Director Christopher Nolan In Washington Post: Movie Theaters Will Need Our Help

By Anthony D'Alessandro

By Rebecca Rubin

I know, I know. There are bigger things to worry about than not being able to go see the 3:30 showing of Emma. And I know you're probably ready to pull out your "Kim, people are dying" GIF and throw it in the comments. That's fair! You're completely right! But I also think every person gets to evaluate and grieve the many ways in which this pandemic has changed the way they live their life, and for me, this is a big one.

After a month of increasing anxiety and self-isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic, audiences in the U.S. are largely not eager to return to public events once the crisis subsides, according to a new study.

The movie theaters in China are once again closing amid the global crisis.

By Anthony D'Alessandro

Movie theaters have endured world wars, depressions and recessions, and the advent of everything from television to streaming. But COVID-19 and the public health crisis it has generated around the globe represent an existential threat to the cinema business like no other.

Drive-In Movie Theaters are having a resurgence right now during the coronavirus outbreak.

Autumn de Wilde, the director of Focus Featres’ “Emma,” flew home to Los Angeles on Thursday night after a London work trip and began a 15-day self-quarantine at a friend’s bungalow. Though not usually a nervous flier nor a germaphobe, de Wilde said she’d had a “stressful” flight because of her anxiety about coronavirus. “I was definitely feeling like the invisible enemy was getting to me,” she told Variety on Friday.

In response to the film industry being threatened by the global coronavirus pandemic — and in particular, the massive toll its taking on movie theaters — Christopher Nolan addressed the issues in an op-ed for the Washington Post on Friday. "Movie theaters are a vital part of American life," the headline declared.

By Anthony D'Alessandro

With thousands of theaters shut down across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, filmmaker Christopher Nolan urges people to show their support when they reopen. In an essay for The Washington Post, Nolan calls movie theaters a “vital part of social life” that not only provides entertainment for everyone, but also jobs for many people.

From finding ways to help others cope to sheltering in place to canceling events, here’s a look at some of the ways the entertainment industry is reacting to the spread of the coronavirus, which most people recover from but can cause severe illness in the elderly and those with preexisting medical conditions.

NEW YORK -- Faced with a lengthy shutdown due the coronavirus pandemic, movie theaters are requesting relief from the U.S. government.

Movie theater owners are calling on Congress and President Donald Trump to take emergency measures to provide financial relief for an industry that’s been hit hard by the impact of coronavirus. Cinemas have shuttered and new releases have been delayed as the world grapples with an unprecedented global health crisis. The closures have resulted in furloughs and layoffs, leaving thousands of hourly employees who sell popcorn, take tickets, clean theaters, and other tasks without income.

Even under the best circumstances, Hollywood studios and exhibitors were concerned about how the 2020 box office would stack up in a year with decidedly less sure-fire hits. But now that movie theaters across the country have begun dimming their marquee lights for an indefinite period of time to help contain the spread of coronavirus, the industry is left with a confusing picture of when — and at what scale — Americans will return to multiplexes again.

Cinemark, the nation’s third largest movie theater chain, has joined AMC and Regal in closing down operations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The major movie chains in the United States are closing all locations amid the coronavirus outbreak and it’s expected that all of the other theaters will be closed throughout the pandemic.

Movie theaters in multiple states — Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington — have been ordered to close in response to the coronavirus pandemic.