Bob Iger Predicts Film Business ‘Contracts’ Post-COVID: Moviegoing ‘Just Not Worth It’ for Some

thewrap.com:

“COVID got people a lot more comfortable watching New Media, app-based media in the home,” Iger told CNN’s Chris Wallace in an interview for the network’s new streaming service. “While I don’t think it duplicates the experience in the theater, it is good enough.“And when you consider what you have to do to go to a theater, which is drive there or commute there in some form and pay for transportation, parking, etc., sit in a large room with a lot of people, to some there’s friction involved and it’s just not worth it,” he added.

While the biggest Hollywood blockbusters have done well in theaters since theaters reopened, including “No Time to Die,” “The Batman” and record breaker “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” films aimed toward older audiences have struggled to find traction as their key demographic has stayed home amid COVID-19 concerns.

Disney witnessed this first-hand with its Oscar-winning film “West Side Story,” which failed to make back its $100 million budget at the box office and, along with most of this year’s Oscar contenders, performed poorly in theaters.

On the family side, Disney’s “Encanto” did decently during a one-month theatrical run in theaters this past winter. But Iger successor Bob Chapek said that its release on Disney+ was the “catalyst” that turned it into a cultural phenomenon.