You probably know by now that theaters in major metropolitan areas such as New York City and Los Angeles, which make up a large portion of the box office, are finally reopening. Unfortunately, for cinema owners, they’re restricted to only 25% capacity. And according to the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO), if those restrictions are relaxed more by the summer, theaters in New York City might not be able to stay open.

Continue reading Cinema Owners Group Says Theaters In NYC Need To Be At 75% Capacity By July To Survive at The Playlist.

Many Americans, in particular, are excited about a chance to return closer to normal with the widespread distribution of vaccines over the past few months and moving forward. It appears the producers of the 93rd Academy Awards were in that boat. After originally announcing that nominees needed to be at the Oscars in person this year, Steven Soderbergh, Stacey Sher, and Jesse Collins jumped on a number of private conference calls this morning to announce that was no longer the case.

Continue reading Oscars Now Setting Up London & Paris Hubs For Overseas Nominees at The Playlist.

March 2021 has been full of reminders of the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. “The Last Cruise” trailer invokes one of the earliest indicators that something was about the change — the Diamond Princess Curse ship.

The HBO documentary follows one of the earliest COVID outbreaks outside of China. Using footage shot by passengers and the crew, “The Last Cruise” chronicles the moment in time where a cruise ship when from a simple vacation to a fully-fledged nightmare.

Continue reading ‘The Last Cruise’ Trailer: HBO Documentary Remembers The Nightmarish Early Days Of The Pandemic at The Playlist.

It’s starting to look like the Cannes Film Festival could see yet another delay as Dutch director Paul Verhoeven suggested last week on a radio interview with NPO Radio 1 (in Dutch) that the event could be delayed to sometime in October. Verhoeven had expected to debut his latest film “Benedetta” at Cannes in July but seems to be under the impression that it will move into the fall. 

Continue reading ‘Benedetta’ Director Paul Verhoeven Suggests That Cannes 2021 May Have A Fallback Date Of October at The Playlist.

Unless you’ve been avoiding social media like the plague that it is over the past few days (and bravo, if you have!), then you probably already know that Congress has approved a new stimulus package that aims to help businesses and citizens of the US survive the still-ongoing pandemic. But what you might not realize is that buried deep in that bill are two things of note: money for theaters and a new law that says illegal streaming is a felony.

Continue reading COVID Stimulus Includes Law That Makes Illegal Streaming A Felony That Could Result In 10 Years In Jail at The Playlist.

Back in the early days of the pandemic, we saw a rise in the popularity of movies dealing with pandemics and infectious diseases. Key among them was the 2011 movie “Contagion,” which shared an eerie resemblance to the pandemic that was catching the world by surprise and the chaos that arose in the race to create a vaccine. Turns out, while most of the world was surprised by the pandemic, Jude Law saw his role in “Contagion” help him anticipate what was to come.

Continue reading Jude Law Was Warned By Experts Working On ‘Contagion’ That Real Pandemic Was Inevitable at The Playlist.

Back in May, we reported that George Clooney was set to collaborate with Steven Soderbergh yet again on a new film “No Sudden Move” (then titled “Kill Switch”). News of these two reuniting for a film was exciting itself. However, when the formal cast was announced for Soderbergh’s upcoming crime thriller, Clooney was nowhere to be found. So, what happened?

READ MORE: ‘No Sudden Move’: Matt Damon Will Show Up In Yet Another Film For Steven Soderbergh

According to an interview with Deadline, George Clooney talked about the circumstances that led to him leaving the cast of “No Sudden Move,” and sadly, it has nothing to do with the project itself or scheduling issues.

Continue reading George Clooney Reveals Why He Had To Drop Out Of Steven Soderbergh’s ‘No Sudden Move’ at The Playlist.

Remember last month when Cineworld, the parent company behind Regal Cinemas, announced that it would be closing the bulk of its theaters in the US and the UK? At the time, the reason was the fact that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wasn’t opening theaters in the state and it was negatively affecting the entire industry. Well, Cuomo did allow for New York theaters to reopen (outside of NYC, at least), and Regal opened the doors to a handful of cinemas in the state.

Continue reading Regal Shuts Down Remaining Theaters In The US But IMAX CEO Claims COVID-19 Vaccine Is A “Game Changer” at The Playlist.

Having not seen the film, “Hillbilly Elegy,” and only watching the trailer, it’s clear that Ron Howard’s new drama starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close is a clear Oscar front-runner. The trailer features extreme emotions from two incredible actresses bringing their A-game, as well as highlighting some pretty great, subtle visual effects to make these beautiful women look, well, rough. But perhaps one of the biggest parts of an Oscar-winning film’s campaign is the theatrical release, which is made difficult in a post-COVID world.

Continue reading Ron Howard Isn’t Sure What The Theatrical Release For Netflix’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Will Look Like: “It Is What It Is” at The Playlist.

Are you ready for a thriller about an unstoppable pandemic (dubbed COVID-23) that is wiping out millions of humans and forced people to stay in lockdown for four years? Maybe it’s a bit too soon? Well, the people behind the upcoming film, “Songbird,” sure hope you’re ready.

READ MORE: ‘Songbird’ First Look: KJ Apa Stars In COVID-Inspired Dystopian Thriller From Producer Michael Bay

As seen in the trailer for “Songbird,” the thriller tells the close-to-home story of a world in the midst of the COVID-23 pandemic and the current fourth year of lockdown.

Continue reading ‘Songbird’ Trailer: The World Is Being Ravaged By The COVID-23 Virus In The Michael Bay-Produced Thriller at The Playlist.

What will the film industry look like in 10 years? Hell, what will it look like next year? No one really has any idea what to expect after everything settles down and the pandemic is in our rearview mirror. However, according to Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, one thing is for sure, there will be lasting effects, particularly with how feature films are released.

Cinemark Has Reportedly Sold 22,000+ Private “Watch Parties” As Consumers Are Looking For Safer Ways To Enjoy New Films

Grazer and Howard recently spoke at the Wall Street Journal‘s Tech Live conference (via Deadline).

Continue reading Ron Howard Thinks The Movie Theater Experience Will Be More Like Broadway After The Pandemic at The Playlist.

The truth is, there are a lot of film fans that are still very apprehensive about going to indoor movie theaters and watching a film on the big screen in the US. This is evidenced by the fact that box office numbers have been incredibly low, even by pandemic standards, which has forced many films to be delayed out of the current fall film slate into 2021 and even skipping theaters and going to VOD or streaming.

Continue reading Cinemark Has Reportedly Sold 22,000+ Private “Watch Parties” As Consumers Are Looking For Safer Ways To Enjoy New Films at The Playlist.

If there is one actor that has seen a huge career boost thanks to the inflated box office receipts from superhero films over the past decade, it’s Chris Evans. Right up there with Robert Downey, Jr., Evans has been the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and now is set for life based on being Captain America in the hearts and minds of millions of fans around the world.

Continue reading Chris Evans Is Optimistic About Movie Theaters’ Future But Says It Would Be “A Heartbreaker” If They Don’t Survive at The Playlist.

The other day, AMC Theatres released an SEC filing that basically said the company is going to run out of cash by the end of 2020 or early 2021 if the box office doesn’t improve over the next few months. And guess what? With “Soul” moving to Disney+, “Coming 2 America” heading to Amazon, and the major studio offerings for the next couple of months reduced to about four films (for now), things aren’t looking great for theater owners.

Continue reading Analyst Sees Grim Future For AMC Theatres: “I Really Don’t Know How They Don’t Go Bankrupt” at The Playlist.

Just last week, after the surprise shutdown of Cineworld (and thus, Regal Cinemas locations) in the US and UK, AMC Theatres came out and told everyone that things should be just fine and the world’s largest cinema chain had no plans to shut down its theaters. Well, it appears that the CEO might have been speaking a bit too optimistically, as new statements from AMC point to a company on the verge of collapse.

Continue reading AMC Theatres Warns Cash Resources Will Be “Largely Depleted” By The End Of 2020 If Box Office Doesn’t Rebound at The Playlist.

It isn’t just theater owners that are scared for the future of their businesses, as studios continue to delay films from 2020 into 2021 and beyond. Filmmakers, also, are very concerned about what the future if the industry might be like after cinemas continue to struggle and folks like Cineworld (parent company to Regal) have decided to voluntarily close down once again. And though Patty Jenkins’ upcoming “Wonder Woman 1984” is slated for a Christmas release this year, the director is still really concerned that this industry-wide problem could have catastrophic lasting effects.

Continue reading Patty Jenkins Is Worried About More Cinema Closings: “We Could Lose Movie Theater-Going Forever” at The Playlist.

It’s been a minute since we’ve had any solid news about what the future might hold for David Lynch. Even though the pandemic has been rough on the film industry, as a whole, Lynch has apparently thrived, as he launched a successful YouTube channel and has been vocal about his newfound artistic endeavors that have very little to do with actual filmmaking. And in a world that is in dire need of good news, Lynch isn’t able to give us any right now.

Continue reading David Lynch Would “Probably Be Making A Film” Right Now If No Pandemic But Isn’t Upset: “I Love Isolation” at The Playlist.

April 2020, clearly, wasn’t the right time to release Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film, “No Time to Die,” as the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to move to November. Now, with November fast approaching, the film has already moved to April 2021. And the actor is hoping that this is the final time fans will have to be disappointed by another change to the release date.

READ MORE: ‘No Time To Die’ Delayed Once Again, Moving To April 2021

Speaking to Jimmy Fallon on last night’s “The Tonight Show,” Craig talked about the decision to move “No Time to Die” out of 2020 completely.

Continue reading Daniel Craig Thinks November “Isn’t The Right Time” To Release ‘No Time To Die’ But Is Hoping April Is Better at The Playlist.

With yesterday’s confirmation from Cineworld, the parent company of Regal Cinemas, that the company would be closing all of its US and UK movie theaters “until further notice,” film fans (and box office analysts) feared the worst. When would AMC follow suit? And would this be the final nail in the coffin of theater exhibition in 2020 (and possibly forever)? Well, AMC isn’t ready to close its doors.

Continue reading AMC Will Stay Open Despite Regal Closings & Credits “Groundbreaking” Deal With Universal As The Reason at The Playlist.

Earlier today, we shared a piece about how a financial analyst predicted that the only way that theaters are going to be able to survive the uncertainty that is plaguing the theatrical business right now is if studios are willing to “take a hit” with a film. That means, even if a studio knows that a film is going to do less box office than anticipated, at least the theatrical business will be given a chance to survive.

Continue reading ‘Dune’ Delayed Until Fall 2021 As Studios Once Again Shuffle Dates at The Playlist.

The fallout of the “No Time to Die” delay has had an absolutely massive effect on the future of the theatrical business. Not only is it likely that other films will move out of 2020 and take their chances in 2021, but Cineworld (parent company of Regal Cinemas and the second-largest theater chain in the world) has also decided to close its doors beginning this week due to the lack of business.

Continue reading Cineworld CEO Blames NY Governor’s “Inflexibility” For Causing Company To Shut Down U.S. & U.K. Theaters Again at The Playlist.

Just a day ago, the new music video for Billie Eilish’s “No Time to Die” theme song was released. At the time, I said that it seemed as if the studio was moving full speed ahead on releasing the latest James Bond film on its intended date in November. Well, damn, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

READ MORE: ‘No Time To Die’ Music Video: Billie Eilish’s Video Showcases Footage From The Upcoming Bond Film

According to the filmmakers, “No Time to Die” is being delayed yet again.

Continue reading ‘No Time To Die’ Delayed Once Again, Moving To April 2021 at The Playlist.

So, imagine a world where you’re an acclaimed filmmaker that has released four films and directed multiple episodes of TV over the past five years. Not only are you prolific, but you have just signed on to helm what might be the biggest film of your career, a sequel in a franchise with a major leading lady. But then the COVID-19 pandemic hits and you’re sitting around with nothing to do, as you can’t begin filming for months.

Continue reading Ben Wheatley Filmed A Secret Horror Film During Lockdown Before Working On ‘Tomb Raider 2’ at The Playlist.

Cinemas are in trouble. And what makes it worse is that this existential problem facing movie theaters, which existed before the pandemic but has only been exacerbated by the virus, comes at a time when people are watching more movies than ever before. Unfortunately, people are preferring to stay at home to enjoy their content instead of paying ticket prices and venturing off into potentially dangerous indoor public spaces. And the problem has gotten so bad, the biggest filmmakers on the planet are joining forces to urge the US government to do something.

Continue reading Scorsese, Nolan & Many More Filmmakers Urge US Congress To Save Cinemas: “We Fear For Their Future” at The Playlist.

With the news this week that Disney decided to reshuffle most of its remaining 2020 film slate and pushed the majority to 2021, the fall schedule is looking grim. Sure, films are being released in theaters every week, but when you look at major studio releases, really it’s been “Tenet” in early September and then…nothing. And with October looking incredibly bare, folks are beginning to wonder how long cinemas can keep their doors open? Well, according to a new interview with /Film, the Vice President and Chief Communications Officer of the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO), Patrick Corcoran, is concerned.

Continue reading Theater Owners Group Warns Cinemas Could Shut Down Again Due To Recent Film Delays at The Playlist.