By Senior executives at Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) say they are ‘optimistic’ about the future of cinema, even with the box-office over the first five months of the year being in the doldrums.
Speaking as part of a Sony Group Corporation conference call, SPE CEO Tony Vinciquerra says a combination of the strike impact, streaming competition, and pandemic-induced disruptions & costs have all contributed to the key problem – fewer films reaching cinemas.
He says the issue is reversible, and soon as the back half of the year is filled with decidedly more tentpoles than the first half:
“What really is happening is that people got out of the habit of going into theaters. As the marketplace begins to recover in terms of having big films, you’ll see people start to go to theaters again.
The second half of this year, you’re going to see quite a resurgence. One film will improve the odds of the next film. Starting in July you’ll see every week a big film coming out.
Once we get back into the normal cadence of producing films, I think you’re going to see the comeback. We may not get back to pre-pandemic level. It is more difficult to produce a film that generates cultural action within the community but we’re pretty optimistic about the next couple of years.”
Sony next has “Bad Boys: Ride of Die” which begins its international release from June 5th and arrives in North American cinemas from June 7th and has just been cleared for a China release on June 22nd.
The film is tracking strongly, looking for a potential opening in the $50+ million range, and Vinciquerra says “we’re pretty sure it is going to be just fine”.
Source: Variety
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