Data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and OPUSData shows that box office revenue declined in Asia for the first quarter of 2020, amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. China, one of Asia’s key markets and the world’s second largest theatrical box office market after the United States and Canada, with a box office growth rate of about 250 percent since 2012, recorded the highest year-over-year loss in box office revenue in the region with a fall of 97.4 percent in ticket sales.

While the U.S. box office continues to suffer under the heel of the pandemic, theaters on the other side of the Pacific are attracting customers in droves. In Japan, a record number of people saw movies in Imax Corp. theaters over the weekend, according to Chief Executive Officer Rich Gelfond. In China, December ticket sales at the company’s big-screen theaters jumped 28% from a year earlier, when few people had heard of the novel coronavirus.

EXCLUSIVE: Covid-19 vaccinations of casts and crews will not be mandatory on film and TV productions under the industry’s newly renegotiated return-to-work protocols, which now extend to June 30. “To mandate at this point may be premature,” a source told Deadline. “That subject has been skirted.”

Thailand has become the latest country to unveil protocols for film and TV production following the coronavirus outbreak. Developed by the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Public Health and the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, the rules are intended to apply to inbound international productions, the local crews they work with, and to local productions.

A new survey has revealed a major mental health crisis is permeating the U.K. film and TV industry, with close to 90% of off-screen professionals experiencing mental health issues on the job – significantly worse than the general population, in which 65% struggle with mental health at work.

The recognition that long hours, freelance contracts and distressing storylines can make the film industry a challenging place to work is leading to the creation of some innovative support mechanisms.

At TopLine Film, health and safety in film production is one of our top priorities. As a leading corporate video production agency, our crew takes great pride in not only making exceptional video content – but also making sure everyone leaves the shoot in one piece.

The US box office will be slashed in half this year, according to new research.

 

Wall Street analysts MoffettNathanson has run the numbers, and has predicted that due to the shuttering of theatres across the country, revenue will fall from $11.4 billion last year to $5.5 billion for 2020.

 

The research also warns that if cinemas don't re-open effectively over the summer, following the coronavirus lockdown, the damage could be even more severe.

 

Large-scale film and TV production is set to resume in the UK in late June or July. That is the message as the government-endorsed ’British Film Commission Production Guidance for Film and High-End TV Drama’ is published on Monday (June 1).

While the Hollywood unions and studios are still deliberating over protocols for safe return to production amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Australian film and TV industry has released its COVID-Safe Guidelines to help get their industry back to work.

 

Spanning 41 pages, this is the most comprehensive set of official country or state recommendations to date, addressing in detail every aspect of production.