following the 2007 strike that estimated the loss of 37,700 jobs. The cost of this strike could exceed $3 billion, with Hollywood’s biggest stars joining the writers on the picket lines. Unless a deal can be reached quickly, Tinsel Town is in for dark days.
Dave Helmreich, Chief Commercial Officer of Innovid, concurs that a writers and actors strike will drive dollars to sports, OTT and AVOD, a space where money is already flowing. “Amazon and Apple have already pushed towards seemingly engagement-guaranteed content, like live sports.” In addition to actors and directors, each film and television series employs roughly 300 crew members who will be out of work. These include carpenters, caterers, hair/makeup/wardrobe, accountants, prop houses, set designers, transport workers, and production and personal assistants. Most of these workers also have families and pets that rely on them.
As for the Box Office, Reese says it could suffer soon if movie stars are barred from marketing, with opening weekends not getting the traction they would with a robust press tour. “Actors strikes typically don’t last as long as writers strikes and are less frequent. On production delays, this won’t impact the upcoming theatrical film slate for one to three years. Studios can smooth the release slate to avoid holes.