Links to the Hollywood movie collections for the periods covered in this section:
2020s 2020s GEMs
Commentary:
The dominant force across the world economy in the early 2020s was the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a substantial impact on the film industry, mirroring its impact across all arts sectors. Across the world and to varying degrees, cinemas and movie theaters were closed, festivals were cancelled or postponed, and film releases were moved to future dates or otherwise disrupted. As cinemas and movie theaters closed, the global box office dropped by billions of dollars and streaming became much more popular. Many blockbusters originally scheduled to be released were postponed or canceled around the world, with film production slowing down dramatically. Various studios responded to the crisis by forgoing the theatrical window entirely and having a simultaneous release of new movies in theaters and streaming platforms (“day-and-date releases”).
Industry commentators have noted the increasing treatment of films as “content” by corporations, which correlates with the rise of streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+. This involves the blurring of boundaries between films, television and other forms of media as more people consume them together in a variety of ways, with individual films defined more by their brand identity and commercial potential rather than their medium, stories and artistry. This has significantly changed the business model of movie-making, and it remains to be seen whether or not this model will hold now that the pandemic has ended.
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_cinema