The spread of the deadly Wuhan virus has all but locked down major cities in China. The lockdown has forced Chinese movie studios to indefinitely delay the release of their blockbuster films this year, at least until the epidemic is contained or eliminated.
Around seven highly anticipated Chinese blockbuster films, which were intended to be released before the start of the Lunar New Year holidays, have been delayed. Movie studios were forced to make the decision after the country's government had issued an order that prohibited activities that resulted in a lot of people gathering in one place. This is of course to prevent the further spread of the disease, which has already claimed 17 lives.
Among the films that were affected include highly anticipated new releases and sequels such as Boonie Bears: The Wild Life, Detective Chinatown III, and Legend of Deification. Movie producers, theaters, and online ticketing outlets made separate announcements on Thursday, informing patrons of the delays and the issuance of full refunds to those who had already pre-booked movie tickets.
The delays are placing added pressure on the country's film industry, which is already struggling to recover from the years of slowed growth brought about by decreasing demand and China's wider economic slowdown over the past couple of years. The industry was initially pinning its hopes for recovery on the expected surge in box-office revenues during the holiday season. With the government order and the spread of the virus, that prospect has essentially now been flushed down the drain.
Last year, China's box-office growth slowed down to around 5.4 percent. This was the second consecutive year of declining growth for the industry. The slowdown has mostly been attributed to decreasing investments in the sector following an increase in regulatory scrutiny and stricter content approvals.
The cancellation of the premiers and the ongoing lockdown of various businesses have caused related stocks on the mainland and Hong Kong capital markets to steeply decline. The index that tracks China's media stocks reported a 3.8 percent decline on Thursday, contributing to the overall 2.8 percent decline of the Shanghai Composite Index.
One of China's largest listed movie studios, Wanda Film, saw its shares prices drop by 7 percent to 17.29 yuan in Shenzhen. Meanwhile, share prices of Beijing Enlight Media plummeted by more than 5 percent following its announcement that it will be delaying the release of its highly anticipated animated movie, Legend of Deification. Share prices of movie theater chain operator China Film also sank by 4.8 percent to 13.81 yuan in Shanghai.
