The entertainment industry was rocked yesterday with a number of studios pushing back high profile blockbusters as result of the coronavirus pandemic. With cases still spiking in the United States, this was not a surprise, but it was hard for any movie fan or industry worker to deal with.
According to a new poll by ABC News, this is hardly surprising as the vast majority of Americans, the center of the movie industry, are not comfortable going back to the theaters anytime soon.
This new poll, conducted by Ipsos in partnership with ABC News, surveyed Americans on a variety of areas of life including restraints, bars, movie theaters, and schools. The poll found that less than 1/3 of Americans are comfortable going back to normal areas of life, “Few Americans…are willing to go to a bar (27%), attend a sporting event (22%), go to the gym (28%), go to the movies (27%), go bowling (31%), fly on an airplane (33%), or attend a protest (17%).”
Until the vast majority of Americans are comfortable going back to theaters, it is unlikely for studios to release their pictures domestically. This is the fourth time a poll like this has been done by Ipsos and results in it have a margin of sampling error of 4.9 points.