The independent cinema model is resilient and offers experiences that aren’t available anywhere else. For instance, Vancouver’s Pacific Cinematheque noted in a December CBC article, “[We aren’t] going anywhere … the types of films The Cinematheque offers, from directors like Fellini and Wong Kar-Wai, aren’t readily available on services like Netflix.”
We know there will be independent content, but will the big commercial releases be available? It is extremely likely that they will. In October, Reuters reported, “A premium video-on-demand model like the one Disney used for Mulan will not work for a studio’s biggest, most ambitious films. … Nothing can achieve the per-picture economics that Disney is able to generate through a global theatrical release.”
In a December Deadline article, a Universal Pictures representative said, “Despite the industry’s current love affair with streaming … audiences will return. People like leaving their homes and having fun, emotional, communal experiences together.”
Countries that have reopened cinemas have seen this already: In a December CBC article, Cineplex CEO Ellis Jacob noted that in Japan and Australia weekly box office grosses are already at higher levels than they were pre-pandemic. He went on to say, “When the VCR came out, everybody said it’s the death of the movie business. You know what happened? More people became aware of movies and started to go into the theatres more often.”
Source: https://www.nelsonstar.com/community/column-the-future-of-cinema-is-bright/