As we reported in last week’s newsletter, faced with an alarming increase in the rate of COVID-19 infections, most major European markets are shutting down cinemas once again, along with other non-essential businesses such as restaurants and bars. This week, Variety offered two articles discussing how the film industry in Europe is handling this latest setback.
At this point, film studios in France have vowed to maintain their plans for theatrical releases, working around the one-month shutdown that will last through November. In the UK, independent theatres are struggling to keep alive, buoyed in large part by receiving funds from government stimulus programs. There were unmistakable signs of a recovery in the European box office prior to last week, and a sense that the current shutdown will not be limited in duration.
See also: France’s Distributors Hold Their Nerve in Second Lockdown and Stick to Release Plans (Variety)