Cinemagoing is ‘Just not worth it’ for some post-COVID films

Bob Iger may have led Disney to historic highs at the box office, but in an interview on CNN+, the former CEO added his name to the list of skeptics who think the movie business won’t ever get back to what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“COVID got people a lot more comfortable watching New Media, app-based media in the home,” Iger told CNN’s Chris Wallace in an interview for the network’s new streaming service. “While I don’t think it duplicates the experience in the theater, it is good enough.

“And when you consider what you have to do to go to a theater, which is drive there or commute there in some form and pay for transportation, parking, etc., sit in a large room with a lot of people, to some there’s friction involved and it’s just not worth it,”He added.

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Since theaters were reopened in 1992, the blockbusters from Hollywood have performed well in theaters. “No Time to Die,” “The Batman”Record breaking feat “Spider-Man: No Way Home,”Films aimed at older audiences have not been successful as their target audience has stayed away amid COVID-19 concerns.

Disney saw this firsthand when it released its Oscar-winning movie “West Side Story,”Which unable to make it back its $100 million budget at the box office and, along with most of this year’s Oscar contenders, performed poorly in theaters. On the family side, Disney’s “Encanto”It did well during its one-month theatrical run in theaters this winter. Bob Chapek, the successor to Iger, said that it was released on Disney+. “catalyst”It became a cultural phenomenon.

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Despite the pivot to streaming, Disney is still keeping a foot firmly planted in theaters with its biggest franchises, as Marvel Studios’ upcoming sequels to “Doctor Strange”And “Black Panther”They are expected to be hits at pre-pandemic levels, barring any major COVID surge that could affect customer confidence in moviegoing. However, younger audiences should still attend. The studio is heavily marketing the Pixar summer film. “Lightyear”After moving, it can be released theatrically. “Turning Red”To Disney+

Iger believes such films will still be successful at the box-office, but that COVID-19 will eventually become an endemic stage and the theatrical market will continue to decline.

“I happen to think that people will still want to go to the movies, certain movies, and they won’t want to go to as many as they were going to,”He said. “So I don’t think the business disappears. I think it transforms and we’re seeing that already. And I don’t think in a post-COVID world, it returns to what it was before. I think it contracts.”

Iger’s full interview with Chris Wallace is available on CNN+.

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