Yesterday has had one heck of a fall out when it comes to events and conferences. It started out with E3, the biggest video game convention, getting cancelled, followed up with the Rodeo, then the NBA announces suspension after one of the players was tested positive of the virus, and then CinemaCon announces the cancellation that evening.
In a joint statement, Cinema-Con organizer, Mitch Neuhauser, and NATO president, John Fithian, had this to say, "It is with great regret we are announcing the cancellation of CinemaCon 2020. Each spring, motion picture exhibitors, distributors, and industry partners from around the world meet in Las Vegas to share information and celebrate the movie-going experience. This year, due to the travel ban from the European Union, the unique travel difficulties in many other areas of the world and other challenges presented by the corona virus pandemic, a significant portion of the worldwide motion picture community is not able to attend CinemaCon."
CinemaCon was scheduled to run from March 30th – April 2. Even though CinemaCon is a closed off convention, many Godzilla fans were hoping that information for Godzilla vs Kong would have been shared by Warner Bros. at their panel. In my opinion, I think we would not have seen anything new out of CinemaCon anyways. If there was, we would still have to wait until San Diego Comic-Con to see it. Speaking of SDCC, there are some people wondering if San Diego Comic-Con will be the next conference to announce a cancellation.
As of March 10th, Comic-Con International released a statement to ABC10 News San Diego, "Comic-Con is working with local officials as it pertains to the COVID-19 situation and continues to monitor developments closely. At this time both shows, WonderCon Anaheim and Comic-Con in San Diego, are moving forward as scheduled. As always, the safety and security of all our attendees is of utmost importance. Please rest assured that these concerns are being taken very seriously and we will not make any decisions regarding the rescheduling of shows of shows without weighing all considerations carefully."
Even before the travel ban and the cancellation of CinemaCon, at least two of the five major Hollywood studios shared concerns of forcing their staff and studio employees to travel to Las Vegas when they are afraid of catching the virus. I can see a similar situation for SDCC 2020 if the corona virus is not contained by the time the convention begins. The studios could share those same concerns they had with CinemaCon to SDCC and decide not to participate at the convention this year, more people follow deciding to not show, and then with a lack of guests the convention is cancelled. As of right now, SDCC has no plans of canceling, but that doesn't mean that plans couldn't change in the future.
In the case that SDCC 2020 does get cancelled, what could that mean for Godzilla vs Kong? There is some chance that Warner Bros. can just upload the trailer of the movie on YouTube like normal. Usually, after a presentation of a movie trailer at the convention it is uploaded on YouTube almost immediately to share with the rest of the world. Yet in this situation, we would not get a panel from the cast and crew of Godzilla vs Kong to share more information about the characters and the story of the movie. We would most likely have to wait until an article from Entertainment Weekly or Total Film or New York Comic-Con for that info. Warner Bros. has to start building hype for the movie regardless if SDCC is cancelled or not. Overall, it would not be the end of the world. We would just have to keep waiting patiently like we have been doing since last year.
It is not just conventions and events getting cancelled due to the virus. Spring released movies are also affected. No Time To Die was the first spring movie to be announced to get delayed and was pushed back to November 25th, five days after Godzilla vs Kong's theatrical release. Then, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway was pushed back from the movie's original release date of April 3rd to August 7th. As of March 12th, A Quiet Place: Part II has also been delayed with no new release date. The sequel to 2018's smash hit monster movie was originally planned to be released March 20th. Ever since late January/early February, many countries like China, Japan, South Korea, and Italy have shut down their movie theaters to prevent the spread of the COVID-19. Countries like China usually bring in the majority of the international box-office and without them the movies releasing in the Spring could face a huge loss in revenue. So don't be surprised if more delays for Spring movies are announced.
What are your thoughts on CinemaCon's cancellation? Does it bother you that it's not happening? Were you hoping for more footage of Godzilla vs Kong? Do you think San Diego Comic-Con is next to cancel? Do you think more movies this year will get pushed back? Leave a comment in the comments section on your thoughts on the situation. Make sure to follow me on my Facebook, Twitter, and Minds pages to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.