70% would rather watch new movies at home than at the theater: Study
Yahoo Finance's Alexandra Canal breaks down how coronavirus second wave fears could impact live events.
Video Transcript
ZACK GUZMAN: Well, an interesting survey out with the already hard hit theater industry still reeling from the coronavirus crisis. A new survey showing more and more Americans might not have any problem never returning to a movie theater for new releases, and I want to focus on that in this week's Fame and Fortune segment with Yahoo Finance's Alexandra Canal. And Ali, I mean, not exactly what movie theaters necessarily want to hear as they try and prep for reopening.
ALEXANDRA CANAL: Not at all. It looks like Hollywood is going to continue to face an uphill battle even when coronavirus restrictions lift. According to a new study by Performance Research, 70% of respondents said they'd rather watch a new movie on demand in the comfort of their own home with only 13% saying they would rather go to their local cinema. Now, that's a pretty disheartening number, especially for an industry that really wants to come out of the gate being really strong at the Box Office. We have two major temp polls set to be released in July, "Mulan" and Christopher Nolan's "Tenant." But by the results of the survey, I'm not sure how well they are going to perform. Of those that are willing to go back to the movies, 37% said that they will be less likely to attend as much as they did before, with 10% saying they would be fine not going back at all. And it's not just theaters that are experienced experiencing this, it's really live events across the board like concerts, theme parks, performing arts venues.
If you take a look at Broadway, they are going to continue to feel the impact here with 51% saying it would take several months for them to return to the theater even when things are deemed safe again, with 16% saying they might not even go back at all. And that makes Disney's recent acquisition to the global rights of "Hamilton" that much more surreal, because if you were someone that was waiting to see this movie on Broadway, there's now a very real chance that you might not be able to anymore. So all of this fear seems to be stemming from growing concerns over a second wave which both the CDC and WHO have warned about. But really, the only thing that's really going to make people feel fully comfortable to leave their homes again is the one thing that no one can control, and that's a vaccine, with 90% saying finding a coronavirus cure is really the most important factor right now.
ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, well, while we're talking about Hollywood, it was interesting to hear reports that the Oscars, I mean, it's still pretty far away in February of next year, but still reports out that there may be a postponement of the Oscars, the Academy Awards in 2021. I'm not sure if that's necessarily a plus or a minus for the theater industry since they were already willing to accept streaming movies this year, but what's the update on that front?
ALEXANDRA CANAL: Right. According to sources from "Variety," the Oscars will quote, "likely be postponed in 2021." If this were to be true, as you mentioned, it wouldn't be the first coronavirus related change to the Academy. Just a few weeks ago, they tweaked those eligibility requirements to now accept streaming films. Before, a movie had to have some sort of theatrical release. Now at the time of that rule change, the Academy president came out and said it was still too early to tell what the landscape would be at the time of the Oscars-- what that format could look like-- but it's clear that now these discussions are being had. I personally hope we have an Oscars in 2021. I think that would be pretty sad, but there's a lot of question marks right now, and it's definitely a real possibility whether or not they'll postpone it, cancel it, or perhaps pull it virtually.
ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, and fewer and fewer people in your camp there, Ali. As you've highlighted for us in the past, viewership continues to decline. Hasn't topped 40 million viewers since 2014, so maybe postponing it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if you poll the rest of America. But Alexandra Canal, bringing us the updates in this week's Fame and Fortune. Appreciate it.
