Why are theaters showing so few movies now?

After “Bullet Train,” Sony’s action flick starring Brad Pitt, hits theaters next week, the lineup of movies for August, September, and October looks bleak. It’s hard to find blockbusters in the mix. In fact, there aren’t many movies that can open past $50 million at the box office until Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, which does not open until November 11.

The film shortage comes in a year that is already far behind pre-pandemic production of Hollywood. At this point in 2019, there were 63 domestic releases in North America, according to Comscore (punctuation). This year, the number is 39, a drop of 38% from three years ago.

Despite the delay, 2022 has mostly defended. Ticket sales are about 30% below pre-pandemic levels in 2019, which is pretty good considering the lack of movies in theaters.

In short, Hollywood has supply chain problems.

Slowdown in Tinseltown

“A number of persistent issues related to supply chain and production pipeline backups have plagued a number of films,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com, told CNN Business. “It’s important to remember that studios map out their launch strategies from six months to a year or more in most cases.”

Although summer movies have been a “resounding success” in theaters, the industry is “still trying to catch up with audience sentiment and expectations for new content on the big screen,” Robbins added.

Think back to two years ago when studios were delaying movies almost every day as the coronavirus pandemic upended Hollywood. The repercussions of those decisions are still being felt today.

There is also another reason why theaters may lack the normal number of movies: Streaming.

As streaming becomes more of a focus for media companies, studios now find themselves catering to both theaters and broadcasters. Some movies that seem perfect for theaters, like 20th Century Studios’ “Prey,” the next installment in the “Predator” franchise, are headed exclusively for online streaming instead of the big screen. In fact, many of the movies from 20th Century Studio and Searchlight Pictures are now only going to Hulu.

“It’s no secret that studios are looking to diversify distribution strategies, while streamers want to expand content offerings and compete among subscriber bases,” said Robbins.

A direct-to-broadcast strategy makes sense for many movies. And “a big-budget movie that ships straight to broadcast may have a low box office ceiling to begin with,” Robbins added. Otherwise, it would make “little sense to cut off that lucrative revenue stream.”

silver linings

While there may not be many blockbuster movies in theaters for the next few weeks, there will still be movies to watch.

There are smaller movies like A24’s horror film “Bodies Bodies Bodies” which opens on August 5th, the twisted “Don’t Worry Darling” starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles on September 23rd, the romantic comedy “bros.” on September 30, “Halloween Ends,” the next and potentially last movie in the Halloween franchise, on October 14 and “Black Adam,” a superhero movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, on October 21.

Any of these films can surprise and find an audience.

There will even be old-time blockbusters in theaters with IMAX re-releases of “ET: The Extra Terrestrial” in August and “Jaws” in September.

So there are some positives for theaters in the coming months. That doesn’t change the fact, however, that “Wakanda Forever,” Hollywood’s next big blockbuster hope, feels forever away.