Wednesday's Market Minute: The Future Of Movies

Movie ticket sales during 2020 were, of course, crushed by the pandemic. According to Comscore, sales fell 80% to only $2.28 billion versus $11.4 billion in 2019. This also comes at a time where theater ticket prices are rising, and the biggest tentpole franchises had nothing to offer this year. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is pivoting from Avengers movies into Disney+ shows, with a few movies interspersed—spreading out the requirements for fans to watch everything even further, which could have repercussions down the road—and Star Wars’ new trilogy ended. Both are owned by Disney, which is interesting; while I doubt that Disney will eschew movies for streaming completely, it shows the company has massive audience sway. Movies like Tenet this year floundered whether to stay in theaters or move into on-demand.

What happens in 2021? The main problem is, unlike dining out or flying somewhere, there’s a strong alternative to movie theaters, which is watching at home. It’s less expensive, you can hop easily between shows and movies, and until the virus is under control, far less risky. What course of action can studios take, and will the momentum shift be too hard to undo? Will they release simultaneously on-demand and in theaters? Will there be a heavier focus on streaming? Will the movie theater ever return with the same strength? At least at home, you can have whatever snacks you want.