The coronavirus pandemic has caused chaos for businesses around the world and the Hollywood film industry is no exception. Hundreds of production schedules have already been disrupted, forcing many film studios to postpone releases until a later date.
Both Marvel Studios’ Black Widow and Warner’s Wonder Woman 1984 have had their release dates pushed back a few months and several film festivals have had to postpone their events. The Minions sequel ‘Rise of Gru’ and A Quiet Place: Part 2 have also suffered delays as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Earlier this month, annual Texas-based media fest SXSW was canceled, followed soon after by the postponement of the Cannes Film Festival in France and the 74th Annual Tony Awards.
The delays have resulted in significant losses for studios and employees, with the future still uncertain. President Trump hopes to have the country back up and running by Easter but as the situation currently stands, that seems unlikely. It could be years before a suitable vaccine is made available to the public although one company believes it can do it in 18 months.
With infections in the U.S now doubling every three days, more and more states are enacting full-scale lockdowns and the NPR has called for a national shutdown. Not all entertainment industries have been hit as hard as Hollywood though. As any fans of online bingo, gaming, or other internet-based entertainment will know, some sectors may even benefit from the lockdown.
So what can those in the film industry expect in the coming months?
Lesson from the Spanish Flu
This isn’t the first time Hollywood has suffered losses as the result of a viral outbreak. Just over a century ago, the Spanish flu epidemic wreaked havoc on the film industry just when it was planting its roots. Despite theatres having to close down for weeks during the period, Hollywood survived the outbreak and emerged as the powerhouse that it is today.
Writer and historian Karina Longworth recently released an insightful podcast detailing the spread of Spanish Flu by soldiers returning from World War 1. The outbreak spread slower than COVID-19 due to limited air travel but still managed to kill 20 million people in its first year.
The 1918 U.S. government’s response to the Spanish Flu was far quicker than today’s government. All theatres and cinema houses were closed within a week and many remained closed for up to two months. The filming of crowd scenes was also banned, resulting in most Hollywood studios choosing to close down for three to four weeks.
Can Hollywood bounce back?
While some editing and post-production can be done in quarantine, filming is near impossible to achieve without large groups of people gathering in close proximity. Speaking to the LA Times, Director Dennie Gordon describes her time in China during the SARS outbreak when all staff were temperature tested at the studio gates.
Dead to Me creator Liz Feldman echoed the sentiment, voicing the need for special sanitation teams and daily rapid-response testing on set. Producer Fred Golan is even more cautious, feeling that nobody should return to work until doctors and scientists give the all-clear.
However, all this planning may be for nothing if the economy doesn’t improve along with the outbreak prevention measures. On March 16th the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 2,900 points, the biggest drop in over 30 years. Some investment banks are now predicting up to a 30% drop in GDP in the second quarter of 2020. The knock-on effect could wipe millions off the balance sheets of many Hollywood studios, forcing set closures and staff layoffs.
As we continue to move forward into an uncertain future, the Hollywood film industry balances on a precipice. The U.S government’s response over the next few weeks could be crucial to its survival.
