The coronavirus has hit the world hard. Restaurants, bars and schools are closing all over the country. Businesses are getting the short end of the stick as well.  

Another industry that has seen its own fair share of problems is film. Movies are being delayed and pulled from theaters. Many movie productions are being halted so that the filmmakers can spend time with their families and stay safe in quarantine. 

It is estimated that the film industry will likely lose $5 billion dollars due to these circumstances.  

When a film is released in theaters, it needs to make double the cost of the film in order to make that money back. For example, if a film costs $25 million dollars, then it needs to make $50 million in order to cover distribution and marketing costs. 

Many films have already been made and are ready to release. So, the industry has put millions of dollars into films that will not be release for many more months. Meaning, they are out on the money spent on the film until theaters are back to running. 

This is a huge loss for the industry because most of the films have been anticipated for some time now. Wonder Woman was a huge success in 2017 and made $821 million. Wonder Woman: 1984 was originally going to be released to theatres on June 5 but has been pushed to Aug. 14. 

Other films that have been pushed back due to theater shutdowns include the follow-up to the surprising hit, A Quiet Place. Quiet Place II had a release date of March 19 but has been delayed, according to director John Krasinski. 

Krasinski took to Twitter to write, “As insanely excited as we are for all of you to see this movie… I’m gonna wait to release the film till we CAN see it all together!” 

The release of the newest addition to the Fast and Furious franchise, F9, has been delayed for eleven months.  

The film industry is listening to the precautions advised by halting productions and delaying films.  

With the closure of movie theaters across the country, films no longer have a reason to stay in theatrical release. This will be another place in which the film industry will lose money. 

Since there are no films that will be going from the theaters to DVD, there will be no new releases to buy or rent for several months. The money flow coming in the film industry will be frozen. 

The good news for consumers is that a select few films are available to watch on digital.  

There is a 48-hour rental for films such as The Hunt, The Invisible Man and Emma for $20.  

Staying Entertained 

The nation-wide quarantine and school closures have left many students at home with free time on their hands. Other than the NBCUniversal digital releases, students are finding plenty to watch on streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. 

Other than doing homework, freshman Elliott Rule has spent his time binge-watching the Netflix crime-drama, Narcos. 

Students are still enjoying their favorite T.V. shows and movies despite the coronavirus. 

“Unfortunately, I have been staying up a lot later watching shows because I know I don’t have any responsibilities in the morning anymore,” said sophomore Bryan Candrl. 

With the technology that is present in everyday life, people are able to keep in touch with each other through social media and catch up on shows and movies.  

The film industry is taking a big hit, but that doesn’t stop people form enjoying the hard work they put into making the content.