For the first time ever, China replaces North America as the world’s leading film market. Yet no country was spared, as global box office revenue was likely to fall more than 72 percent, including a 70 percent drop in the Middle Kingdom.
It’s official: North American box office revenue fell by 80 percent in 2020 amid the new coronavirus pandemic and unprecedented theater closures, while global revenue fell more than 70 percent.
As predicted, local movie tickets sold between January 1 and December 31 generated an estimated $ 2.3 billion (or $ 2.68 billion), compared to $ 11.4 billion in 2019, according to Comscore estimates. This is the lowest performance in at least 40 years. The dramatic decline is expected as many cinemas in the US have been closed for more than nine months
Worldwide, movie ticket sales in 2020 are expected to be between $ 11.5 billion and $ 12 billion, compared to 2019’s $ 42.5 billion.
In the first place, China will overtake North America as the world’s film market by 2020, which Comscore estimates will generate $ 2.7 billion in ticket sales.
In another first, a Chinese movie – World War II epic The eight hundred – reached the world box office with almost $ 440 million. A number of other Chinese films, including My people, my fatherland, populated the upper parts of the graph, as well as Japan’s hit Demon Slayer. In non-pandemic times, Hollywood movies in general dominate.
However, no country has been spared from the impact of the virus. The box office in China was still 70 percent lower than the $ 9 billion in 2019, even as it bounced back faster than the US and much of Europe.
Hollywood’s biggest global earner in 2020 was Sony’s Bad Boys for Life, which, according to Comscore, opened in mid-January to earn $ 413 million. Sam Mendes se 1917, which opened nationwide on January 10, earned about $ 385 million. Christopher Nolan’s Tenet The first Hollywood tent pole to open on the big screen amid the pandemic has made its way to an estimated $ 362 million worldwide after launching in late summer.
The vast majority of Hollywood’s 2020 tent poles have been delayed until 2021 and beyond, or shipped / sold to streamers – the next big frontier in Hollywood.
COVID-19 marked a moment of account for both studios and exhibitors and changed the once-sacred theater window.
WarnerMedia, of which the rich Warner Bros. is, opens its day and date of 2021 on HBO Max and in cinemas, just like Wonder Woman 1984 did over Christmas. And Universal has entered into a historic deal with major theater chains that will make its titles available on premium VOD for 17 days or more after opening in cinemas.
“The film industry will undoubtedly change forever, but the movie theaters will be ready for their close-up and as things slowly return to normal, they will play in a constructive sequel of their own,” says Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore. “2021 will probably be the most important year in the history of the big screen and one that will bridge the gap between a devastating 2020 that has tragically affected so many people and had such a huge impact on many brick-and-mortar businesses.”