United Artists Releasing likely won’t expand Licorice Pizza until next month and Sony Pictures Entertainment is going to take things slow with Jockey as the Omicron variant delays the return of the elusive older demo to cinemas. Jockey— one of the weekend’s few new releases — reported an estimated opening of $4,161 in three locations for
COVID-19
Canada, after delivering 7% of Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s $260M domestic opening weekend, will see its Quebec province shut down cinemas in addition to bars and gyms as public health officials look to slow the spread of the Omicron Covid variant. CBC reports that Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé made the decision to prevent a strain
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 11 new deaths from Covid-19 on Sunday, along with 1,118 new positive cases. The number of deaths and confirmed cases reported today may reflect delays in weekend reporting. Today’s tallies bring the County to a total of 26,637 deaths and 1,493,170 positive cases. At the time
New York’s Public Theater canceled last night’s and tonight’s Free Shakespeare in the Park performances of Merry Wives after a member of the production tested positive for Covid-19. In a statement tweeted two hours before last night’s performance, the Public noted, “Earlier today, we learned that a member of the production has tested positive for
In what could be a harbinger for Broadway’s post-Covid protocol, Springsteen on Broadway has announced that audience members must be vaccinated with an FDA-approved vaccine, a policy no doubt disappointing to the many Canadians and Europeans who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine. Producers of Springsteen on Broadway announced Tuesday night that the show, which will
The Phantom of the Opera, at 33 years old the longest-running show in Broadway history, is the first post-Covid production to make it official: The musical will resume performances on Friday, Oct. 22. Tickets go on sale this Friday. The announcement comes just hours after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the go-ahead for Broadway
Two of the country’s major theatrical venues announced reopening plans today, with the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. set to house Broadway productions beginning in November and October, respectively. In Los Angeles, the Ahmanson’s 2021-22 season will start later than previously announced – instead of an August opening
With the first green shoots of spring — and mass vaccinations — bringing hope for continued drops in Covid-19 cases, some events and venues sidelined for the past year are cultivating comeback plans. Below is a running list of theme parks and movie theaters that are reopening, movies rescheduled, and awards shows, film festivals and
EXCLUSIVE: Even though the domestic box office remains in a funk due to the pandemic, moviegoers’ confidence has hit a record high near 50%, according to recent data by NRG. Moviegoers’ recent upbeat attitude to return to the cinema also outpaced poll results from the fall, which was the last time it was at a
The Broadway premiere of Skeleton Crew, written by Tony Award nominee Dominique Morisseau (Ain’t Too Proud) and directed by Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (August Wilson’s Jitney) will begin performances on Broadway during the winter of 2022, producer Manhattan Theatre Club announced today. The production joins MTC’s previously announced 2021-22 Broadway line-up of Santiago-Hudson’s Lackawanna Blues
Cinemas in France will not be able to reopen on December 15 which was the date initially set by the government late last month. They will instead remain closed for at least three weeks from that date, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said in an address to the nation this evening. France has been in
After recently extending a partial coronavirus lockdown until at least December 20, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced today that restrictions will remain in place for a further three weeks, to January 10. That means cinemas will be closed until that date — thus kiboshing the planed local release of Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984. The
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says widespread, national use of an efficacious vaccine this spring and early summer could allow Broadway to retake the stage by late summer or early fall. In an interview with NBC New York’s David Ushery last night, Fauci was asked when Broadway
Germany has extended its partial coronavirus lockdown until at least December 20, meaning cinemas in the European major will not resume operations before that date. It is also possible, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, that restrictions could continue into January. A re-evaluation is due to take place on December 15. Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984
Movie theaters in France will be allowed to reopen from December 15, President Emmanuel Macron announced this evening in an address to the nation. The country’s second COVID-19 spike has peaked, said Macron, and there will be an overall, gradual easing of restrictions over the next several weeks. Culture “is essential,” Macron insisted. A 9PM
In a major sign of confidence in the future of theatrical moviegoing, Cineworld Group, the world’s second largest exhibitor and owner of Regal in the U.S., has secured significant additional liquidity that will help ensure its future despite ongoing challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes a new debt facility of $450M, while further
The Roundabout Theatre Company says it will resume production in Fall 2021 with two much anticipated shows – the COVID-delayed Jeanine Tesori/Tony Kushner musical Caroline, Or Change and Alice Childress’ Trouble In Mind. The planned musical revival of 1776 will now begin performances in Spring 2022. The nonprofit theater company does not have a date
Steppenwolf’s Broadway production of Tracy Letts’ The Minutes is exiting the Cort Theatre, its pre-COVID home, with plans to re-open in 2022 at another Broadway venue. The move signals yet another way the pandemic shutdown has impacted Broadway’s shuffle of theater tenants and reopening schedules. The Minutes, a political comedy directed by Anna D. Shapiro
European cinema trade body UNIC has today renewed its call to national governments for further public funding support of the exhibition industry during the COVID-19 crisis. UNIC says the current situation is “undeniably the most challenging period faced by European cinemas in their long history,” and adds that the coronavirus pandemic “has dealt the sector
Shares in IMAX were down in pre-market trading this morning after the company announced its Q3 results, which included a loss of $47.2M on revenues of $37.3M. As of 10AM ET, they were down 4.92%. CEO Rich Gelfond, however, remains bullish on the theatrical business and the company’s future health. “Our financial position gives us
France is now set to enter a second lockdown phase from tomorrow night and for five weeks as coronavirus cases continue to escalate. French President Emmanuel Macron made the announcement in an address to the nation this evening. Movie theaters were not explicitly cited, but will clearly be included in the off-limit zones, dealing a
As COVID-19 cases spike, Europe is once again taking serious measures to curb the virus’ spread. After initially shuttering its movie theaters in late February and then reopening in June, Italy is now set to close cinemas once again from tomorrow. At the same time, Spain has approved a new national state of alarm and
A government-mandated curfew that was set in place in France last week has been widely extended across the country, and will come into effect from Friday night. An estimated 46M people (69% of the population) will be impacted by the new measures announced by Prime Minister Jean Castex this evening. Residents of the 54 total
With Broadway’s shut down at least until June, some producers who had been hoping to open shows this spring are re-setting their sights on fall or even 2022, while others have announced no plans whatsoever. The latest to announce a new schedule is Lincoln Center Theater’s much anticipated production of Flying Over Sunset, a new
Alongside Czech Republic and parts of Romania, Slovakia is now among the latest Central European countries to order the re-shuttering of its cinemas amid an escalation of COVID-19 cases, Deadline has confirmed. Movie theaters in Slovakia will close from this Thursday (October 15) after originally closing on March 9 and reopening May 20. A state
EXCLUSIVE: Vue International CEO and founder Tim Richards wants to avoid “the nuclear option” of temporarily closing his cinemas in the UK and other overseas markets amid recent shifts to the landscape. However, in the wake of the news that MGM’s No Time To Die was pulling out of November and heading to April 2021,
Cinemas in India will get a reprieve beginning October 15 when they are allowed to open outside containment zones. The Ministry of Home Affairs made the announcement late Wednesday, saying that restrictions will include 50% seating capacity. Further guidelines will be issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The move means movie theaters will
A COVID-19 vaccine would likely not be an immediate, complete solution to Broadway’s woes, suggests Dr. Anthony Fauci, who noted in an interview this week that it could take a year of reliable vaccine usage before theatergoers could safely attend shows without masks. Fauci issued the warning during a 30-minute Instagram Live chat with actress
In a lawsuit that offers a glimpse of COVID-19’s economic threat to the Broadway industry, Jujamcyn Theaters, owner of five major Broadway venues, is suing its insurance companies after the insurers offered to pay a mere $250,000 of what Jujamcyn claims should be “tens of millions of dollars” in losses due to the coronavirus shutdown.
EXCLUSIVE: Odeon Cinemas, the AMC-owned chain which is the UK’s largest cinema operator by number of sites, has decided to slow down its reopening plans amid ongoing coronavirus disruption and a film slate that is seeing major titles continue to shift back. The chain reopened an initial 10 sites on July 4, which was the