5 Years Ago, The Pandemic Shut Down Movie Theaters

Five years ago, the world changed in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. What started in China quickly spread around the globe, creating an international crisis the likes of which none of us had experienced in our lifetimes. What it led to was a near-total shutdown of commerce centered around gatherings. Person-to-person contact was straight-up dangerous, which made indoor activities with strangers all but impossible.

As a result, by March 20, 2020, thanks to widespread stay-at-home orders, virtually every movie theater in North America — and throughout much of the world — was forced to close its doors temporarily. Hollywood had offered signs that this pandemic was very serious, with the “James Bond” movie “No Time to Die” delaying its global release in early Marchwhich was no small thing. Film festivals were canceled. The box office was being propped up by drive-in movie theaters across the country. It was dire, but it was also supposed to be temporary.

Unfortunately, by the time chains like AMC and Regal were allowed to reopen their doors for movies like Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” and Marvel’s “New Mutants,” they were doing so in a media landscape that had been greatly altered. Hollywood threw a brick on the gas pedal when it came to streaming as the future. Before the pandemic, Netflix ruled this space, with Hulu and other competitors in there fighting for a piece. By the end of 2020, though, we had Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max (now just Max), and Peacock, with Paramount+ and others just around the corner.

Even more transformative was the advent of PVOD, aka premium video on demand. VOD had been a thing for years, but when theaters shut down, studios released movies that had their runs at the box office cut short at home for $20 to rent. That was a steep price people cooped up at home were willing to pay. When Universal released “Trolls World Tour,” a would-be theatrical release, at home on VOD in April 2020Pandora’s Box was permanently opened. Theaters would have to fight for relevance from that point on, even without the threat of a global pandemic looming.

By the time 2021 rolled around, vaccines were becoming available and the direct threat of the pandemic was easing. Hollywood began scheduling big movies, such as “Godzilla vs. Kong” and “F9: The Fast Saga.” Unfortunately, studios were also now all-in on streaming and uncertain regarding the box office. This was evident when Warner Bros. announced it would premiere its entire 2021 movie slate in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day. This decision, understandably, pissed off chains such as AMC. It also didn’t make stars or filmmakers very happy.

This was going to cut into ticket sales in a year when theaters needed them most — and it did. In no small part thanks to decisions like these, the recovery at the box office was much, much slower than anyone anticipated. Sure, movies like “Godzilla vs. Kong” were relatively successful, but so much of that had to do with a lack of competition. On a macro level, far fewer movies were being released and they were staying in theaters for shorter periods of time. It upended the business model for theaters in a big, bad way.

That’s why Regal’s parent company, Cineworld, had to file for bankruptcy in 2022 (and largely why AMC Theatres is saddled with billions in debt). It’s also why Sony Pictures swooped in to buy the beloved regional Alamo Drafthouse theater chain in 2024. Before the pandemic, the box office was enjoying record highs in 2019 when global ticket sales topped $42 billion. Disney alone made more than $13 billion that yearwith a whopping nine movies grossing at least $1 billion during that frame. But that was then. This is now.

The bar for success at the box office has been forcibly lowered these past five years, as evidenced by the fact that only nine movies have made at least $1 billion since 2019. Meanwhile, theaters keep getting hit with major setbacks, such as 2023’s WGA and SAG strikes upended their 2024 slate. That’s why the domestic box office dipped to $8.5 billion in 2024 after grossing an encouraging $9 billion in 2023. Now? 2025 is pacing even further behind last year. The days of the domestic box office topping $10 billion annually, inflation notwithstanding, may well be behind us. This problem translates around the globe as well.

Before the pandemic, Hollywood was increasingly depending on robust ticket sales from China. Now? Hits in China are few and far between for American movies, with Chinese audiences increasingly favoring homegrown films. That’s taking even more money off of the table. Audiences are also far more content to watch movies at home. And why shouldn’t they be? Even big blockbusters are now available in some cases less than three weeks after they first reach theaters. The “wait to stream” mentality has truly taken root, killing many of the sorts of movies that used to find success at the box office.

That’s why Netflix alone generated more revenue than the entire global box office in 2024. Streaming can produce revenue, but nothing like the DVD era of old. VOD can certainly help change a movie’s fortune, but that’s not doing anything to help keep the lights on for smaller theater chains that need a consistent string of movies (as opposed to horrible dry spells between hopeful hits).

One of the biggest problems now is even one-time, slam dunk hits aren’t happening like they once were. Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World” is barely going to clear $400 million globally. Automatic $1 billion superhero blockbusters are no longer a thing. Again, that creates far less certainty for theaters, which only serves to further complicate matters.

There’s a lot of nuance here that could fill a book, but the point is that movie theaters are in an unenviable position right now. Meanwhile, Hollywood is reckoning with the idea that making streaming profitable is a tough proposition. The fact of the matter is that studios need theaters to survive, and a series of short-sighted, desperate decisions has altered consumer habits, perhaps irrevocably. Theaters are now being starved to death.

So, what’s the answer? Is there hope? Could lowering ticket prices entice moviegoers to return to cinemas more frequently? Maybe, but tickets are far more likely to get more expensive. Maybe it’s making theaters part of mixed entertainment centers that include everything from arcades to axe throwingfor better or worse. AMC CEO Adam Aron certainly believes returning to longer, exclusive theatrical windows is a must.

What we can say definitively is that the days of people going to the movies just to go to the movies are gone. The recovery the industry hoped for never came. Five years later, theaters are facing an uncertain new normal.