Wonder Woman doing her best Kylie impression
Ah going to the cinema, remember that? Over-sized and over-priced popcorn, ticket prices that ‘rent what they used to be’, sticky floors and people on their phone? Now all that bad stuff seems to have been forgotten as going to the movies is officially the third most missed activity since the pandemic hit back in March forcing the cinemas to close their doors.
Movies in peril
Even though at last we can go back to the movies, reports that there’s nothing to see, or movie playing to empty seats doesn’t bode well for this multibillion-pound industry. Like so many other sectors, distributors as trying anything and everything to get the films they worked so hard on out to the consumers who are in desperate need of some light relief.
Summer is obviously a huge time of the year for movies, blockbusters especially. The first major casualty was Disney’s live action re-imagining of Mulan which was due out in March. With release dates announced and then put back, kid’s movies like Scoob! and Trolls World Tour coming out on ‘premier streaming’ to try and at grab a bit of revenue back.
R-Patz showing us he's all action, no talk
Disney has gone for a different tack with Mulan and has decided to release it straight to their streaming service Disney+. There’s a catch however. While you might already be paying for the service, Mulan isn’t going to be free. In fact they are going to be asking punters to a whopping £30 to rent it on TOP of the subscription fee.
Don't diss Disney
Whilst that might seem a tad steep and Disney surely can afford to take bit of a hit, bear in mind they’ve already made losses to the tune of $4billion due to the shutting of their parks and various other revenue streams. The way they see it is that if a family of four or more were going to see Mulan at the movies, the whole trip would be a damn sight more than 30 quid which is pretty logical when you think about it.
This week sees the release of the brand-new Christopher Nolan epic, Tenet. Starring R-Patz, John Washington, Kenneth Branagh and Michael Caine, the movie is a mind-bending, time travelling extravaganza (with Elizabeth Debicki and Clémence Poésy bringing the eleganza). Nolan movies (Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception) require a big screen, the bigger the better in fact, so people are turning to Tenet to get people back to the cinemas.
The name's Pine, Chris Pine
Blockbusting makes you feel good
After Tenet, a lot is riding on another delayed blockbuster Wonder Woman 1984. The sequel to 2016’s mega money maker Wonder Woman, WW84 released a brand-new trailer this week and it looks like a scorcher. Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and yes, the awesome Kirsten Wiig as the villainous Cheetah.
So, the movies are on their way back but how are people going to feel about getting back to the cinema’s up and down the country. There was something cosy about the drive-ins and the outdoor picnics/movies but this is big business, and Hollywood needs bums back on seats.