電影院在這場流行病中掙扎求生

電影院在這場流行病中掙扎求生

The US movie theater industry has been clinging to the hope that a future blockbuster would save its devastated business. But with Regal Cinemas' plans to suspend operations again, it's clear that 2020 is likely over for the movies.

美國電影業(yè)一直抱著希望，希望未來的一部大片能挽救其遭受重創(chuàng)的業(yè)務(wù)。但鑒于帝王院線計劃再次暫停運營，很明顯2020年電影業(yè)可能就要結(jié)束了。

It would suspend operations at all of its theaters in the United States and the United Kingdom as coronavirus cases continue to spread. The news sent the company's London-listed stock down as much as 60% Monday.

由于冠狀病毒病例繼續(xù)蔓延，美國和英國的所有影院將暫停運營。這一消息導(dǎo)致該公司在倫敦上市的股票周一下跌了多達60%。

And it could be only a matter of time until other major movie theater chains follow suit, according to Jeff Bock, a senior analyst at entertainment research firm Exhibitor Relations.

娛樂研究公司Exhibitor Relations的高級分析師杰夫·博克說，其他大型連鎖影院效仿可能只是時間問題。

"Imagine if you were on a cruise ship lost in the Bermuda Triangle — that's about how bad the domestic cinema situation is right now," Bock told CNN Business.

“想象一下，如果你在一艘迷失在百慕大三角地區(qū)的游輪上——這就是目前國內(nèi)電影業(yè)的糟糕狀況，” 博克對CNN商業(yè)頻道說。

This is the worst-case scenario for movie theaters, Bock said, noting that "Plan B doesn't even exist."

博克說，這是電影院最糟糕的情況，他指出“B計劃根本就不存在”。

"The virus is simply an antagonist that cannot be overcome by buzzwords, super-powered reviews, or marketing prowess," he added.

他補充道:“病毒只是一個無法被流行詞、超級評論或營銷技巧所克服的對手。”

Delays, delays and more delays

推遲，推遲，再推遲

Cineworld's closures followed weeks of anemic box office returns and studios choosing to delay films rather than open them to mostly empty auditoriums.

在Cineworld關(guān)閉影院之前，數(shù)周的票房回報低迷，電影公司選擇推遲上映，而不是對幾乎空無一人的影院開放。

First, theaters had pinned their hopes to "Tenet," but the Christopher Nolan thriller never found a US audience. Then it was Marvel film "Black Widow," which instead pushed to next year. Finally they turned desperately to the James Bond title "No Time to Die," but it too was delayed to 2021.

首先，影院把希望寄托在《信條》上，但是克里斯托弗·諾蘭的這部驚悚片在美國沒有觀眾。然后是漫威電影《黑寡婦》，該片推遲到明年上映。最后，他們絕望地選擇了詹姆斯·邦德的《沒時間去死》，但它也被推遲到2021年。

After "No Time to Die" was moved, theaters were left without many films to offer between now and the end of the year. Sure, there's Pixar's "Soul" currently set for November and "Wonder Woman 1984" slated for December, but there are no guarantees those films will hit theaters then, either.

在《沒時間去死》被推遲之后，從現(xiàn)在到年底，影院沒有多少電影可供放映。當(dāng)然，皮克斯的《靈魂》和《神奇女俠1984》目前分別定于11月和12月上映，但也不能保證這些電影屆時會在影院上映。

Regal decided it was better to be closed entirely than operate with nothing to offer -- and other chains may soon do the same. While others haven't announced plans to close, the outlook doesn't look good, according to Bock.

帝王院線認為，與其什么都不提供，不如完全關(guān)閉，其他連鎖店可能很快也會這樣做。博克表示，雖然其他公司尚未宣布關(guān)閉計劃，但前景看起來并不樂觀。

"We have to prepare for the inevitability that one, or more, of the major chains may not survive if this situation continues to lurch into next summer," Bock said. "The number of movie theaters that will close on a permanent basis will be directly proportional to how long it takes the US to stomp out the virus."

博克說：“我們必須為這樣一種必然性做好準(zhǔn)備：如果這種情況持續(xù)到明年夏天，一家或多家大型連鎖影院可能無法生存。”“永久關(guān)閉的電影院數(shù)量將與美國消滅病毒所需的時間成正比。”

'Forces out of their control'

“不受他們控制的力量”

Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com, told CNN Business that now movie theaters are "facing a reality that there are forces out of their control at this point."

票房網(wǎng)首席分析師肖恩·羅賓斯對CNN商業(yè)新聞?wù)f現(xiàn)在電影院“面臨著一個現(xiàn)實，即在這一點上，有些力量已經(jīng)超出了他們的控制。”

Since closing in March because of the outbreak, theaters have attempted to reopen many times with new health and safety protocols. However, theaters could never truly get their footing: Movies were delayed, some major markets like New York stayed closed while others reopened and audiences simply are not showing up.

自今年3月因流行病爆發(fā)而關(guān)閉以來，影院多次試圖以新的健康和安全協(xié)議重新開放。然而，影院永遠無法真正站穩(wěn)腳跟:電影上映被推遲，像紐約這樣的一些主要市場仍然關(guān)閉，而其他一些市場則重新開放，根本沒有觀眾。