I can still recall the first time my father took me to the cinema. It was one of two small independent picture houses in my hometown in Bulgaria, where Pirates of the Caribbean shared the bill with a few less well-known titles for more niche audiences.
 
Needless to say, those cinemas did not survive the advent of blockbuster movies and the industry again faces existential threats. 
 
The film industry’s increasing dependence on blockbusters was brought into sharp focus this week by Cineworld. Yesterday, the cinema chain announced its decision to shut down 663 of its venues worldwide – 127 of which are in the UK – after MGM Studios postponed (for a second time) the release of the new James Bond movie No Time To Die, to April 2021. 
 
The delay to what might be Daniel Craig’s swansong as 007 seems to be a tipping point for a company struggling through the health crisis and facing fierce competition from online streaming services. 
 
Cineworld has also missed out on the latest Marvel film Black Widow and Universal’s latest in the Fast & Furiousfranchise. Disney’s decision to bypass cinemas altogether – streaming the new Mulan film direct to consumers – suggests the pandemic is only one twist in a more complex plot. Changing customer behaviour has seen Netflix add 25.9million subscribers in the first six months of this year, accelerating a trend that most would argue was happening regardless of the pandemic. 
 
And while this shift in customer sentiment towards the ease of online streaming may right now deprive cinemas of their role as blockbuster gatekeepers, there is evidence in history to suggest the big screen may yet be revived. In the 1950s, cinemas faced similar challenge from the television and direct broadcasting. Somehow, the film industry survived and thrived by evolving and adapting its distribution model.
 
One wonders how the cinema industry will adapt to what is happening now. Could the gradual erosion of the symbiotic relationship between cinema operators and big film studio chains create space for a richer variety of deals andpotentially more diverse titles – in terms of style, content and form – driven by an industry required to innovate to survive? In 1967, Sean Connery starred in You Only Live Twice. For the cinema business, that may yet turn out to be untrue.