Bourne Director Expects Cinemas To Return In Six Months

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Jason Bourne director Paul Greengrass thinks we will be able to go back to theaters in six months, just in time for summer blockbuster season. The pandemic hit the exhibition industry especially hard in 2020. Theaters were closed for much of the year, including the summer season, the most profitable time of the year for theaters. The world's largest theater chain, AMC Theaters, is on the verge of bankruptcy, and many other chains are in precarious positions going into 2021.

Box office results for 2020 were especially worrying but to be expected. Movies in 2019 counted for a third of the 2020 box office, and the year ended $30 billion short of the 2019 box office. 2021 is shaping up to fix that if everything goes according to plan. With most theaters closed in 2020, many studios opted to shift their biggest films to the following year. This has given 2021 a robust release calendar, with more blockbusters set to hit screens this year than ever before.

Speaking to BBC's Today Programme (via Deadline), Greengrass says he thinks things could return to normal for theaters in six months. The director, whose most recent film News of the World hit theaters and PVOD, thinks that we'll be back sooner than most experts do. Greengrass doesn't go into specifics, choosing not to elaborate on what he means. It's unclear if he thinks theaters will operate at full capacity in six months if they implement safety protocols for audiences or if he's saying things will be completely back to normal.

I think we’ll be back in cinemas sooner than we think, in six months I think we’ll start to go back.

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Greengrass's statement might be wishful thinking. While the 2021 calendar is stacked with high profile releases, some of those are already starting to be delayed. No Time to Die, the 25th Bond film, is expected to be postponed for the third time. Similarly, Jared Leto's Morbius has been delayed to October. All of this indicates that studios aren't exactly confident that theaters will return to normal in time for their films to be released. Warner Bros. decision to release their entire 2021 slate on HBO Max and in theaters simultaneously is another indicator of the eroding confidence of the studio's ability to maximize box office profits.

Several of the most high-profile films slated to release in the upcoming months, including Cherry, Coming 2 America, and Disney's latest animated feature Raya & the Last Dragon, will see a modified release format. Columbia's upcoming Cinderella, starring Camilla Cabello, Idina Menzel, and Billy Porter, is still slated for a theatrical release on February 5. Yet, no promotional materials for the film have been released, signaling a possible delay around 15 days before its release. Greengrass might be a little too hopeful. While the Jason Bourne director is right that we may be returning to theaters in some capacity in six months, we could see a similar situation to 2021, with theaters beginning to reopen but nothing to show.