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Moviegoers in the U.S. won't feel comfortable returning to their favorite multiplexes for at least six months, according to polling data released Friday by Morning Consult.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues across the U.S., some of those surveyed indicated it could be weeks before they plan on resuming normal activities.
Tourism could see a decrease in revenue as 30 percent of poll participants said it would be more than six months before they felt comfortable taking a vacation. Attendance at concerts and amusement parks could also take a tumble as 27 percent of those surveyed said they would not feel at ease in other of those social situations until after October.
Reticence by consumers to venture back out into public places like theaters could have a detrimental impact on not only theater chains but on the entertainment industry itself.
AMC and Regal Theaters, the largest and second-largest theater chains in the U.S. respectively, temporarily closed locations across the U.S. in March because of both stay-at-home orders issued by state governments and social distancing guidelines provided by the White House.
"We are ever so disappointed for our moviegoing guests and for our employee teams that the new CDC guidelines that Americans should not gather in groups larger than 10 people make it impossible to open our theaters," AMC CEO and president Adam Aron said in a March statement. "Still, the health and well-being of AMC guests and employees, and of all Americans, takes precedence above all else."
Newsweek reached out to AMC for comment.
Hollywood reacted to the pandemic by pulling planned releases from the theatrical schedule. No Time to Die, the latest James Bond film, has been slated for release in November. Originally, the movie was expected to be in theaters in April.
Some studios moved recent releases from the big screen to the home video market, placing films like The Invisible Man, Onwards, and Trolls World Tour available on video on-demand platforms.
While President Donald Trump has voiced his desire to reopen businesses in the U.S., he told reporters on Friday that there is no set date for that to happen. However, the current guidelines for curbing the spread of coronavirus are scheduled to end at the end of April.
"We're looking at a date," Trump said. "We hope we'll be able to fulfill a certain date, but we're not doing anything until we know this country is going to be healthy. We don't want to go back and start doing it over again, even though it would be in a smaller scale."
Experts worry that if restrictions on social distancing are eased too early, there could be another wave of coronavirus infections.
"If we get back to some form of normality, we've got to be careful we don't ever let it get out of hand again," Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a live-streamed interview on Wednesday. "Do not send a sick child to school. Do not send a sick worker into the workplace. Don't anybody ever shake hands again."
"I mean it sounds crazy, but's the way it's really got to be until we get to a point where we know that the population is protected," Fauci added.
