The 73rd Cannes Film Festival authorities hadn't announced a new date for the postponed star-studded event by March 25, and there is a strong possibility that the pandemic is going to change the rules of the Oscars. According to the current ones, films have to be shown in cinemas for at least a week after their release to be nominated. But most theaters worldwide are now closed, disrupting new releases and production schedules.

Disney's animated film Mulan, scheduled to be released in the U.S. on March 27, was a much-awaited event for several reasons. It was anticipated to generate over $85 million of box-office revenue on its opening weekend. Also, as the promo last year showed, it is based on an unusual character.

Mulan, which is also the name of the central figure in the film, is about one of the best known and admired woman warriors in China, who became a soldier out of her love for her country and her family.

However, the release has now been postponed because of the pandemic.

"We are so excited to share this film with the world, but given the current ever-shifting circumstances we are all experiencing, unfortunately, we have to postpone the worldwide release of Mulan for now," Niki Caro, the film's director, announced on March 12.

Caro also hoped that Mulan's fighting spirit and loyalty would inspire people, especially those working tirelessly to protect others.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the pandemic has impacted the world's largest film markets like the U.S., China, the Republic of Korea, Italy and Japan, resulting in a loss of at least $5 billion.

Facing the worst recession in decades, the industry is now exploring out-of-the-box solutions for survival.

Breaking traditions

Some market experts say the pandemic didn't create the film industry crisis. It was already brewing and the virus just aggravated it.

"This is like pouring lighter fluid on the fire," media analyst Richard Greenfield told Time magazine. The year 2020 was going to be the worst year in movie theater history in Hollywood even before the coronavirus struck, he said, because it lacks blockbusters such as Avengers: Endgame, which can draw both casual moviegoers and diehard fans of the franchise. Also, streaming services such as Netflix are changing the way people watch films today, doing it from home instead of visiting theaters.

Given this backdrop, the pandemic is accelerating the integration of the film industry and streaming platforms.

Universal Pictures, one of Hollywood's oldest and biggest studios, jumped on this bandwagon on March 20. With over 100 theaters in the U.S. closed by then and the number expected to rise, it said its new releases Emma, The Hunt and The Invisible Man can be viewed on video-on-demand platforms for 48 hours for $19.99 each.

"Rather than delaying these films or releasing them into a challenging distribution landscape, we wanted to provide an option for people to view these titles in the home that is both accessible and affordable," Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, said. NBCUniversal is the owner of Universal Pictures. During the Spring Festival holiday, celebrated in late January this year, Lost in Russia, a Chinese social comedy focusing on the mother-son relationship, became the first film in China to be released online after the coronavirus forced people to stay indoors. But while the strategy brought the producer profit, it also created controversies. Some felt livestreaming releases could damage the industry.

Han Haoyue, a culture critic, wrote in China Youth Daily that though the integration can create more revenue and promote film distribution, still it is more like a method to cut losses rather than a long-term business strategy.

Greenfield thinks companies like Disney will not release their big budget films digitally. "At movie theaters, people pay per head," he said, adding that trying to replicate that on an in-home basis is "very challenging." Also, he cautioned, there is a real risk that theater attendance will never bounce back to the levels it once enjoyed.

Industry status

When theaters were closed in China in January, the global box office took its first hit as many major international titles rely heavily on the Chinese box office.

Song Bingmei is the manager of a cinema in Nanning, a city in south China. Her theater has suffered a loss of nearly 6 million yuan ($874,000).

The revenue during the one-week Spring Festival holiday was expected to account for 10 percent of the yearly income with the films scheduled for release in that period receiving a lot of acclaim during their sneak previews, she told China Daily. But the theater is empty now.

To help the Chinese film industry, several film associations urged for theater rentals to be exempted. Song's cinema has benefited from that and won't have to pay rent for February and March.

"I heard some privately owned theaters are planning to file for bankruptcy. Luckily, our theater can hold out for a longer period. So far, no employee has left the company," she said.

According to Securities Daily, over 500 cinemas, 4.8 percent of the total theaters on the Chinese mainland, reopened between March 16-22, attracting 3,810 viewers.

To boost theaters, China Film Group Corporation, a Chinese company engaged in the production, release and operation of movie theaters, reached an agreement with the rights holders of five old blockbusters to test the audience's attitude and the confidence of the market.

These five films were released between 2013 and last year and are mostly by Chinese directors. The exceptions are Wolf Totem, based on an acclaimed Chinese novel and made by French director Jean-Jacques Annaud, and award-winning Lebanese drama Capharnaüm that traces the story of a boy growing up in a Beirut slum and prison. The other three, Wolf Warrior II, sci-fi movie The Wandering Earth, and American Dreams in China have been box-office hits in China. While film distributors and rights holders usually receive 43 percent of the box-office profits, this time when the five are re-released, the theaters will keep all the income.

More old films are coming back to the big screen in a new format. For instance, the 2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone will return to Chinese theaters in the 3D format, Warner Brothers said on a Chinese social platform on March 19.

Shi Yedong, a veteran film and television industry watcher, told Securities Daily that while the box office has lost almost all of its value in the first quarter and its total loss could exceed 15 billion yuan ($2.1 billion), consumption will rebound when the situation comes under control.

Shi pointed out that the promotion of some movies slated for the Spring Festival holiday had restarted, and predicted fierce competition from the May Day holiday to the school and college summer vacation. The catch is that the summer vacation, generally held from July to August, is likely to be shortened or even canceled as schools, which have stayed closed, try to make up for the lost classes. Students make up a significant proportion of moviegoers during this time.

For better growth

For the resumption of cinemas with the highest-level safeguard mechanism in place, the Beijing Municipal Government issued a guideline on February 28. Theatergoers have to register, providing personal details such as their name, address, ID and phone number. They also have to indicate the film viewed, date and time, the cinema hall and their seat number. They should seat spaced out, wear masks inside the theater, and have their temperature checked before admission. The guideline also gives theaters detailed directions on cleaning, disinfecting and ventilating the venue.

While making a film, the film crew should have no more than 50 people together and their health condition has to be checked. The government will offer financial support for key projects for two years, as well as help out with production. Later, a batch of measures was announced for the development of the cultural industry, which includes subsidies for movies and projects impacted by COVID-19.

Guangdong Province in south China announced it would allocate nearly $7 million to support cinemas in March, becoming the first province to issue a compensation plan specifying the amount of money.

The money will be disbursed according to the box office of each cinema last year.

According to renowned director Jia Zhangke, while the domestic film industry will not recover until June, COVID-19 can't quench people's passion in the industry. The period of mandatory self-quarantine has given filmmakers time to think about their next creation and discover more inspiration for stories, he told Nanfang Metropolis Daily.

Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar

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