CinemaCon, the film industry’s largest trade show gathering of theater owners from around the world, has been canceled due to concerns over the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, organizers announced Wednesday.
The event, which was to have taken place from March 30-April 2, 2020 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, would have seen the major studios touting their upcoming films to exhibitors along with appearances by a bevy of stars there to promote their next films.
“It is with great regret we are announcing the cancellation of CinemaCon 2020,” National Association of Theatre Owners president John Fithian and CinemaCon organizer Mitch Neuhauser said in a statement.
“Each spring, motion picture exhibitors, distributors and industry partners from around the world meet in Las Vegas to share information and celebrate the moviegoing experience. This year, due to the travel ban from the European Union, the unique travel difficulties in many other areas of the world and other challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, a significant portion of the worldwide motion picture community is not able to attend CinemaCon.”
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CinemaCon‘s cancellation is the latest major entertainment industry event to be nixed in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Earlier today came the official news that E3 had been canceled. Previously, the SXSW festival was canceled and Coachella was postponed.
The NBA also postponed the remainder of the current season due to Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert testing positive for the virus.
Hollywood’s reaction to the COVID-19 virus has varied from the major studios largely staying the course on their big upcoming releases to films such as No Time to Die and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway having their release dates postponed just weeks from when they were slated to be released.
The global film industry has been roiled by the spreading viral outbreak, with Italy under quarantine and cinemas across China closed indefinitely.
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For more of our coverage on how Hollywood is responding to COVID-19, discover what a high-ranking studio exec and box office analysts said about its potential impact on the industry and find out if medical experts think postponing a film’s release will make a difference.
Source: IGN.com CinemaCon 2020 Canceled Due to Coronavirus Concerns