SpongeBob Leads the Return to Movie Theaters
by EG
Movie theaters in the United States are not fully reopened yet, but their Canadian counterparts are wading into the post-pandemic waters. Some smaller movies have opened, and they haven't attracted huge crowds. Read on for details.
The North American box office is resuming after an unprecedented five-month shutdown due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.
The major circuits in Canada reopened in earnest over the weekend to welcome Paramount’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and the Russell Crowe road-rage thriller Unhinged, from Solstice Studios. They are the first new Hollywood releases to open wide since the pandemic forced cinemas to close their doors in March.
In the U.S., the big chains have delayed reopening several times due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, but are now beginning to switch the lights on in advance of new product. Unhinged expects to have a sizeable footprint when opening in the U.S. on Aug. 21, while even more cinemas will be open in time Christopher Nolan’s tentpole Tenet on Sept. 3.
SpongeBob: Sponge on the Run earned an estimated $900,000 from 300 runs in Canada, where theaters are operating at 50 percent capacity as part of new protocols being implemented because of coronavirus (some cinemas there only allow 50 people total regardless of the size of the auditorium). The animated film won’t play in theaters in the U.S., where it is being sent straight to CBS All Access.
Unhinged grossed an estimated $582,000 from 299 runs for Canadian distributor VVS.
While the grosses for the pair of films weren’t huge, they were still a victory in terms of showing that consumers will go to the movies amid the ongoing pandemic.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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