Life in China has slowly been returning to normal lately, with the nation making a lot of progress eliminating new cases of COVID-19 and the Chinese people finally, after all this time, able to look ahead to the future. One of the brightest bits of good news came last week when more than 500 movie theaters re-opened after weeks of being closed. Audiences were slow to return and I can’t blame them. Still, the re-opening of theaters is a huge deal and a major return to normalcy.
And now it’s been canceled. Multiple outlets are reporting that China’s film regulators have ordered all theaters to shut down indefinitely again. No official reason or explanation has been given for the decision but you’d have to assume that the government is afraid of flare-ups of the coronavirus and shut down theaters to avoid another outbreak.
That’s a huge bummer. China’s theaters coming back to life was a source of happiness, even for moviegoers all the way over here in the states. It was a sign that this hellish world we live in will eventually settle down and things will become healthy and happy again. But we need to remember that the struggle to beat back the coronavirus is going to take time, a lot of time. This will not be an overnight success. Even China, which is undoubtably headed in the right direction, is going to have set-backs. People need to stop assuming that one morning we are going to wake up and — boom — all is well. This will happen in fits and starts. The news coming out of China today is a good reminder of that. A sad but good reminder.
Theaters in China were putting together a list of past blockbusters to lure audiences in, including major Chinese smashes like Wolf Warrior 2 and The Wandering Earth. They were also planning to show some American hits like Avatar and possibly the first Harry Potter film (which never saw a Chinese release). But all of those plans have obviously been put on the back burner with the order to once again shut down.
When will theaters open again? No one knows, China is keen on being secretive. And, honestly, it’s foolhardy to give a solid date since the COVID-19 situation is so fluid. But one executive told THR that this is going to be a substantial delay: “This second closure will not be a one- or two-week issue. They are going to be even more cautious when they attempt to reopen again — and this will set us back a long time."
That definitely doesn’t sound good.