When Covid arrived the movie theaters closed and no one could watch the new movies. So companies came up with their own ideas on how to release new movies to the public. DreamWorks decided to release their new movies on demand for the public to rent, and Warner Brothers did the same. Disney took a different approach. Not only did they put their new movie on demand they also put it on Disney+. Disney+ is the Disney version of Netflix.

Some of the movies that came out when the pandemic started were “Onward”, “Birds of Prey”, and “Trolls World Tour”.The public seemed to really enjoy these movies even though they didn’t get to experience them in theaters. All three movies received good scores on Rotten Tomatoes. If you haven’t seen these amazing movies yet, you can find “Birds of Prey”, and “Trolls World Tour” on Hulu. “Onward” on Disney+. And all three of them on demand.

Disney also came up with premium access for Disney+. Premium access is where you pay $30 once for the movie on top of your regular monthly subscription. When you go to the movies, you typically pay around $30 for a ticket. So when you pay the extra $30 you are paying for a virtual ticket. Disney decided that their new movie “Mulan” would be the first movie released in this way. The movie did great earning $64.4 million in the box office.

What about the movie theaters, how are they surviving Covid? Marcus Theaters had a curbside pickup popcorn event on August 26th. Movie theaters are also starting to open up again. They all have similar covid rules. Wear your mask unless you are eating your snack, and they are highly encouraging you to order your snacks ahead of time online. In order to keep lines short and limit the amount of people in the lobby. Marcus Theaters is offering refunds if you miss your movie due to any illness and Regal theaters are temporarily reducing their snack menu. There are not many new movies out in theaters but they are showing old ones such as “Shrek”, “Black Panther”, and “Jaws”.

Taylor Peter and Sam Kelso, two seniors at East gave their opinions on the subject of movies during covid. First they talked about the movie theaters closing. “I was kind of sad when the movies were closing, because the movies are so fun,” Taylor said. “But at the same time I knew it was for the safety of the staff and customers and I knew it was the best thing to do. Before Covid my family went once a month to the movies.” Sam added to that by saying, “I was kind of disappointed when they closed. […] There is just something about going out to the theater that can’t be re created.” Taylor and Sam went on to talk about streaming services they both have. Sam watched the new “Pixar” movie “Onward” when it came out on Disney+ and enjoyed the movie a lot. Taylor and Sam also discussed the new way Disney released Mulan. “Paying $30 is expensive to rent but since you only pay once and you get to keep the movie it’s different,” Taylor said. “It’s also a good deal if you have lots of people watching it.” She went on to say “I’m glad that it’s an option since the theaters are closed.” Sam added “I would like the price to be a little lower but I haven’t seen the movie yet so I don’t know if it’s worth $30 or not”. Taylor and Sam both felt going to the theaters during covid is not worth the risk with all of these good movies on streaming services.
So even though we are in a pandemic there are still so many ways we can enjoy new movies, In the comfort of our own homes or at the theaters if you are brave enough to go.