Showbiz Sandbox
Showbiz Sandbox 486: Box Office In the Age of the Coronavirus
For the first time in history a majority of movie theaters around the world have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. That means there is no theatrical box office to collect and analyze. Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore, is one of the most widely recognized box office pundits in the world. He joins us to explain not only how the industry is coping without grosses to measure their success and failure, but also what it’s like to sleep in on Sunday morning for the first time in 30 years.
In China, a few cinemas have begun opening back up, though very few people are going. Still this may provide a glimpse of where the rest of the world will be within six months after COVID-19 is under control.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how much the entertainment industry (sort of) earned last year and Woody Allen finds a publisher for his memoir.
Comscore
https://www.comscore.com/
Drive-Ins: How Big Screen Entertainment Survives During COVID-19
https://celluloidjunkie.com/2020/03/23/drive-ins-how-big-screen-entertainment-survives-during-covid-19/
What Will Film Critics Do, Now That Cinemas Have Closed?
https://celluloidjunkie.com/2020/03/21/what-will-film-critics-do-now-that-cinemas-have-closed/
Drive-Ins Continue To Post Best Ticket Sales In Weekend Box Office Wiped Out By Theater Closures
https://deadline.com/2020/03/coronavirus-drive-in-movie-theaters-exhibition-shutdown-onward-1202890329/
Paradigm Signs 5-Year WGA Franchise Agreement
https://deadline.com/2020/03/paradigm-signs-5-year-wga-franchise-agreement-1202890444/
Former Prosecutor Sues Netflix and Ava DuVernay Over Central Park Jogger Series
https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/central-park-five-linda-fairstein-sues-netflix-ava-duvernay-1203538010/
China Reopens More Than 500 Cinemas as Coronavirus Threat Recedes
https://variety.com/2020/film/asia/cinemas-china-reopen-coronavirus-recedes-1203542000/
Woody Allen’s Memoir Is Published
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/books/woody-allen-apropos-of-nothing-autobiography-arcade.html
Lyle Waggoner, Actor on ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ and ‘Wonder Woman,’ Dies at 84
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lyle-waggoner-dead-carol-burnett-show-wonder-woman-actor-was-84-1167329
Kenny Rogers, Country Music’s ‘The Gambler,’ Dead at 81
https://www.rollingstone.