Box Office Report: March 22, 2020

BY SCOTTIE KNOLLIN

According to Exhibitor Relations, one of the leaders in tracking box office totals, Disney and Warner Bros. have both made the decision to stop reporting box office results until movie theaters reopen. Though some cinemas remained open at the beginning of this past week (which means there are titles that profited amidst the chaos) and there may still be a few continuing to operate, most of the nation’s theater chains have either chosen to close out of caution for the ongoing CORVID-19 pandemic or closed due to state ordinances. In North Dakota, the most prominent chains, AMC and Marcus Theatres, opted to shutter all theaters by midweek. Most of the independent cinemas chose to shutdown, as well. As of the end of the week, Gov. Doug Burgum had ordered all movie theaters to close, in addition to other statewide bans on businesses, like dine-in service at restaurants and bars.

To counter the closure of cinemas, many studios have introduced recently released films to VOD for rental. Titles like “The Invisible Man” and “Emma.” were given digital rentals for $19.99. Disney has announced its chart-topper “Onward” will hit Disney+ in early April. Last weekend’s newcomer, “I Still Believe”, will be available to digitally rent on March 27th.

Widely reported, most of the season’s biggest anticipated jhits have already moved to later in the year, or have been removed from the calendar for the time being. “No Time to Die” will open November 8th. “Peter Rabbit 2” will open in August. “A Quiet Place Part II”, which should have opened this weekend, has yet to be given a new release date.

The next planned wide release is “Trolls World Tour”. The animated sequel will be released April 10, in theaters on on-demand, as long as theaters are back open.

We’ll plan to continue publishing the weekly Box Office Report once cinemas reopen. Until then, stay safe. See you at the movies!