COCHRANE— Gearing up to screen the first blockbusters since COVID-19 shut down the film industry, The Cochrane Movie House is ready to showcase a series of new 2020 movies.
The Cochrane Movie House initially closed on March 17 and reopened on June 19 with several pandemic-friendly health measures in place.
Owner/Operator Hal Wolf said the new releases will “take the temperature” of the movie market and give industry stakeholders an insight into what the future looks like.
In the meantime, he said, the Movie House has been screening some old classics and fan favourites to bring in the crowds.
Wolf said that he, and other theatre owners, were hit with a “double whammy” by the pandemic.
“It wasn’t just because of the restrictions of opening,” he said. “Because it affected the world, in our industry, the cost of movies, and what it costs to make movies, Hollywood, when they have a film that cost $250 million to make, they need to have that return on investment on opening weekend.”
Wolf said that roughly 90 per cent of movie theatres were closed down during the pandemic, which prevented filmmakers from getting a return on their investment.
“We were told that a minimum of 70 to 80 per cent of movie theatres worldwide need to be open in order for us to release product.”
Because, globally, many theatres remain closed, Hollywood film producers have delayed releases.
It’s difficult to draw a crowd when there are no new movies to show.
“Not only did we have to battle the restrictions of what we were able to do with how we were able to operate our business, but we also didn’t have product,” he said. “Even if people wanted to come, they couldn’t.”
However, because of the delays associated with new releases, there is now a build-up of finished films ready for the big screen, Wolf said, adding things are starting to move again in the movie market.
“There is a slight backlog of new pictures,” he said. “When theatres were closed all of the new release dates that were supposed to be there for new product were getting pushed down.”
Wolf said that production on many films has restarted, with cast and crewmembers being regularly tested for COVID-19, and now there are new releases on the horizon again.
“In actuality in November, December, January, February, March and into 2021 actually looks a little bit better,” he said. “Finding a way is what everybody is doing.”
Wednesday (Aug. 26.) and Thursday (Aug. 27) will mark the first major blockbuster releases since the pandemic began.
Tenet, the new sci-fi time-bending thriller from acclaimed director Christopher Nolan, comes out on Wednesday (Aug. 26), and the much anticipated Disney superhero horror film, The New Mutants, will be released a day later.
“We will get a good taste of what is going to happen after this weekend,” Wolf said.
Traditionally, he said, this is a bad time of year for the movie industry.
“Is it going to be a true test of the market?” he asked. “Historically the last two weeks of August leading into September are the worst two weeks … Because of our traditional expenses, that disposable income just isn’t there.”
However, taking into account that this is the slow period for the film industry, this is “without question” a huge weekend that will serve as a marker, and possibly affect the release dates of films in the months to come.
“What else are you supposed to do in the middle of a pandemic? Nothing is the way it’s supposed to be.”
Although Wolf had his doubts, he said, he feels confident about the future of films, and his business.
“That is my sense of optimism and that’s why I think the next weekend is very crucial. If Tenet does well at the box office, we already have release dates for other major films,” he said. “If Tenet bombs at the box office, we’ll be playing old classics for the next two or three months.”
In the middle of a pandemic, when everyone has a heightened sense of the dangers posed by COVID-19, a little movie magic just might be what some people need.
“I love the escapism that film can provide, in all different genres, and I love being able to unplug and immerse myself in film,” he said. “I believe that human emotion is contagious. If you have a good romantic comedy going on, you walk into the theatre and everyone is laughing, that laughing is contagious. People feel good; there’s compassion, there’s suspense … That’s what cinema is able to do.”
