Now Showing: Fewer Movies. Theaters Brace for Dramatic Drop in New Films
variety.comRebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAs Hollywood studios battle pandemic fallout and feed movies to streaming services, audiences can expect far fewer theatrical releases than usual in 2022.
Business over the next 12 months should help clarify the implications a lighter release schedule will have on the exhibition business.The major studios have slated 71 films — ranging from superhero adventures “The Batman,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Spider- Man: Across the Spider-Verse” to Jordan Peele’s mind-bender “Nope,” Olivia Wilde’s thriller “Don’t Worry Darling” and James Cameron’s long-awaited “Avatar” sequel — to open in theaters.That’s a notable uptick compared with 2021 (57 new releases) and 2020 (34 new releases), a stretch that comes with a COVID- shaped asterisk because cinemas spent many months shuttered or operating at reduced capacity.
However, the total number of films scheduled for 2022 has decreased from 2019 and 2018 (the most recent “normal” period at the box office), in which 81 movies were released each year.
The downturn isn’t only because box office receipts have yet to rebound to pre-pandemic levels; it also reflects the push from studios to bulk up the streaming services owned by their parent companies.
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