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Coronavirus's impact on the worldwide box office
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In an SEC filing, the company said it “believes its cash burn to date is in line with the Prior Update. However, given the reduced movie slate for the fourth quarter, in the absence of significant increases in attendance from current levels or incremental sources of liquidity, at the existing cash burn rate, the Company anticipates that existing cash resources would be largely depleted by the end of 2020 or early 2021. Thereafter, to meet its obligations as they become due, the Company will require additional sources of liquidity or increases in attendance levels. The required amounts of additional liquidity are expected to be material.”

 

AMC has raised close to $40 million to date by selling shares. In a major debt restructuring announced over the summer, it brought in several hundred million dollars in cash, reduced interest payments and extended maturities on loans. But AMC and other exhibitors figured they’d be back on their feet sooner than appears to be the case. Reopening theaters, as the chain has been doing, costs more than keeping them closed but either way the situation has become dire.

 

AMC said it’s also looking at additional debt and equity financing and further renegotiations with landlords regarding its lease payments. It stopped short of saying it was considering an outright sale but said it would consider joint-venture or other arrangements with existing business partners. AMC is majority owned by Chinese conglomerate Wanda. Investment firm Silver Lake is also an investor.

 

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For some reason I was mistakenly noted as making a political post for an article covering studios asking for government funding for theaters because they were going bankrupt due to the pandemic (the thread's topic is 'Coronavirus's impact on the worldwide box office'). It was news that COVID has impacted the industry so badly, theaters are on the verge of going bankrupt.

I just wanted to make it clear I neither took a political stance, nor looked to take on a political position or question anyone's political stance with any topic. It was news about COVID's direct impact on theaters. Thanks, and sorry for any confusion.

 

Edited by Bosco685
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coming to theaters Dec 2020

Eddie Murphy’s ‘Coming 2 America’ Moves From Paramount to Amazon Studios

The long-anticipated sequel to the Eddie Murphy classic is in the process of being sold by distributor Paramount Pictures to Amazon Studios, in a deal worth roughly $125 million, insiders said. The expected streaming premiere date is December 18, sources added.

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AMC Entertainment May File For Bankruptcy For Real As Re-Opening Stalls

https://deadline.com/2020/10/cinema-stocks-teeter-wall-street-ponders-possible-amc-entertainment-bankruptcy-1234596738/

:facepalm: but keep those doors open, lights on, employees roaming, popcorn popping although no one is coming

Edited by paperheart
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   AMC Entertainment expects revenues for the three months ended September 30 of $119 million, versus nearly $1.32 billion for the prior year’s quarter, and the struggling theater chain anticipates material write-downs of assets, according to an SEC filing Tuesday morning with preliminary financial results.

Cash and cash equivalents stood at $417.9 million. Interest expense for the three months will be approximately $94 million, compared to $85 million for the year ago. Debt is a hefty $5.5 billion. The high debt racked up by acquisitions before COVID has become a major problem as the virus drags on and the company has to divert a significant portion of its cash flow to interest payments.

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Nein!

Germany Orders Re-Closing Of All Cinemas; France Could Be Next

France is now set to enter a second lockdown phase from tomorrow night and for five weeks as coronavirus cases continue to escalate. French President Emmanuel Macron made the announcement in an address to the nation this evening. Movie theaters were not explicitly cited, but will clearly be included in the off-limit zones, dealing a further blow to the industry.

Edited by paperheart
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The layoffs affecting the Walt Disney Company continue to hit, and now those cuts are forcing Walt Disney Studios to look at their various movie divisions including the recently acquired Searchlight Pictures. Searchlight is the rebranded Fox Searchlight and focused on smaller budget projects including Oscar-winners like The Shape of Water, 12 Years a Slave, and Birdman. A new report from Deadline confirms six employees from Searchlight have been cut, while the marketing group and theatrical stage team in New York City have also been affected. This follows the layoffs at ESPN that eliminated 6% of its workforce, but the report states that these aren't as widespread. There is no word yet on if these layoffs will affect operations at Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Pixar, or 20th Century Pictures.

 

As Deadline notes, similar cuts are taking place across the industry. Lionsgate Motion Picture Group cut 15% of their staff while Sony announced layoffs to their marketing and distribution divisions. NBCUniversal's TV and streaming units are also restructuring in the wake of launching Peacock.

 

Disney has also enacted major cuts across the theme parks division, especially in Disneyland in Anaheim which has not been able to reopen due to COVID-19. The spread of coronavirus has taken a major toll on the company which was preparing for a big year in 2020, but instead is having to weather the storm with no end of the pandemic in sight.

 

Even Walt Disney World, which has been operating at limited capacity since the summer, just had to layoff even more of its employees. They released a statement on the Disney Parks Blog which reads, "Recently, we’ve had to make some difficult decisions to reduce our workforce as the business impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic have become more long-lasting than anyone could have predicted. As a result, we’ve had to pause many live shows and entertainment experiences at our resort for longer than originally anticipated."

 

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News of a potential coronavirus vaccine sent shares of movie theater chains soaring on Monday. For the first time in a long time, it seems, cinema owners and investors see hope for a sector that has been decimated by the public health crisis.

 

“We have not heard good news for awhile, and this is unqualified good news,” says Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax Entertainment. “This is potentially a game changer. It gives us greater clarity about when and how this pandemic may end.”

 

Buoyed by the announcement, AMC Theatres’ stock rose 51.4%, Cineworld shares jumped 40.25%, Cinemark stock climbed 45.17%, and Imax shares got an 18.61% boost. To be fair, the share prices were a fraction of what they were pre-pandemic. For instance, AMC closed the day at $3.77 a share, less than half of what shares were trading in February.

 

Despite Wall Street’s burst of optimism, the movie business still faces fierce headwinds. Box office revenues have plummeted since COVID-19 first started spreading in the United States last winter. While cinemas in 48 states have reopened, many are still digging out from a very deep hole after being closed for much of the spring and summer and theaters in Los Angeles and in New York City remain shut. Some are teetering on the verge of insolvency, with the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) predicting that as many as 70% of small to mid-sized theaters are facing bankruptcy by early next year without some kind of federal assistance. That kind of lifeline may be hard to secure given that stimulus talks have largely broken down and Congress is now entering a lame duck session when legislation tends to grind to a halt.

 

“If the vaccine news is on track, that’s very exciting and is a very bright light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s a long tunnel and many of our companies are barely breathing air right now in terms of their liquidity,” says John Fithian, CEO of NATO.

 

While Imax’s Gelfond speculated that a vaccine could be widely available by April, there are reasons to doubt that optimistic timetable. Pfizer, the drug company behind the vaccine, is basing the results on early data and is still in trials, although it has been shown to be 90% effective. It will likely be distributed first to healthcare and other essential workers, and the logistics of getting a vaccine to hundreds of millions of American are daunting.

 

“It’s a fantastic step in the right direction,” says Eric Handler, a media and entertainment analyst with MKM Partners. “The caveat is that it’s going to take time to fully distribute the vaccine. We don’t know when it will be available or how long it will take [to administer widely]. It will probably take a few quarters for that to play out.”

 

There are other hurdles for the exhibition industry related to the timing of a vaccine. Some studios, such as Warner Bros. which had planned to debut “Wonder Woman 1984” in December, may now be inclined to hold off on distributing the movie until a vaccine is in circulation. The logic is simple. Why risk losing tens, maybe even hundreds of millions of dollars, by unveiling a blockbuster while a pandemic is raging when by postponing a film’s debut by a few months, you could be looking at a very different public health situation?

 

“If you ask me if it’s kosher to open [‘Wonder Woman 1984’] in December, my answer is no,” says Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Cineworld, which operates Regal in the U.S.. “If it goes in February [instead], I believe it could be a huge movie. We don’t want to open it and be disappointed. [By waiting,] the picture around vaccination will be clearer.”

 

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Any Universal film that doesn't open to $50 million or higher will have Cinemark's blessing to make its PVOD debut after 17 days, versus a month.


Universal has struck a history-making deal with Cinemark Entertainment that will dramatically shorten the theatrical window for its films playing at the U.S. box office  — including larger event pics and tentpoles — even after the pandemic ends.

 

Under the terms of multi-year pact, a Universal movie opening to $50 million or more at the domestic box office can be made available in the home via premium VOD beginning 31 days after it opens on the big screen.

 

Cinemark, the country's third-largest chain, is okay with all other Universal, DreamWorks Animation and Focus Features movies being made available on PVOD after 17 days, similar to the history-making arrangement Universal struck with AMC Entertainment in late July.

 

The Cinemark news is significant for several reasons. Not only does it introduce the idea of a 31-day window for tentpole or event fare, it means that two of the country's three largest movie theater circuits are on board with Universal's push to release movies in the home early and create a new PVOD window. Universal now has far more leverage.

 

The Cinemark arrangement further alters the landscape at a time when circuits are under siege because of COVID-19, with no certainty as to what moviegoing will look like when there's a vaccine.

 

Terms weren't disclosed, but Cinemark and AMC are expected to share in the PVOD revenue.

 

“We believe a more dynamic theatrical window, whereby movie theaters continue to provide an event-sized launching platform for films that maximize box office and bolsters the success of subsequent distribution channels, is in the shared best interests of studios, exhibitors and, most importantly, moviegoers," Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi said in a statement.

 

The agreement includes at least three full weekends (17 days) of theatrical exclusivity for all Universal and Focus theatrical releases, at which time the studio will have the option to make its titles available across PVOD. Any title that opens to $50 million or more, including many franchise titles, will play exclusively in theaters for at least five full weekends (31 days).

 

“Universal’s century-long partnership with exhibition is rooted in the theatrical experience, and we are more committed than ever for audiences to experience our movies on the big screen,” said Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Donna Langley.

UFEG vice chairman and chief distribution Peter Levinsohn played a key role in the deal alongside Langley.

 

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Cineworld, the world’s second largest cinema chain, is looking into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in the UK, which would allow it to restructure and renegotiate a mounting debt pile caused by unpaid rents due to ongoing closures.

 

Deadline can confirm that a potential CVA, first reported by the Financial Times, is one option being explored. Permanently closing a portion of its 127-site estate in the UK is also on the table.

 

The CVA would allow the company, which has £6.2BN in debt, to work out a viable payment schedule for money owed. Cineworld appointed restructuring specialists AlixPartners to negotiate with lenders last month; the process grants the company one month to reach an agreement.

 

In October, UK landlord AEW sued Cineworld for £308,000 in unpaid rent. The owner of London’s Trocadero Centre is also suing the chain for £1.4m in unpaid rent from its flagship Picturehouse Central site.

 

Cineworld re-shut all of its cinemas in both the U.S., where it operates the Regal chain, and the UK, last month. The company initially blamed New York governor Andrew Cuomo for not allowing sites in the key box office market to re-open. However, NY venues can now operate again, but Regal is closed again with a lack of big-ticket releases posing an ongoing challenge.

 

The company hopes the CVA process will allow it to survive until the spring, when the arrival of titles including Bond pic No Time To Die (April 2) could prove key – that’s if they stick to the current dates.

 

According to the FT, fellow UK chains Vue, Odeon and Everyman have also hired advisers to negotiate with lenders and landlords.

 

Cineworld Group’s share price bounced back last week after news of positive developments in the process to produce a COVID-19 vaccine. The value remains heavily down on its pre-pandemic price.

 

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pre-Thanksgiving weekend #1 US BO 2019 vs 2020: Frozen II $130MM vs Freaky $1.2MM

 

 
Horror-comedy #Freaky is again the #1 movie at domestic #boxoffice this wknd. 2nd wknd drop was a steep 67%, cume is $5.6M. Universal & Focus have held #1 spot 4 weeks in a row now and will continue with #CroodsNewAge
 
Croods_2_2020_fix.png
next wknd. But overall Top 10 down a horrific 97% vs last yr!
                   
Edited by paperheart
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On 10/28/2020 at 12:29 PM, paperheart said:

Nein!

Germany Orders Re-Closing Of All Cinemas; France Could Be Next

France is now set to enter a second lockdown phase from tomorrow night and for five weeks as coronavirus cases continue to escalate. French President Emmanuel Macron made the announcement in an address to the nation this evening. Movie theaters were not explicitly cited, but will clearly be included in the off-limit zones, dealing a further blow to the industry.

Tres Bien! 6 weeks of sacrifice did the trick

France’s Cinemas To Reopen On December 15 As Lockdown Eases

 
Edited by paperheart
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