All the best happy endings have a plot twist. So it is in the real-life film business. Cinemas battered by forced closures, nervous consumers staying home, and Hollywood studios delaying the blockbuster releases they depend on, had hoped miracle drugs could save them from extinction. Good news on coronavirus vaccines recently sent shares soaring in debt-laden cinema groups such as AMC, Cineworld and Cinemark. But they plunged last week after Warner Bros said it would debut its films in the US next year simultaneously in cinemas and, for a month, on its HBO Max streaming service.
所有大團圓結局都歷經曲折。現實生活中的電影業也是如此。被迫停業、緊張的消費者足不出戶、好萊塢電影公司推遲電影院賴以生存的大片的上映時間，讓電影院飽受打擊，它們本寄希望於新冠特效藥能使它們免受滅頂之災。近來有關新冠疫苗的好訊息使AMC、Cineworld及Cinemark等負債累累的影院集團股價飆升。但這些公司的股價上週大幅下跌，因爲華納兄弟(Warner Bros)表示，將於明年在美國院線發佈其新片的同時，在其旗下HBO Max串流媒體服務上同步上線一個月。