Asia's movie rebound good news for everyone

Has the pandemic dimmed the houselights for good at American movie theaters? Stay-at-home orders, capacity limits and simple fear of the virus have kept cinema crowds away for nearly a year. So, too, have studio decisions to delay the release of anticipated blockbusters. Last year, the North American box office declined to its lowest total since 1981 (when "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was the top draw). Now theaters are flirting with bankruptcy while hoping that they haven't lost their fans forever.

The good news? The picture could hardly look more different in Asia. Although similar worries had plagued the region's movie business at the start of the pandemic, audiences are now piling back into theaters and spurring record box-office hauls. In China, where the government says that Covid-19 is mostly under control, the take for the first 10 days of January surged more than 50 per cent over the same period last year. In Japan, Imax Corp. is reporting record weekend attendance. From India to Taiwan, there's been a similar surge in theater-going.

Is there anything the US could learn from this unexpected feel-good tale?

In truth, American theaters weren't in good shape even before the pandemic. The rise of streaming services and other entertainment (such as gaming), was eating into an industry that had grown increasingly dependent on a small number of blockbusters. In 2019, US ticket sales fell by 4.4 per cent to $11.4 billion, the biggest year-over-year decline since 2014.

Still, there was reason for optimism. Through March 1 of last year, the US box office had earned $1.6 billion, 7.3 per cent ahead of 2019. Thanks to a slate of expected blockbusters, from a new James Bond film to a much-anticipated remake of "Dune," the rest of the year was looking up too. But as the pandemic set in, studios began pulling back and delaying big-budget releases, including the Bond film. By mid-March almost every US theater screen was dark, with no timetable for re-opening. In April, Universal Pictures announced that it would bypass theaters altogether and release "Trolls World Tour" right to home video. Other studios soon followed. (Bloomberg)