This week, MGM, Eon, and Universal postponed the release of its next James Bond movie, No Time to Die, from an Easter weekend release in the US to November. The studio cited a "careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace" as the reason behind its decision to postpone.

As the coronavirus spread throughout Asia and Europe, movie theaters shut their doors in Korea, Japan, Italy, and France. China shuttered 70,000 theaters and release dates for Sonic the Hedgehog, Onward, Jojo Rabbit, and Doolittle have all been postponed.

Given the new data trends we're seeing, these postponements are warranted. According to new data via Facebook activity, movie theater chatter and status updates from theaters have declined in recent weeks as people choose to stay home rather than sit in a crowded theater for two hours.

At Cinemark ($CNK), growth of "Were Here" — the count of selfies, status updates, and comments posted from the chain's locations — has slowed. At its current pace, it is likely to slow to zero growth by year's end.

The number of Facebook users mentioning AMC theaters ($AMC) has also decreased after a good holiday season. January to February mentions were down more than 100,000 and are on a path to trend even further down in March.

Regal theaters ($LON:CINE) showed positive Facebook chatter from January into February, but since then has been trending down as people have fewer things to say about the chain.

Movie theaters are typically one of the most common places from which Facebook users post selfies, along with restaurants and gyms. 

According to Comscore, South Korean box office numbers are down 60% and in Italy, after shuttering roughly half of its theaters, box office revenues are down 75%. It expects global box office numbers to be hit to the tune of $5 billion by the end of 2020.

About the Data:

Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales. 

Further Reading: 

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