When Warner Bros. announced that it would release its 2021 movie lineup in both theaters and on-demand it was met with praise from fans.  Most industry experts figured it was only a matter of time for major studios to commit to dual releases instead of continuing to delay movie releases. With the uncertainty of what 2021 will look like even with multiple vaccines in the works, Warner Bros. made a decision to save its movie lineup.  While most people viewed the announcement as a positive two companies did not.  The two largest movie theater companies immediately responded to the announcement with discouragement.  Their fear could be heard in the responses that this might be the dagger to kill the theater industry as we know it.  That fear could also be seen in the stock market as well.

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Prior to Warner Bros. announcement both Cinemark and AMC Entertainment had seen their stock grow due to the announcement of two vaccines that would be available in the United States and Europe next year.  That news started to see investors feel confident that movie goers would be coming back to the theaters within the next year. With a strong 2021 lineup due to Disney and Warner Bros delaying all of their lineups to 2021 it was safe to assume that people would be going back to theaters eventually.

Within minutes of the announcement Cinemarks stock dropped around 22% and AMC Entertainment stock dropped around 15%. Some experts are predicting that Disney will make a similar announcement on December 10th during their Investor Call. If Disney does follow Warner Bros and decide to release their 2021 lineup both in theaters and on-demand it would be catastrophic to the theater industry.

AMC theaters is not going out without a fight trying to renegotiate it’s terms of distribution with Warner Bros. If they are able to succeed the company may be able to get through 2021. One thing is certain that everyone can agree on is that the theater industry will never be the same prior to the pandemic.

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