ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the distribution phenomenon and challenges faced by Hollywood during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and the transition of blockbusters from release in theatres to streaming platforms, by examining the various cases of distribution of blockbusters between theatres and streaming platforms. It also discusses the possible disappearance of Hollywood’s traditional “release window” between release in theatres and on streaming platforms. One of the most direct effects of the pandemic on Hollywood and global film audiences was the interruption of the production of Hollywood blockbuster films and the indefinite postponement of their release. The COVID-19 pandemic brought earth-shaking changes to the global film industry in 2020. For a long time, Hollywood, as the most matured film industry, had established its traditional film distribution model: practise a “window” of new film release between movie theatres and streaming platforms. During the pandemic in 2020, there was already Warner Bros.
