North American movie box office is expected to lose half in 2020 and it will take nearly one or two years to recover

According to the latest research report from research firm MoffettNathanson, the uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic will have a devastating impact on the box office. The Wall Street analysis company predicts that North American box office revenue in 2020 will be reduced by half, from $11.4 billion in 2019 to $5.5 billion - a drop of 52%.

If theaters are not open in July and summer blockbusters "Tenet" and "Mulan" originally scheduled for release in July are postponed, the decline may be even greater. The report pointed out that if major markets such as New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles are no longer certain about the resumption date, it will be difficult for studios to push forward the release of high-cost blockbusters such as "Tenet" and "Mulan".

The report also predicts that the box office will rebound to $9.7 billion in 2021, attributing it to "stronger release schedules." However, the report also points out that this number will also decline if film production cannot resume safely or if studios begin to put more movies on streaming or on-demand services.

The North American box office in 2021 is expected to still be lower than the box office figures before the coronavirus changed the world. In other words, in the next one or two years, the North American box office may not be able to return to the 2019 level.