2020 American Box Office Revenue Slips to a 40-Year Low

The 2020 American Box Office revenue stats have reached a 40-year low, sparking major strife for the movie industry. Cinemas across North America were hoping to regroup when reopening in the lead-up to Christmas, but people are not coming back post-COVID-19.

 

It’s impossible for most businesses at the moment. And with lockdowns taking place across America and the world for almost 9-months, it’s hardly surprising that the American box office is struggling.

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North American Box Office Revenues Are Down

Mid-December in the lead up to Christmas is usually the busiest time of the year for the launch of blockbusters and the like. This isn’t the case in 2020 as domestic ticket sales are the worst they have been for over 40 years.

 

Can you believe that there are no new releases from Hollywood in December? It’s a truly shocking stat and one that should tell you all you need to know about the crisis. Universal Studios and Dream Works animation movie, The Croods: A New Age has topped the North American box office charts for the third consecutive week with only $3.2m in sales. And this is a massive total at the moment and way ahead of everyone else. The entire domestic total is only $24.5 million.

Ticket Sales Downtrend in 2020

Throughout 2020, the North American movie ticket sales prices are $2.3 billion. It really isn’t that much besides the grand-sounding figure. It’s the lowest since the early 1980s and the late-1970s. And we are not even comparing that to inflation! So really, it’s even lower than perceived.

 

American box office tracking didn’t begin until the early 1980s, so it’s hard to compare before that date. However, we can factually state that the domestic revenue in America for movies in 2020 is really low. The first time the industry hit the annual figure of $4 billion was back in 1984. And those figures are putting today’s number to shame!

 

American Box Office Slump

Let’s be honest. Before COVID-19, the worldwide movie industry was struggling. Cinemas across North American have been struggling for the past few years. Illegal online streaming and platforms such as Netflix have put a huge dent in the one-time unstoppable American Box Office movie industry. We are seeing the same struggles with the music industry as it battles illegal streaming and the low royalties paid out by Spotify.

 

So with the combination of COVID lockdowns and illegal streams of movies, will the industry ever recover? Only time will tell. The only way to combat this is to start going out to the cinema again to watch movies in the time-honored tradition.