These serious (but necessary) steps have of course led to major business repercussions and Hollywood could stand to lose upwards of $US 20 billion. As of right now, the global box office has already taken a massive $US 7 billion hit. Seeing as how the Coronavirus isn’t going to magically disappear within the next couple of weeks or so, things are only going to get worse. According to THR, if the problem persists throughout March, April and May, the lost of revenue would climb to another staggering $US 10 billion, bringing its total loss to approximately $US 17 billion. And what happens if the crisis continues beyond May? The likes of Wonder Woman, Disney-Pixar’s Soul and Top Gun: Maverick will have to be postponed too, which would then see an even bigger revenue hit.
But these big numbers may be very difficult to digest for most of us. To bring it down a more human level, thousands of people in the entertainment industry in Hollywood have already lost/will continue to lose jobs if the problem persists. IATSE International President Matthew D. Loeb told THR the following:
