March was a crazy month for the world, and with the global COVID-19 pandemic likely to take over most of 2020, you probably won't be surprised to learn that many members of the public in the United States aren't overly keen on returning to public events once things start slowly returning to normal.
In a survey published by Performance Research (via Variety), 44% of those asked have said they are unlikely to attend large public events even once they're cleared by the CDC.
Thing are even worse for movie theaters, though, as 49% of respondents said it would take "a few months" to "possibly never" for them to return, and 28% even said they will visit them less often than now even once it's safe to do so. 15% did admit to saying that they're planning to go to the movies more often, and 58% said their attendance won't change.
However, as the trade notes, "the net effect suggests an alarming erosion of theatrical returns that exhibitors and studios alike can ill afford." Theme parks have also been hit badly based on these results, and it definitely appears as if there's going to be a lot of fear among people for a long time to come.
There's been a lot of chatter about studios moving towards Digital releases moving forward based on what's happening with the Coronavirus, and while upcoming releases like No Time To Die, Morbius, and Wonder Woman 1984 all have new release dates, that won't help them much if moviegoers decide they don't feel safe watching them on the big screen.
Will you guys be rushing back to theaters?
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