The spread of COVID-19 coronavirus has caused panic all over the world, and now, it’s causing panic for the entertainment industry.
Over $31 billion was made in the international box office in 2019. However, according to THR, analysts are now speculating the global box office could have already suffered $5 billion in losses thanks to the coronavirus outbreak.
Of course, the leading cause for this loss is the closure of movie theaters and those in afflicted areas avoiding public contact. In China, the world's second-largest movie market, over 70,000 movie theaters have shut their doors since the outbreak began in the country. This, in turn, is estimated to contribute to $2 billion of the aforementioned losses through the end of February alone.
In Italy, it's believed that nearly half of the country’s theaters have been shut down amid government restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. In South Korea, the world's fifth-largest movie market, theaters remain open, but attendance is down 80 percent from 2019, and the situation is quite similar in the Middle East, Japan and the United Kingdom.
As for the United States, film distributors are beginning to postpone release dates overseas. Disney has already postponed the Chinese releases for both Mulan and Onward, as well as the Onward release in South Korea. Meanwhile, MGM has postponed the Chinese release for the latest James Bond film No Time to Die.
The biggest hits to the global box office could still be on the horizon, though, with Marvel Studios' Black Widow and the latest Fast & Furious installment F9 -- two films from franchises that are overseas powerhouses -- arriving in May.