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How COVID-19 affects movies budgets

May 24, 2023
3 Min Read

COVID-19, the worst public health disaster in a century, caused massive disruptions to multiple industries, among them the movie business. However, theatres were also nearly empty for a couple of years as a result of the pandemic.

“Nobody is ready to take on the risk of putting money into cinema projects and ending up losing [their investment],” Egyptian actress Salwa Mohamed Ali, who filmed in at least 26 arabic movies, said.

The COVID-19 crisis has had deep effects on the cinema industry because of the closure of cinemas, said the leading film critic Khairia al-Beshlawi, adding that the producers are also afraid to take the risk of making new films.

The measures, which started in March, included the nationwide closure of cinemas and other cultural institutions such as theatres, as well as the cancellation of all cultural events.

The pandemic also changed how movies are distributed, as studios looked to diversify their distribution strategies and streamers pushed to expand their content libraries.

During the COVID-19 crisis, the shortage of new films being made and released is likely to have an adverse effect on ticket sales for movie theatres that were already struggling to stay afloat during the heaviest days of the pandemic.

However, many movies have been stopped, such as The Batman, which resumed after a two-week shutdown caused by actor Robert Pattinson, who tested positive for the virus, resulting in prohibitive costs for the producers.

Arabic movies were included in the postponed list as the creators of Kaira and El Gin decided to hold their screening in cinemas in 2021 for next year. The work is the first to bring together the duo of Karim Abdelaziz and Ahmed Ezz in cinema.

Moreover, No Time to Die, James Bond’s film, has been delayed until November 2020 “after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace.”

While the film was released in theatres on November 12, 2020, in the U.K. and on November 20, 2020, in the U.S.

In addition to that, Disney announced in March 2022 that its live-action remake of Mulan had been indefinitely delayed from its original release date of March 27.

It was then given a release date of July 24 and then August 21. However, on July 23, Disney announced that the film had been indefinitely postponed again due to the ongoing pandemic.

Paramount has joined the list and pushed back its theatrical release for The Lovebirds, a romantic action comedy starring Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae that was scheduled to open on April 3. Netflix has set a May 22, 2020, premiere date for the film.

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