The Fall of Entertainment: How COVID-19 Affected the Entertainment Industry
By: Lee Carrillo
The rise of COVID-19 has affected the lives of many people and the impact it has had on the world only continues to worsen. Many jobs were lost, and life seems to have paused until a solution to this pandemic is eventually found. One particular industry has faced a number of effects due to the emergence of COVID-19 and no one knows when things will begin to return to normal.
The entertainment industry has been hit with countless setbacks due to COVID-19. The release of some blockbuster titles such as Mulan, Trolls: World Tour and Black Widow have been postponed and even movie theaters have closed their doors until further notice.
"AMC Theaters has furloughed all 600 of its corporate staffers, including CEO Adam Aron. The move comes after the company, the country’s largest theater chain, shuttered all its locations and subsequently furloughed or let go of 26,000 of the employees working at locations around the country," an IndieWire article states.
As of recently, rumors of AMC needing to file for bankruptcy have emerged and former employees such as managers, supervisors and crew members are not sure if they will have jobs to return to once this pandemic subsides.
As far as Broadway goes, the world may not see a show produced until June 7th.
In regard to the abundance of media stocks that currently exist, COVID-19 has caused many to sink significantly. About 23% of Disney's shares were lost and Sony Corporations have gone down by about 0.83%. Fortunately for Netflix, their stock seems to have benefited from the pandemic with their shares going up 12.5%.
With self-quarantining being a requirement these days, Disney+ has taken matters into their own hands by adding a variety of new releases to their site such as Onward and new collections from The Simpsons.
Of course, this was not something anyone could have predicted and no one thought that this pandemic would have lasted as long as it has. Thankfully, many resources aimed towards helping former Entertainment Industry workers have been created.
SAG-AFTRA (The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) has its own foundation that recently launched a disaster fund that assists their union members financially. The fund covers payments such as rent and medical bills.
The Actors Fund is offering both financial and emotional support to not only actors but also film crew workers who are unable to afford necessary and basic living expenses.
COVID-19 testing costs will be waived for those who are members of the Directors Guild of America's health plan and other forms of support can be provided as well.
With COVID-19 cases increasing substantially, it is unknown when life will return to normal. For the time being, it is important to live cautiously in order to prevent the virus from spreading any further. Hands must be washed, all faces should remain untouched, social distancing must be practiced and possible COVID-19 symptoms should be taken care of immediately. The sooner that these safety precautions are being done, the sooner the world can go back to seeing movies with a fresh bucket of popcorn in everyone's lap.