Cinema was one of the first industries to be hit by the COVID lockdowns, but just as people were starting to return to the silver screen, it suffered another blow following news of a second postponement of the much anticipated Bond movie No Time to Die.
The new blockbuster was meant to be released on the 10th April, but was initially pushed back to the 25th November. But then the film was delayed again – to 2nd of April 2021 – with the following announcement on the 007 website: “We understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans, but we now look forward to sharing No Time to Die next year.”
This was a major setback for a cinema industry that had been looking forward to the long-awaited Bond movie bringing back cinema goers and therefore saving thousands of jobs.
The UK’s leading cinema chain, Cineworld, quickly announced the closure of their 127 doors ‘until further notice’, and soon after the Odeon chain said that a quarter of their venues would only open at weekends, whilst Vue cinemas closed 21 of their 87 screens.
In an interview with NME, an employee from the Cineworld Action Group said, “We were literally given a three-day notice period that our jobs were getting flushed down the gutter. We have had absolutely no communication from our CEO throughout this whole mess.” None of the NME interviewees had been contacted directly about the redundancy plan but instead found out via a third party. One staff member said they first heard of it on Facebook late on a Saturday night.
The fact that Christopher Nolan’s Tenet took so little money, and that Mulan was streamed on Disney+ instead of being released in the cinemas, also sends out worrying signals. Will movies make it back to the big screen or are streaming services increasingly the more profitable option? After all, streaming is a very convenient and practical way to enjoy the art of film.
But it simply can’t offer the same experience as the big screen does, which is why we at Rising East urge the public to support their local cinema, while of course following the COVID guidelines.
A London Vue employee told NME: “Cinemas have taken it into their own hands to ensure that customers and staff are kept safe and as a staff member I can proudly say that we work extremely hard to keep our workplace safe for ourselves and our customers.”
So as a cinema goer you will be safe, unlike cinema itself, which is in danger of becoming another victim of the pandemic.
