China Recloses All Its Cinemas

All Chinese cinemas have reportedly been ordered to close their doors again, just a short while after some venues were permitted to resume trading after being suspended for months. According to The Hollywood Reporter, China's national film bureau issued a decree to exhibitors on Friday, ordering all cinemas to shutdown while offering no reason for the policy change or a timeframe for reopening. However, the outlet reports that "industry insiders instantly began speculating that the government was worried about a potential second wave of coronavirus infections." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/13/how-coronavirus-delays-are-impacting-2020-movies-ign-now"] Approximately 600 small venues out of the country's 70,000 movie theatres reopened over the course of the past week after initially shutting all of their cinemas in January, as a lockdown measure to help prevent the further spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Earlier in the week, China Film Group unveiled a plan to attract customers and fill seats with a programme of blockbuster films, including the Avengers franchise, James Cameron's Avatar, and Christopher Nolan's Inception and Interstellar, making the reversal on the country's decision to gradually reopen their complexes even more surprising to stakeholders. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/31/top-100-movies-of-the-decade"] "This second closure will not be a one- or two-week issue," an executive at a major exhibition company told the publication. "They are going to be even more cautious when they attempt to reopen again — and this will set us back a long time." Elsewhere, production and distribution executives reportedly expressed their concerns over the limited options available to studios, as regulators have apparently discouraged the sale of unreleased feature films to local streaming services in order to boost the country's theatrical exhibition infrastructure with new titles once everything is back up and running. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] While more and more movie theatres have been forced to temporarily shutdown as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, streaming services have moved even further into the spotlight, as consumers have been looking for alternative ways to connect with their friends without having to leave the comfort of their sofas. Some have turned to Netflix Party, a Google Chrome extension that allows multiple users to stream a Netflix show or movie together at the same time, however, a recent surge in online traffic has presented new concerns over bandwidth strain. As a result, Netflix and YouTube have committed to defaulting streaming quality to standard definition across Europe. For a list of recommendations on how best to help, and stay safe, during the Coronavirus pandemic, please read our resource guide. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

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