COVID-19 not only struck our daily lives, but it also struck the movie industry badly. Since the COVID-19 is infectious, and is easily spread by aerosol, people began to feel reluctant going to sealed places. Some countries banned opening the cinema itself. Therefore, the movie industry is facing its worst crisis ever nowadays.

The situation in the U.S.A., which is called the worldʼs largest movie market, is not so good either. Most of the films, including <007 No Time to Die>, which was scheduled to be released on April 8, and <Mulan> and <Black Widow> have temporarily postponed their release dates. The production of the sequel to <Avatar> has been temporarily suspended, even in the midst of films being produced. In addition, other major Hollywood studios such as Disneyʼs animation <The Little Mermaid>, <The Batman>, and <Mission Impossible 7> also suspended production and postponed filming. As a result, most major U.S.A. movie chains chose to close their theaters. To overcome such difficulties, AMC, the largest theater chain in the U.S.A., and Universal Pictures signed an agreement to reduce their exclusive screening period from 90 days to 17 days. According to the U.S.A. film media Variety, Universal picturesʼ new films will be available on online platforms and VOD 17 days after their release.

On the other hand, some countries are trying to handle “cinema businesses” wisely by applying the government policy of “social distancing”. Korean cinema applies this policy to movie theater seats as well. Both the need to watch the movie and the risk of infection can be resolved by allowing people to choose seats with two or more spaces instead of just next to others when booking a movie. Lotte Cinema, CGV, and Megabox also held a promotion that allows people to watch movies for only 2,000 won on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to encourage the publicʼs reduced desire to watch them. In the case of Megabox, premium theaters such as “Megabox Boutique” also sold their tickets at 10,000 won, which usually retail for 35,000 won.

In Paris, France, there was an outdoor screening event for “Boat Theater-type” where people watched movies on board a ship while keeping their seats. According to a French media, 150 people sat on a boat and watched the movie on the Seine River in Paris on July 18th. The “Water Cinema” event was co-hosted by French film channel MK2 and ice cream brand, Hӓagen-Dazs. The event was held for citizens who had difficulty watching movies with COVID-19, and admission was free of charge.

Though the movie industry is facing the worst crisis ever due to COVID-19, it is trying to overcome difficulties by attempting a variety of promotions. On the other hand, audience should enjoy watching movies only when the viewing condition is safe enough to avoid COVID-19.