Ep 62: Nerds Vs Covid 19

Topic: How has Nerdy things Changed during Covid 19

 

Myself and Mom and have skirted around the concern about the pandemic, especially how it's changed just about everything in the world.  As it is now, we've been stuck at home for nearly two and half months, going on three, and probably four or five.  A lot, including myself, have lost their jobs and in this uneasy time, not even our favorite Nerdy passions haven't been effected either.  So, this week, we go in to see what's happened and has changed in light of the world's sudden changes.

 

Movies

Box Office movies as of early March expect to lose $5 Billion US Dollars

Many major Studios will no longer be releasing Box Office figures until future date.

Nearly a hundred movies have been pushed back to later dates, including some movies set to release either within the last two months or in the near future.  Some movies that were set to release in theatres were instead released on home video immediately.

 

Released to Home Video/Streaming Early:

Frozen 2

Onward

Birds of Prey

Sonic the Hedgehog

Artemis Fowl

 

Movies in Production

Suspended:

Avatar Sequels

The Batman

Cinderella

Jurassic World: Domination

Matrix 4

Mission Impossible 7

Shang-Chi And the Legend of the Ten Rings

 

Delayed:

Fantastic Beasts 3

The Little Mermaid

Home Alone

Spiderman Sequel

Peter Pan & Wendy

Uncharted

 

Movies yet Released:
Wonder Woman 1984 – Set for June 2020, Tentatively set for Aug 2020

Thor: Love & Thunder- Set for Nov 2021, Tentatively set for Feb 2021

Top Gun: Maverick – Set for June 2020, Tentatively set for Dec 2020

Soul – Set for July 2020, Tentatively set for Nov 2020

New Mutants – Set for April 2020, Tentatively set for Aug 2020

Mulan – Set for March 2020, Tentatively set for July 2020

Jungle Cruise – Set for July 2020, Tentatively set for July 2021

John Wick 4 – Set for May 2021, Tentatively set for May 2022

Ghost Busters: Afterlife – Set for July 2020, Tentatively set for March 2021

The Eternals – Set for Nov 2020, Tentatively set for Feb 2021

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse – Set for May 2021, Tentatively set for March 2022

Black Widow – Set for May 2020, Tentatively set for Nov 2021

 

 

 

Conventions:

With Concerns over social distancing and stay at home orders, the following conventions have been canceled for 2020.

 

BlizzCon – Mid November

PAX West(Penny Arcade Expo: West) – Labor Day Weekend (Early September)

Comic-Con San Diego – Mid July

Anime Expo – July 4th weekend

Fanime – Late May

 

Many other conventions set for August and beyond are still set to continue, however these are likely to be canceled as well. 

 

For contractual reasons, many conventions are unable to cancel their events outright ahead of time like they would like to.  This is due to many contracts including a ‘Force Majeure’ clause within their contracts.  The clause is an element of most standard contracts that allows for the cancelation of the contract and agreement, presuming that the reason for cancelation is outside of the control of either party and was unpredictable. 

 

As example, an outdoor Concert or Event being canceled due to rain wouldn’t fall under this clause because rain for an outdoor event is predictable.  If the location was flooded due to rains, especially if the area isn’t known for flooding, this might fall under the Force Majeure clause of a contract.

 

For many conventions, they are unable to cancel their contract unless the city, state, or venue say you can’t continue as normal.  As a result, especially in the beginning, many companies canceled their events prior to the city or state starting lock-down procedures and stay at home orders.  Even though the orders went in to effect, if the venue canceled it before hand, the clause doesn’t apply, as the decision to cancel was made prior to order going in to effect.

 

This may be why many conventions and events are still scheduled to go, as many conventions need to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars ahead of time to reserve the space and technology needed for the convention.  Many conventions are also trying to play the waiting game as well, waiting to see if the concern over the pandemic will subside and allow for business to go on as normal. 

 

 

 

Pro-Wrestling

Initially was to be canceled due to Corona Virus, however in mid April, Flordia stated that Pro Wrestling is an essential business.  A Pro-Donald Trump for President PAC, ran by the McMahon family, donated 18.5 Million dollars to Florida Govern Ron DeSantis on day of the announcement that Pro-Wrestling was considered an Essential Service.

 

WWE

All WWE Live Events/House Shows have been canceled indefinitely

Filming for Raw/Smackdown/PPV filmed out of WWE Performance Center(Training Facility for WWE)

NTX Still filming out of Full-Sail University

Raw and Smackdown performs, as of now, are filming multiple shows worth of content at a single time.  This is in an effort to keep employees at home as long as possible in order to limit exposure.

Several wrestlers sitting out during Virus.  Roman Reigns is the most well known, was set to fight Bill Goldberg for Universal Championship at Wrestlemania, but pulled out due to concerns over his young newborn twin’s safety

Wrestlemania and Money in the Bank PPV shot at Performance Center

Wrestlemania was a 2-day Show, with Movie-like matches for AJ Styles Vs Undertaker and John Cena Vs Bray Wyatt

After Wrestlemania, over twenty main talent wrestlers were released, along with majority of Producers/Road-Agents and staff, amidst a desire to cut back the budget.  Reports claim that the reduction of staff would save potentially $4 million dollars monthly savings, however the company has over $500 million dollars in savings in the bank, along with lucrative TV deals still in production.

 

 

AEW

Continued with Empty Arena tapings, choosing to do so weekly rather than tapes, and only the one show. 

Moved operations to Jacksonville, Florida, where Company Owner’s NFL team resides. 

While initially shot in Empty Arenas, it was later moved to smaller venues. 

Audience is made up of other wrestlers.

New wrestlers continued to Debut during Empty Arena shows, including Matt Hardy, FTR(Formerly The Revival: Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood), Brodie Lee(Formerly Luke Harper)

New Mid-card Title created: AEW TNT Title, named and themed after network they broadcast on.

 

 

Independent Wrestling Organizations

Smaller Independent Wrestling Organizations have taken a major hit and aren’t performing.

With many wrestlers essentially out of work for the time being, Funds started by Former WWE Talent Rusev, who started by donating $20k for other wrestlers not working. 

Concern over cancelation of events and dates for organizations sparks concern, especially in the beginning.

 

 

 

Video Games

Lots of people have been stuck in doors, and with many people furloughed or with stay-at-home orders, they can’t do much.

Major Gaming Consoles are not available in stores, need to be ordered online.
GameStop and other retailers not open due to Virus.
Video Game Sales is up by $1.6 Billion over last year.
Twitch saw 1.49 Billion game hours watched, 50% increase over March
Nintendo announced Sales of the Switch up by 24% over last year, with 13.5 Million copies of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Microsoft reported 130% additional gamers playing online

 

There are concerns over development of both games and Consoles.  As Nintendo’s delays in production only recently made the Switch console available for retailers, Microsoft’s Xbox X Series and Playstation 5 are now going in to production for a holiday release, and with production houses closed, the delay may mean that fewer or no consoles will be available for winter release, missing out on lucrative Christmas revenue.

 

Same is true for games themselves, with many production houses having to either shut down, or reduce staff/hours in order follow city and/or state guidelines.  Similar to movies, there are many games that will likely be either canceled or postponed to later dates due to the pandemic. 

 

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