Ticket sales dive at box office; lowest turnout in 20 years
This image released by Columbia Pictures shows Vin Diesel in a scene from "Bloodshot." (Graham Bartholomew/Sony/Columbia Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Betty Gilpin in a scene from "The Hunt." (Patti Perret/Universal Pictures via AP)
In this image released by Disney/Pixar, Ian Lightfoot, voiced by Tom Holland, left, and Barley Lightfoot, voiced by Chris Pratt, appear in a scene from "Onward." (Disney/Pixar via AP)
A sole spectator watches a film in a movie theatre in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, March 12, 2020. Effective from today, cinemas in Hungary are restricted to sell a maximum of 99 tickets for a show as the Hungarian government declared a state of emergency in response to the novel coronavirus, and prohibited all indoor events with more than 100 participants and outdoor events attended by more than 500 participants. (Marton Monus/MTI via AP)
This image released by Focus Features shows Sidney Flanigan in a scene from "Never Rarely Sometimes Always." (Focus Features via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Justin Hartley, left, and Sylvia Grace Crim in a scene from "The Hunt." (Universal Pictures via AP)
Britt Robertson, from left, KJ Apa, Shania Twain and Gary Sinise attend the LA premiere of "I Still Believe" at ArcLight Hollywood on Saturday, March 7, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Ticket sales plunged to their lowest levels in at least 20 years at North American movie theaters as the coronavirus pandemic led to one of Hollywood's worst weekends at the box office.
Receipts totaled about $56 million in U.S. and Canada theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. Not since September 2000 has weekend box office revenue been so low, according to data firm Comscore, when $54.5 million in tickets were sold on a quiet weekend. More people went to the movies the weekend after Sept. 11, 2001.
Disney's latest release from Pixar, “Onward,” remained the top film, earning $10.5 million in its second weekend. The Christian romance “I Still Believe” from Lionsgate brought in $9.5 million. Sony's comic-book adaptation “Bloodshot,” with Vin Diesel, grossed an estimated $9.3 million.
All of those totals were notably below expectations.
Most of Europe's cinemas have shuttered in recent days, along with closures in China, India, Lebanon and Kuwait. Those closures have already slashed international grosses.
But the wide majority of North American theaters remained open for business over the weekend. The continent's two largest chains, AMC Theaters and Regal Cinemas, said they wouldn't fill theaters to more than 50% capacity to facilitate social distancing. Others asked moviegoers to leave empty seats around them. All pledged to clean theaters in between screenings.
Other theaters opted to close, including many cinemas in New York. Of the roughly 5,800 theaters in the United States, about 100 were closed over the weekend.
“With the worldwide coronavirus epidemic causing many domestic theater chains to go to reduced seating and many international territories to either completely or partially close all theaters, as well as creating uncertainty about going to crowded spaces, all titles have seen larger than expected drops,” Disney said in a statement.
Health officials urged people to stay home and minimize social interaction, especially in states that have instituted bans on larger gatherings. California put a limit on gatherings of 250 people; New York set its ban at 500 people; Ohio banned gatherings of 100 people or more.
Most of the entertainment world has shut down. Broadway theaters, major museums and theme parks have closed their doors. Concerts have been called off. Festivals including South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and the Tribeca Film Festival in New York have been canceled or delayed. Most live-action film production has been put on hiatus.
Hollywood also has postponed most of its upcoming releases. Next week's most anticipated movie, “A Quiet Place Part 2,” has been removed from the schedule. Other major releases, including Disney's “Mulan" and the James Bond film “Die Another Day” have been put off.
That means that even if movie theaters remain open in the coming weeks, they will have little to play.