What will a post-Covid 19 world look like for cinemas?

So, what will the movie going experience be like after the Covid-19 pandemic ever ends? I suppose that depends on various scenarios all of which relate to time. If North America goes “back to work” say, May 1, May 15 or even June 1 or July 1, somehow, I think most bricks and mortar movie palaces – okay, multiplexes – won’t be terribly harmed. If beyond that it’s a mug’s game. For example, it seems far-fetched that huge corporate owned theatres will go out of business - brands like Cineplex, AMC, Emagine and MJR. A lot may depend on the movie going public. The pent-up demand for a communal theatre-going experience may be absolutely huge, and large crowds may once again descend on the local bijou. (Is there only so much stay at home Netflix viewing someone can do?) But for smaller independent theatres that’s the question. Detroit’s Midtown-based Cinema Detroit this week received a $10,000 grant from filmmaker Ava DuVernay (Selma, 2015). But will that be enough? What about Landmark’s Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak? It’s Landmark’s only theatre in metro Detroit, with three large halls and on my many visits, crowds that often fill less than half the seats. Will the art house crowds storm back and fill more seats than ever? Or have Netflix, the Criterion Channel, YouTube and other online sites made movie watching so damn easy – especially for art house enthusiasts – that driving several miles to a cinema just isn’t worth it anymore? Then there's another question. Even when the worst of the epidemic passes, will people still fear going to public places? Moreover, how will a “return to normal” be done? Will there still be some “social distancing” as society gradually opens up? For example, will moviegoers still have to stand two meters (six feet) from one another as they line up to buy tickets or will tickets only be sold online? Will patrons only be able to sit in every third seat, marked by an “x?” Will concession stands remain closed? Finally, what of the movies on offer? How severely has the production side of the industry been affected by the coronavirus shutdown? It’s only been one month but an industry closure could drag on two three or several months. This will mean fewer new releases though admittedly there will be a backlog of films that had been scheduled for spring and put on the backburner. (I was especially wanting to see Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch and Mick Jagger in Giuseppe Capotondi's The Burnt Orange Heresy.) So, just like presumed calls for the public to support en masse restaurants that reopen after the pandemic let’s also make a point of supporting movie palaces and, once reopened, cheerfully head back to the big screen.