silver Lake Converts AMC Debt to Equity After Dazzling Stock Rally,” The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 28, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/9pjmovqb.

[101] Yadarisa Shabong, “Regal-owner Cineworld buys time until screenings can resume,” Reuters, Nov. 23, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/wzja2vwj.

[102] Georg Szalai, “Cinemark Analyst Upgrades Stock on ‘Next Leg of Recovery,’” The Hollywood Reporter, Jan. 15, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/zu9dqwyw.

[103] Bryn Sandberg, “Studios Restart Production in Los Angeles Amid COVID-19 Surge,” The Hollywood Reporter, Jan. 13, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/1twa3czq.

[104] Cynthia Littleton, “Hollywood Grapples With Mass Layoffs as the Biz Redefines Itself for Streaming Future,” Variety, Nov. 25, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/yk35l8j2; Natalie Jarvey, “Inside Quibi's Abrupt Shutdown: ‘This Is Not How They Wanted It to Go,’” The Hollywood Reporter, Oct. 23, 2020, https://tinyurl.com/jvv0kl12.

[105] Littleton, op. cit.

[106] Cat Zakrzewski, “Biden inherits bipartisan momentum to crack down on large tech companies' power,” The Washington Post, Jan. 18, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/3ks7dwnu.

[107] Cecilia Kang, “How Biden helped Hollywood unlock China,” The Washington Post, May 2, 2014, https://tinyurl.com/16cskyhs.

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Document APA Citation
Collier, L. (2021, February 19). Hollywood and COVID-19. CQ researcher, 31, 1-27. http://library.cqpress.com/

Document ID: cqresrre2021021908
Document URL: http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2021021908

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