US box office records lowest turnout in 20 years as people stay home due to Coronavirus

The US box office has been affected majorly due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The ticket sales for various films across the US box office have dipped down to their lowest in the last 20 years. Latest reports are suggesting that the Coronavirus outbreak has led to a weak financial turnout of only $55.3 million, which is lowest since the year 2,000. 

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US box office dips the lowest in 20 years

Vin Diesel's Bloodshot released the previous weekend i.e March 13, 2020. The film was expected to rake in huge numbers as it was a comic book film with A-list stars. But, the film's fate was decided by the Coronavirus outbreak and has reportedly opened at a meagre $9.3 million at the US box office. Disney's latest release Onward stood tall through the Coronavirus scare and earned $10.5 million at the US box office and also earned the number one spot of the overall dismissible weekend performance in the US. 

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The films were majorly affected due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak which has evidently scared the general public from visiting crowded places including movie theatres. Various theatre chains across the USA like Regal and AMC had tried to minimise the paranoia amidst people by running shows at only 50% theatre occupancy. Besides this, promises to clean and disinfect the theatres after every screening were also made by various theatre chains but those efforts also failed to register major footfalls. 

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As of now, various theatres across the US including places like New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Pennsylvania have been shut down for at least the next 14 days. Amidst the COVID-19 scare, various films like No Time to Die, Fast and Furious 9 and A Quiet Place: Part 2 have been pushed ahead from their initial release dates indefinitely. As the government in the USA is actively discouraging the gathering of a large number of people,  it is unsure whether the US box office will experience an upward trend next weekend, or dip down further. 

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