Regal Cinemas Not Opening For Now, AMC Still Afloat
Two and a half months into the coronavirus pandemic, shutdowns, and quarantine measures are being slowly lifted, begging the question when and if will national cinema chains finally open. In a recent tweet, the management of Regal Cinemas said they still hadn’t decided when will they reopen. On the other hand, AMC is still sticking with its April statement about opening its movie theatres in time for Christopher Nolan’s latest sci-fi thriller Tenet (July 17) and Disney’s live-action Mulan remake (July 24).
We’re still two months away from these dates. Until then, anything can happen. Both movie theatre owners and their audiences are unsure about possible ramifications of reopening. What if cinemas become coronavirus hotspots? And even if that doesn’t happen, how many people will be willing to go to movie theatres?
Financially, coronavirus pandemic placed cinemas in an unenviable position, as we repeatedly reported. While the situation isn’t clear about Regal Cinemas, SlashFilm claims AMC still had around $300 million in cash on its balance sheet as of March 31, raising an additional $500 million through a private debt offering. This would mean AMC could stay afloat throughout this year, even if its cinemas remain closed. Or maybe Amazon will simply buy it.
James Mangold and Frank Marshall Discuss Indiana Jones 5
In recent interviews, both the director James Mangold (Logan, Ford v Ferrari) and the producer Frank Marshall (Back to the Future trilogy, Jurassic World trilogy, Gremlins) were asked about the fifth Indiana Jones film. Marshall remains optimistic about the sequel, praising Mangold’s previous work. He’s also stressing the importance of keeping the cast and crew safe in the time of coronavirus pandemic. This is one of the reasons the studio postponed the release of Indiana Jones 5 from 2021 to 2022. Meanwhile, Mangold primarily talks about the challenge of working in a long-running franchise where he needs to give the audience what they want while also offering them something new.
Will Indiana Jones 5 ever get made? One can hope, but many things are working against it. It’s been over a decade since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out. Harrison Ford is almost 80 years old. Most recently, Steven Spielberg stepped out as a director – shocking the franchise fans – and James Mangold replaced him. And then the pandemic came, halting all of the movie and TV productions. At a certain point, this project may turn into an example of a sunken cost fallacy. Or maybe, just maybe, we get a new Indiana Jones film that blows everyone’s mind. Stranger things have happened.
Doug Liman to Direct Tom Cruise in the Outer Space Movie
And speaking about improbable projects, Deadline confirms filmmaker Doug Liman will direct the film that would send Tom Cruise to the cold, irradiated vacuum of space. That’s literally, not figuratively. It is a project that sounds like an April Fool’s Day joke but somehow isn’t. Previously, Liman directed the excellent sci-fi action film Edge of Tomorrow in which Tom Cruise’s character repeatedly, humorously risked his life for our entertainment. This makes him an excellent choice for a film where Cruise is doing the same thing, but for real. The jokes just write themselves.
Liman also directed American Made (also starring Tom Cruise), as well as hits like Mr. & Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity. He’s been involved with the project even before its announcement, hatching the idea together with Cruise and writing the first draft of a script. So far, this project has been an independent production involving the cooperation of NASA and Elon Musk’s Space X. They are currently preparing the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Weather permitting, that rocket would take two astronauts to space, hopefully restarting the interest in the US space program.
