NATO Chief believes movies should release in theaters despite the pandemic

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The head of the National Theatre Owners Association, John Fithian, declares that theaters need to stay open and he believes that studios delaying films in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is not helping matters. 

Movie theaters initially closed their doors back in March and recently things have gradually begun to change. Theaters in China have reopened recently but this was after opening after some believed was a bit too early which resulted in their closure again before opening again last weekend. Of the 5,000 or so theaters in the States, about 1200-1500 have reopened, with mostly drive-ins bringing in most of the business. More theaters were on their way to reopening but as the nation continues to hit record-breaking numbers in terms of cases and deaths due to the coronavirus, many states have forced the closure of theaters and other public venues. It's a very messy situation that has led to films like Christopher Nolan's TENET, delaying its release indefinitely. 

John Fithian became the latest person to add fuel to this debate and it was sparked when he was asked by "Variety" about Warner Bros.' decision to move TENET from its August 12 release date to a presumed later date in 2020. Fithian emphasized that until a coronavirus vaccine is found, theaters cannot open to 100% capacity and he believes this is the reason that studios and theaters should begin to deal with the "new normal" and just open and release films as planned:

"Distributors should stick with their dates and release their movies because there's no guarantee that more markets will open later this year. Until there's a vaccine that's widely available, there will not be 100% of the markets open. Because of that, films should be released in markets where it is safe and legal to release them and that's about 85% of markets in the U.S. and even more globally. They should release their movies and deal with this new normal. Studios may not make the same amount of money that they did before, but if they don't start distributing films, there's going to be a big hole in their balance sheets. This is a $42 billion-a-year business. Most businesses would take 85% of that instead of zero, which will be what happens if they wait for all of the markets to open up."

On the one hand, I think he has a point. It seems like the studios are waiting for some kind of miracle where the big box office markets open up again and they can make the necessary money off their expensive tentpole releases. They're patiently waiting for Los Angeles and New York City to give approval for their theaters to open but that has yet to be the case, which is why TENET delayed its release again and will be likely why other releases will follow suit. It seems as if Fithian is saying that bringing in some money is better than bringing in no money so studios and theaters should maintain their dates and just adjust to whatever money can make until things gradually get back to normal again. Is this financially feasible for a studio to do this? Probably not but the longer they wait to open films, it's going to kneecap the theaters out there that are waiting to distribute these releases. AMC, Regal, and Cinemark seem to be banking on films like TENET in order to get back into the game but studios are clearly focusing their efforts on the markets that will make them the most money and with Los Angeles and New York City out of play as of now, they don't want to seem to budge until these players are part of the box office conversation again.

Do YOU agree that studios should maintain release dates and open films in theaters that happen to be open or is it smart to wait it out?