For the U.S., the firm’s annual study projects a 65.7 percent decline from $11.4 billion in 2019 to $3.9 billion this year. The firm warned that “the whole cinema ecosystem will be dramatically affected,” with cinema revenue, comprised of box office and cinema advertising (but excluding concession sales in cinemas and movie merchandising), set to contract globally at a 2.4 percent compound annual rate from 2019 to end 2024 with $39.9 billion. – The Hollywood Reporter
Category: AUDIENCE
COVID Has Made Arts Audiences Smaller, Yes, But Also Younger
Or, to put it more pessimistically/realistically, ticket sales have plummeted across the board in the US and UK, but the biggest drop has been in older audience members, according to the new report “Who is Booking Now? Changes in Ticket Buyer Demographics Post COVID-19.” – TRG Arts
A German Experiment In How To Have Large Audiences And Be Safe From COVID
All the fans were volunteers, part of Restart-19, a study to see if and how big cultural and sporting events can be held safely in the era of COVID-19. The daylong experiment was set up by scientists to try and understand why mass events are so effective at spreading the novel coronavirus and how organizers can act to minimize the risk. – The Hollywood Reporter
Atlanta Opera, Pushed By COVID, Moves To New Business Model For Fall 2020
“‘This pandemic has devastated so many lives and businesses,’ [general director Tomer] Zvulun said. ‘But it has also been a major catalyst in accelerating our shift to a business model that we have been discussing for years: creating a company of players, performing in nontraditional spaces,” — for this fall, that means alternating performances of Pagliacci and The Kaiser of Atlantis in an open-sided circus tent — “and developing our video and streaming capabilities.'” – ArtsATL
Edinburgh Int’l Festival Online Racks Up More Than A Million Views
“The festival said its 26 digital productions, which featured specially staged performances involving about 500 artists, musicians and technical staff, were watched 1.013m times in nearly 50 countries worldwide. Last year, its live shows in Edinburgh had an audience of 420,000.” – The Guardian
New Game Has Players And AI Creating Genre Fiction Together
“Powered by an artificial intelligence text generator, the video game [AI Dungeon] can be played on smartphones or computers, offering players a choice of five genres: fantasy, mystery, apocalyptic, zombies, or cyberpunk. At the beginning of each game, the AI generates the first lines of a unique and genre-specific adventure — prompting players to type in their next actions. Players can type whatever they want, and the AI storyteller responds and adapts the adventure.” – Publishers Weekly
The Hollywood Bowl In The Time Of The Pandemic
There’s no summer season of music for the L.A. Phil at the Hollywood Bowl. But there are food banks, a take-out restaurant from those who usually make food for the concerts, and a lot of musicians, socially distanced, trying to record music, and live through this. – Los Angeles Times
The Joys Of Music Reaction Videos
Is it time for, say, Beethoven reaction videos? Because this was the experience of someone hearing “Bohemian Rhapsody” for the first time: “Watching the full gamut of human emotions – gentle contemplation, wistful sadness, wide-gobbed amazement – shimmer across his face, as the song lunges from one operatic movement to the next, is nothing short of wonderful. ‘WHERE HAVE I BEEN?!’ he asks at the end, on the verge of tears.” – The Guardian (UK)
What’s Lost When Film Festivals Go Virtual
Festivals can serve as coronations, bestowing status or, even better, controversy. (Almost inevitably, “Joker” took home Venice’s top prize, the Golden Lion.) More valuably, they can channel the conversation toward worthier less-shiny objects. At a festival, you find yourself talking to strangers: in lobbies, shuttles, at bars, in snaking lines or seated next to you, as a way of sharing enthusiasm. – The New York Times
As Movie Theatres Reopen, Audiences Weigh The Safety Calculation
As high-profile titles like Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic “Tenet” and “The New Mutants” gear up to hit the big screen, marking the first major films to open since theaters were forced to close in March, audiences are faced with the choice of whether or not to return to the movies. Sure, they’re desperate for some entertainment and eager to do something more social after months of relative isolation, but do the risks associated with indoor activities justify a few hours of big screen escapism? – Variety