Survey: 75% of North American audiences are willing to return to theaters to watch movies in July

Christopher Nolan's new film "Tenet" has been sticking to the July 17 release date, but it seems a bit uncertain at the moment. According to foreign media Deadline, at least 80% of theaters around the world need to be open for the film to be released on the original schedule, but the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, the US, Brazil, Russia and other countries is more difficult than expected.

The good news is that according to a random survey of audiences conducted by a US research agency, 75% of audiences are willing to return to the cinema to watch movies in early July if theaters take safety measures, such as wearing masks throughout the entire process for audiences and employees, providing hand sanitizer, maintaining a 30% attendance rate, and extending the time between screenings to facilitate theaters to disinfect seats.

As of May 15, a total of 150 drive-in theaters and 50 independent theaters have resumed operations in the United States, but large theater chains such as AMC, Regal and Cinemark are still closed.

Tenet has an investment of $200 million, and the pressure to recover is not small under the current circumstances. Distributor Warner now hopes that at least theaters in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco can open by July. Usually these three cities contribute 25% of the total North American box office.

If 3,500 theaters in North America can be open in mid-July and 30,000 screens can be opened worldwide, the film will be released simultaneously around the world to achieve better box office results. Of course, the simultaneous release is also to prevent spoilers, and it is clear that "Tenet" has a heavy suspense element.

Both Hollywood and the global film industry have high expectations for "Tenet". On the one hand, if the film can be released on July 17, it will boost confidence in the theater distribution model. On the other hand, if "Tenet" cannot stick to July 17, "Mulan" on July 24 and "Wonder Woman 2" on August 14 are likely to be postponed. The entire film distribution, screening, and production process will take longer to recover, and most people in the film industry chain will be affected.

Deadlin's report also mentioned that "Tenet" has completed post-production and is as good as "Inception" overall.