“When Will Life Return to Normal?,” reads the headline from a Visual Capitalist article, which provides a fascinating infographic on the likelihood of individuals to return to past habits and practices from getting a haircut to attending a sporting event.

Unlike past disruptions of society that were short-lived and isolated to particular regions or industries, Covid-19 is pervasive in its reach, its depth, and its length. In short, there is no return to normal. Everything and everyone is changed.

Especially in entertainment.

Here are 19 ways Covid-19 has changed (and will change) audiences:

1. Audiences will widely adopt the premium digital release of movies (PVOD) available for a higher price point to view at home on opening weekend.
2. Many theaters will close and others will reconfigure their space into smaller private screening rooms.
3. No more word-of-mouth screenings of movies prior to release.
4. The occasional movie-goer (2-11 times a year) won’t come back to theaters.
5. Small, niche, specialty movies will find a new way to reach audiences outside of theaters and large streamers.
6. At least two studios will file Chapter 11.
7. The custom home theater business will grow.
8. Shopping malls, parks, and other large private & public spaces will begin to create outdoor amphitheaters for concerts and movies.
9. Press junkets will go entirely online.
10. Award shows will be smaller, less flashy, and less important.
11. The “influencer” will prove to be an ineffective means to reach audiences and to generate sales.
12. Book, movie, and music clubs will grow.
13. Hollywood will take even fewer risks by relying on proven stories and built-in audiences.
14. Several entertainment media outlets will fold.
15. Movies and shows will have a political bent, some obvious others less so.
16. Festivals will move online and lose influence as a means to sell a project or build an audience.
17. Independent filmmaking will grow substantially as filmmakers find a new way to reach audiences and self-distribute.
18. Producers and studios will repurpose and re-release old library content.
19. Audiences will be more intentional with their entertainment choices — to connect with others, to find meaning and transcendence, and to escape hard realities.

(C) Aspiration Entertainment 2020