TTO – In April 2019, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ was released and earned 2.8 billion USD, becoming the most popular movie in history. After COVID-19, will billion-dollar blockbusters still have a place to live?00:00:47

American audiences cheered when watching the scene where Captain America called lightning from Thor’s hammer in Avenger s: Endgame – Video: Scott Gustin

Nearly a year ago (April 22, 2019), Avengers: Endgame landed at the world box office with the goal of becoming the most popular movie in history. P movie achieved this achievement after three months of screening. Endgame ‘s revenue was 2.79 billion USD, surpassing the 2.7 billion USD of the blockbuster Avatar (2009).

Before Endgame ‘s huge achievement , Hollywood once expected 2020 to be a year of revenue breakthroughs with new billion-dollar milestones. But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this became a question mark.

Scene of the Avengers team gathering to fight Thanos’ alien army – Photo: Marvel

Watching Endgame in theaters was a “huge moment”

In recent days, in the US, Vietnam and many other countries, fans have re-shared videos of audience reactions when watching the climactic scenes in Avengers: Endgame to celebrate the first anniversary of the movie’s release.

In the videos, the cheers and screams of fans overwhelm the sound of the movie. The audience cheered every time a superhero appeared, throwing a blow at the villain Thanos.

The climax of excitement was when Captain America was alone confronting Thanos, suddenly the call of The Falcon rang out and the powerful Avengers team landed behind the teleportation gates.

Nearly a year has passed but the memories of the memorable blockbuster summer with Avengers: Endgame are still fresh – Photo: Marvel

Those moments were compared by the American press to “watching a movie like watching Wrestlemania”, “an unbelievable scene that would be impossible if it weren’t a top blockbuster”. An audience member who was present in the crowd cheering for Endgame expressed: “It was one of the greatest moments of my life.”

In short, it’s an enjoyable cinematic experience.

According to Portland Mercury , in the article “Billion-dollar blockbuster will not return”, the problem is clearly stated: while many movies go straight or early on online platforms ( Trolls World Tour is a typical example), the Big blockbusters won’t be able to do that.

Black Widow postpones release date to November 6, pushing The Eternals to February 12, 2021 – Photo: Marvel

It would be a waste of billions of dollars if Black Widow, Wonder Women 1984, No Time to Die, Tenet, The Eternals or the “blockbuster of the decade” DUNE could only be viewed via streaming.

Movies with such outstanding image quality are a waste to watch in 2D theaters. They are suitable for viewing in 3D, 4DX and IMAX and ticket prices therefore increase exponentially.

But, an equally important issue is: where will the world get those billions of dollars to “pay tribute” to blockbuster movies, when millions of moviegoers have been financially exhausted because of COVID-19?

Should billions of dollars in revenue be taken for granted for blockbuster brands, or is this really a challenge in the near future?

Is there room for billion-dollar blockbusters in 2020?

On April 14, CNBC quoted Wedbush’s forecast that 2020 cinema will experience “the worst year since 1998”.

It is forecast that total US box office revenue will decrease by 40% compared to 2019, to only 6.6 billion USD after many years of growth. In the first three months of 2020 alone, revenue was 1.79 billion USD, down 25.4% over the same period last year.

Will packed auditoriums like those during Avengers: Endgame be a far cry from post-COVID-19 movies? – Photo: MCU Direct

Wedbush expert Michael Pachter commented above, based on forecasts that the movie theater system in the US will be closed until June, and in many states it may be longer. After reopening, the box office will also recover slowly and not prosper soon.

Another bad news is that AMC – the largest theater system in the United States, is rumored to be hiring a lawyer to complete bankruptcy procedures. Cinemark – another large theater system, is also facing serious financial difficulties.

An example that could not be clearer is that powerful CEO Bob Iger resigned from Disney, taking only the role of executive chairman.

Disney was the most successful film studio in the world in 2019, setting a record of 11.1 billion USD in global revenue (including Endgame ‘s revenue ). But Iger’s setback is a sign that the company is also facing difficulties, as COVID-19 has not let go of the United States soon.

Disney had a great year in 2019 with blockbusters like Endgame, Captain Marvel, Aladdin, and The Lion King – Photo: Marvel

No matter how huge a number of fans a blockbuster movie has, if the number of theaters decreases, huge revenue or record breaking are far away.

To reach the figure of 2.8 billion USD, Endgame was shown in 63,000 theaters of AMC alone when it was first released. On the first Saturday alone, 2.3 million people watched Endgame in AMC theaters.

Audiences are still waiting for “superheroes”

Besides the above difficulties, the public’s habits are expected to change a lot after about half a year of being encouraged to “sit still” because of COVID-19. The more “watch parties” are held, the more audiences realize that they can entertain themselves just fine sitting still at home.

CBS also reopened its Sunday night movie program, Sunday Night Movie. Major film studios began launching their own online platforms to compete. Now, not only Netflix, Americans can choose Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock, Viacom/CBS All Access…

One day soon, audiences will bring life back to theaters – Photo: Reuters

In that challenging context, do audiences even bother counting each new Avengers (or later The Eternals ) installment in theaters anymore?

The answer is yes. Yes, under conditions that allow mass audiences. And yes, urgently and expectantly, for those who are passionate about the Marvel series and attached to the cinema. People will wait to stand in line again, enter the theater with hundreds of people and cheer when they see the superheroes they admire.

For many people, it is also a ray of sunshine signaling the post-COVID-19 dawn, showing that life has returned to normal.