The Hollywood Reporter reports that It’s Official: 2020 Domestic Box Office Fell 80 Percent to $2.3B Behind China’s $2.7B.

“North American box office revenue plummeted 80 percent in 2020 amid the novel coronavirus pandemic and unprecedented theater closures, while global revenue tumbled more than 70 percent. Domestic movie tickets sold between Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 generated an estimated $2.3 billion compared to $11.4 billion in 2019, according to Comscore estimates. That’s the lowest showing in at least 40 years. The dramatic fall-off was expected, considering that many cinemas have been closed for more than nine months in the U.S. Globally, 2020 movie ticket sales are expected to come in between $11.5 billion and $12 billion, compared to 2019’s $42.5 billion.“

For the first time ever, the Chinese market outgrossed the U.S. and had the biggest movie.

THR quotes Comscore‘s Paul Dergarabedian‘s rosy predictions for 2021:

“The movie business will be forever changed no doubt, but movie theaters will be ready for their closeup and as things slowly return to some semblance of normal, they will star in an uplifting sequel of their own. 2021 will be arguably the most important year in the history of the big screen, and one that will bridge the gap between a devastating 2020 that tragically affected so many people and impacted so profoundly many brick and mortar businesses.”

Meanwhile, cinemas are doing any and everything they can to survive. Chicago’s oldest movie theatre has even become a COVID-19 Testing Center.

Deadline has the 2020 specifics for each studio.

My take: given that theatres were only open roughly 10 weeks out of 52, the 80% decline makes sense. I don’t see any return to normal until October 2021, once the world has been vaccinated. Even though No Time to Die is scheduled to open on April 2 in Canada, wouldn’t it have made a great title for everyone’s first movie back in cinemas next Fall? In the meantime, here’s Billie Eilish‘s theme song.