CINEWORLD TO CLOSE. 007 POSTPONES. WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR CINEMA

CINEWORLD TO CLOSE. JAMES BOND POSTPONED. WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR THE CINEMA. Richard Fitzwilliams, film critic, is available 07939602749 www.richardfitzwilliams.com @RFitzwilliams

The new James Bond film No Time to Die, has been postponed again until next Easter. This comes after the failure of Tenet, which did well in Europe, in the US. Mulan went straight to streaming and to disaster. Chances are Wonder Woman 1984 and Evil under the Sun may be postponed too.

Cineworld is to close temporarily in the US and the UK with the loss of 45,000 jobs. This is a huge blow to the industry. Many cinemas have not yet reopened.

I was at the cinema twice yesterday, seeing the marvellous The Trial of the Chicago 7 and the delightful On the Rocks. In those and recent movies I’ve attended there were very few in the cinema.

Will streaming services replace the cinema?

Or is it irreplaceable? Several blockbusters are in production.

Could the most influential art form of the last century be destroyed by changing habits, fear of box office failure and streaming services?

Will the cinema of the future be reduced just to blockbusters and a few art house films?

Could there be a joint strategy among rival studios to help a recovery?