Raphael Stevens

More than 47 million Pfizer vaccine recipients who received both shots at least six months ago became eligible for a booster Friday.
More than 39.1 million Moderna vaccine recipients who received both shots at least six months ago became eligible for a booster Friday.
The CDC adopted a slightly different criteria for J&J’s one-shot Covid vaccine, making almost 13 million recipients immediately eligible.

A patient receives their coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine booster during a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination clinic in Southfield, Michigan, U.S., September 29, 2021.
Emily Elconin | Reuters

Nearly 100 million people nationwide are immediately eligible to receive Covid booster shots after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized extra doses of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines Thursday night.
The agency’s decision also enables fully immunized people to pair their boosters with doses from different manufacturers after research from the National Institutes of Health showed it was safe and effective to mix and match vaccines. Pfizer and BioNTech’s boosters were widely cleared for use in the U.S. on Sept. 24.

Some 11.6 million individuals across the country have already received their boosters, and the CDC’s approvals opened them up to tens of millions of more people. But not everyone is eligible. Here is who’s allowed to get the extra doses in the U.S. based on their first round of shots:

Pfizer-BioNTech

More than 47 million Pfizer vaccine recipients who received both shots at least six months ago became eligible for a booster Friday, according to data presented Thursday before the CDC’s advisory committee. That includes:

Anyone 65 and older.
All adults age 18 to 64 who have cancer, dementia, diabetes, heart disease, HIV and other medical conditions that increase their likelihood of Covid complications.
Anyone 18 or older who live or work in a long-term care facility, homeless shelter and prison or other congregate setting.
Front-line personnel 18 or older who are at a higher risk of Covid exposure due to their job, including first responders, teachers, supermarket staff and mass transit employees.

Moderna

More than 39.1 million Moderna vaccine recipients who received both shots at least six months ago became eligible for a booster Friday, according to the CDC presentation. The CDC adopted the same criteria for Moderna recipients as Pfizer since the two companies use the same mRNA technology in their Covid vaccines. They include.

Anyone 65 and older.
All adults age 18 to 64 who have cancer, dementia, diabetes, heart disease, HIV and other medical conditions that increase their likelihood of Covid complications.
Anyone 18 or older who live or work in a long-term care facility, homeless shelter and prison or other congregate setting.
Front-line personnel 18 or older who are at a higher risk of Covid exposure due to their job, including first responders, teachers, supermarket staff and mass transit employees.

Johnson & Johnson

The CDC adopted a slightly different criteria for J&J’s one-shot Covid vaccine, making almost 13 million recipients eligible as of Friday. That includes

All adults who were vaccinated with J&J’s Covid vaccine at least two months ago, instead of six months with Pfizer and Moderna.
All adult J&J recipients are eligible for a booster even if they don’t have underlying medical conditions or work in a profession or live where there’s a higher risk of Covid.

CNBC Health & Science

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While injuries or death from prop firearms are extremely rare, the accidental killing of Halyna Hutchins on a movie set has sparked inquiries about working conditions for Hollywood crew members.
The death comes as a major crew union is working to finalize a new three-year contract with Hollywood’s producers that ensures better working hours, safer workplace conditions and improved benefits.
The circumstances of the shooting are under investigation. No charges have been filed.

While injuries or death from prop firearms are extremely rare, the accidental killing of Halyna Hutchins on a Sante Fe movie set Thursday has sparked inquiries about working conditions for Hollywood crew members.
“I’ve been in the industry 21 years,” said Kevin Williams, the prop department supervisor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. “I have not heard of any circumstances like this. So, this is definitely one of these things, and it sounds like a cliche to say, but it really sounds like a freak accident.”

The circumstances of the shooting are under investigation. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office confirmed that actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on the set of “Rust,” a Western being filmed at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, killing the film’s director of photography and injuring its director, Joel Souza.

Security guards and a compliance officer at New Mexico’s Bonanza Creek Ranch on Oct. 22, 2021, the film set where actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded a director when he discharged a prop gun.
Adria Malcolm | Reuters

Souza has since been discharged from the hospital. No charges have been filed. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
While it’s unclear at this point what exactly transpired Thursday, many in the industry have begun to inquire about working conditions on set. These queries come as the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees works to finalize a new three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that addresses the union’s calls for better working hours, safer workplace conditions and improved benefits.
“There have been times that I have been on projects for 18 to 20 hours and then been asked to return in six,” Williams said.

Crew protested working conditions

The IATSE issued a statement Friday addressing Hutchins’ death and encouraging its members to contact the union’s safety hotline if they feel unsafe on set.

“Our entire alliance mourns this unspeakable loss with Halyna’s family, friends, and the ‘Rust’ crew,” the statement read. “Creating a culture of safety requires relentless vigilance from every one of us, day in and day out. Please, if you see something, say something.”
The union declined to comment further.
A person familiar with the matter told NBC News that half a dozen camera crew workers walked off the “Rust” set in protest of working conditions just hours before the shooting took place. Among their concerns were multiple misfires of the prop gun.
Earlier Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing three unnamed people involved with the production, that the crew was frustrated with the production’s long hours. It also alleged that there were two previous prop gun misfires on set, one the previous week and one on Saturday.
​”The safety of our cast and crew is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company,” Rust Movie Productions said in a statement provided to CNBC. “Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down.”
Rust Productions is cooperating with the Santa Fe authorities in their investigation.

A ‘potential failure in the system’

Hollywood productions typically adhere to strict safety measures for stunt work, particularly when it comes to weapon and prop safety. The Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee has written and distributed safety bulletins on best practices for television and movie productions.
“Blanks can kill,” the first bulletin reads. “Treat all firearms as though they are loaded. ‘Live ammunition’ is never to be used nor brought onto any studio lot or stage.”
These guidelines are recommendations and may not apply to reality shows such as “Mythbusters” or “Top Shot” where live rounds are used to test scientific theories or for marksmanship competition.
“I can say unequivocally that a blank round versus a live round is really easy to identify in the hands of an experienced armorer or prop master,” Williams said. “I can’t imagine anybody would say ‘whoops’ and just put that in there.”
He also noted that safety demonstrations are done with all cast and crew involved in firearm stunts who are instructed that prop weapons should never be pointed at another actor or crew member. In cases where a director wants to film a weapon being pointed at the camera and discharged, ballistic shields are used, he said.
“There are a lot of safety measures put in place,” he said. “If it turns out that a live round was loaded into a vintage weapon and it turns out that that is how this happened, then we need to figure out why.”
That’s a “potential failure in the system,” Williams said.

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Harvard University associate professor Dr. Joseph Allen argued in favor of pulling back on masking children in schools.
“We have to be careful that, if we don’t set firm deadlines, it’s easy to see how we can sleepwalk into indefinite masking,” said Allen.
“We should be mandating vaccines for all adults in schools,” said Allen.

Harvard University associate professor Dr. Joseph Allen argued in favor of pulling back on masking children in schools, especially as U.S. drug regulators are set to authorize the Covid-19 vaccine to kids ages 5 to 11.
“We have to be careful that, if we don’t set firm deadlines, it’s easy to see how we can sleepwalk into indefinite masking,” said Allen during a Friday evening interview on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith.” “With the approval of vaccines, expected very shortly, for 5 to 11-year-olds, it makes sense that we should no longer have mask mandates in schools.”

Allen also highlighted that while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has set metrics for masking for adults, the agency has “inexplicably” failed to set metrics on when kids can take away masks. 
The CDC did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. 
Allen echoed the guidance of Dr. Anthony Fauci, emphasizing that the best way to protect children was for adults to get vaccinated. 
“We should be mandating vaccines for all adults in schools,” said Allen.  
The director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health outlined additional methods to protect children in schools. They include expanding the use of rapid antigen tests and improving the ventilation and filtration systems in schools.

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The Phoenix Suns denied allegations of racism, sexism and harassment against owner Robert Sarver ahead of the release of a possible ESPN report.
“This story is completely outrageous and false,” Suns CEO and President Jason Rowley said in a statement released by the basketball team, which did not reveal the details of the allegations in the supposed report.
ESPN has not released the “proposed story” described by the Suns. The basketball team did not reveal what the allegations in the supposed report are.

Owner Robert Sarver stands with the Western Conference Championship trophy after the Suns beat the LA Clippers to win the series in Game Six of the Western Conference Finals at Staples Center on June 30, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The Suns beat the Clippers to advance to the NBA Finals.
Harry How | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

The Phoenix Suns on Friday denied allegations of racism, sexism and harassment against owner Robert Sarver, ahead of the release of a “proposed story” from ESPN.
“This story is completely outrageous and false,” Suns CEO and President Jason Rowley said in a statement released by the team. “It doesn’t represent – at all – the Robert Sarver I’ve worked alongside of for 15 years. He’s not a racist and he’s not a sexist.”

The statement comes after NBA podcast host Jordan Schultz said in a tweet that a report will be released with allegations against Sarver that could “forcibly” remove him.
The Suns did not reveal what the exact nature of the allegations were.
When reached for comment, ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz sent the following statement to CNBC: “We don’t comment on stories that may or may not be in progress.”
Sarver said in a statement Friday that he was “wholly shocked” by the ESPN allegations and vehemently denied them.
“While I can’t begin to know how to respond to some of the vague suggestions made by mostly anonymous voices, I can certainly tell you that some of the claims I find completely repugnant to my nature and to the character of the Suns/Mercury workplace and I can tell you they never, ever happened,” Sarver said.

He added that he despises any language that “disrespects individuals, regardless of race, gender, preference, or choice.”
The Suns also said in a statement that the potential ESPN story makes “completely baseless claims,” noting the team has evidence and eyewitness accounts that contradict the accusations against Sarver.
“We urge everyone not to rush to judgment here,” the Suns said in the statement. “Especially based on lies, innuendo, and a false narrative to attack our organization and its leadership.”
Rowley slammed the unnamed ESPN reporter of the proposed story, claiming that they showed a “reckless disregard for the truth.”
“He has harassed employees, former employees, and family members; used truths, half-truths and rumors to manufacture a story in which he’s heavily invested and then perpetuate a completely false narrative within the sports industry to back it up,” Rowley said in a statement. 
An NBA spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was banned for life by the NBA and fined $2.5 million after an audio of him leaked in which he could be heard making racist comments.
Sarver purchased the Suns from former owner Jerry Colangelo in 2004 for a record $401 million at the time.
Sarver has faced criticism for his level of involvement in the team’s decisions.
In 2018, ESPN reported that Sarver “has earned a long-standing reputation for aggressively involving himself in basketball decisions.”
ESPN added that Suns coaches “became accustomed to regular beratings and demands of strategy and lineup changes” from Sarver.
He was most recently criticized for not offering center Deandre Ayton a max five-year rookie extension contract during the NBA’s offseason. Ayton will become a restricted free agent after this season as a result. 

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Boston Beer Chairman Jim Koch told CNBC on Friday the company decided to throw away excess supply of Truly hard seltzer in response to a categorywide sales slowdown.
“We were very aggressive about adding capacity, adding inventory … and, frankly, we overbought,” Koch said.
For its third quarter, Boston Beer reported an unexpected loss of $4.76 per share after Thursday’s market close.

Boston Beer Chairman Jim Koch told CNBC on Friday the company decided to throw away excess supply of Truly hard seltzer, instead of discounting it, in response to a categorywide sales slowdown.
“We were very aggressive about adding capacity, adding inventory, buying raw materials, like cans and flavors, and, frankly, we overbought,” Koch, who also founded the Samuel Adams parent, said in an interview on “Closing Bell.” “And when the growth stopped, we had more of all those things than we were going to be able to use, because there is a shelf life.”

“We want Truly to have that fresh, bright taste, so we’re going to crush millions of cases of product before it goes stale,” he said, offering an explanation for the company’s third-quarter earnings miss.
Boston Beer reported an unexpected loss of $4.76 per share after Thursday’s market close, although revenue of $561.6 million topped projections of $531.5 million, according to StreetAccount. The company’s bottom line was hurt by $102.4 million in direct costs related to the hard seltzer slump, as well as $30.6 million in indirect costs. Both figures are before the related tax benefit, according to a financial release.
Asked by CNBC’s Sara Eisen why Boston Beer decided to toss the product instead of offering sales promotions to try spurring demand, Koch said the company had reservations about that strategy.
“You know, that’s just not what we do at Boston Beer Co.,” Koch said. “Our mission is to sell high-quality products and to build high-quality brands. So rather than take a chance of it getting out in the market and going stale and consumers having a bad experience, we decided to make the hard decision and eat a lot of product, just to make sure consumers didn’t get stale product and have a bad Truly.”
Boston Beer’s second-quarter results, reported in July, also were weighed down by weaker-than-anticipated Truly sales. However, the company is not the only alcoholic beverage maker to suffer financially from the weakness in hard seltzer, which had been a red-hot growth opportunity for brewers.

Constellation Brands took a $66 million obsolescence charge related to excess hard seltzer inventory in its quarter ended Aug. 31, prompting the parent company of Corona and Modelo to miss Wall Street’s earnings estimates.
Constellation’s Corona Hard Seltzer debuted last year, as did rival offerings from Molson Coors and Anheuser-Busch InBev. New brands also have launched this year, such as Anheuser-Busch’s Cacti Agave Spiked Seltzer.  
The hard seltzer category became a “crazy gold rush,” Koch said, but he added he expects it to “clean up” and evolve in a manner similar to that of energy drinks. That’s consolidated into a financially healthy space, with Red Bull and Monster Beverage serving as the clear leaders at a combined market share of around 70%, he said.
“I think us and [Mark Anthony Group’s] White Claw together are close to that 70%, and then there’s a lot of clutter, and I think a lot of that long-tail clutter will go away,” Koch said. “I think that will be very helpful for long-term growth of the hard seltzer category because consumers won’t get so confused.”
Shares of Boston Beer finished Friday’s session higher by 1.63% at $525.64 apiece. The stock is down about 47% year to date.

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Restaurants and ghost kitchen companies are testing out different robotic and automated technology solutions to speed up service and solve for ongoing labor challenges.
Companies such as Miso Robotics and Richtech are developing automated bots for both restaurant kitchens and dining rooms.
Economists say that the labor challenge will be prolonged and that robotics can help to ease the crunch but can’t fully replace humans.

At Inspire Brands’ Innovation Center in Atlanta, the Flippy robot is taking on a new challenge. The automated worker, made by Miso Robotics, first came onto the scene as a burger solution. Now, it’s frying wings for the first time.
The bots, known as Flippy 1 and 2, have been in development for nearly five years, taking on pilots at brands such as CaliBurger and White Castle. The wings iteration is being tested at Inspire’s Buffalo Wild Wings brand as a way to ramp up production and speed. The hope is to scale up its usage in 2022 and beyond.

“Our strategy and our vision for automation at Inspire is really not about the labor shortage, it is all about how we increase our capacity,” said Stephanie Sentell, SVP of restaurant operations and innovation at Inspire. “The automation that we are looking at will allow us to unlock that and provide faster food to our guests.”

Flippy robots at their stations.
Courtesy: Miso Robotics

But the labor shortage is unavoidable. The National Restaurant Association recently reported that 4 in 5 operators are understaffed. This includes 81% of full-service operators and 75% of limited-service operators. Robotics can help ease the staffing challenges and speed up operations.

A fix for the fry station

Miso said its Flippy 2 can help fill a tough role in kitchens — the fry station.
“The fry station is one of those jobs, it’s tough to do,” said Mike Bell, Miso Robotics CEO. “It’s monotonous, sometimes it’s dangerous, and it’s pretty repetitive. So it was a perfect opportunity for automation robotics to step in and help brands like Buffalo Wild Wings.”
The robot can cost up to $3,000 a month. Miso expects to participate in a dozen pilots with top restaurant chains in the next few months.

A White Castle team member next to Flippy.
Courtesy: Miso Robotics

And while Flippy gets to work in the back of the house, the Matradee from Richtech can wait and bus tables. The bot, which retails for up to $20,000, has been tested at restaurants including California Pizza Kitchen.
Richtech Chief Operating Officer Phil Zheng told CNBC the company has been signing up large chains for pilots weekly in this tough environment.
“Our food runner [robot] basically allows servers to serve a lot more tables, and customers get their food faster,” Zheng said. “Restaurants are able to boost revenue, because servers are able to have more time communicating with the customer. … They can upsell drinks or specials and things like that as well as drive more revenue for the business.”
The company also has a hospitality robot for cleaning and foresees opportunities ahead in airports and even senior living facilities as the labor shortage is expected to continue for years to come.
Robotics usage also extends beyond just in-house operations for food companies. Ghost and virtual kitchen companies are also leaning into using robots to deliver food to customers.
Kitchen United this week launched a five-day pilot program using the Kiwibot to take restaurant orders from its site at the Westfield Valley Fair mall in the Bay Area to homes within a half-mile radius. Reef Virtual Kitchens has a similar program with Cartken in Miami.
Fast-food companies Domino’s and Chipotle are also both involved with Softbank-backed Nuro. Domino’s launched a pilot in Houston with Nuro’s autonomous car this past spring. And Chipotle disclosed in March it had made an investment in Nuro as a part of its funding round in late 2020.

Challenges ahead with robotics

A recent report from EMSI, “The Demographic Drought,” noted that while automation can help alleviate labor pains, it faces two challenges. First, robots can’t fully replace people. And second, the current labor shortage isn’t going anywhere, and workers will be needed to actually build robots and other automated technology solutions.
“Companies trying to invest in AI development already face significant worker and skill shortages. As for robotic automation, analysis of market share for robotic automation has shown that the industries already most invested in it (automotive, electronics and metal) are still the ones driving the market, while collaborative robots are not meeting the standards needed for market penetration,” the report said.

A White Castle team member next to Flippy.
Courtesy: Miso Robotics

Ron Hetrick, a labor economist at EMSI and one of the report’s authors, said that as a whole the industry is not yet able to bring robotics in at a meaningful level. But future restaurant business models will continue to evolve as labor challenges remain. He expects business models could change so that the amount of service customers need drops.
“You will probably lose out on the amount of restaurants that you can go sit in,” Hetrick said.
Miso’s Bell said that software engineers are always in high demand, but the company is facing “normal challenges” in terms of worker availability. The current supply chain crunch is more of an immediate concern.
“We don’t have supply shortages at this time and we don’t really foresee them in the next six months. But long term, there’s a lot of things we need to get worked out. And hopefully this global supply chain straightens itself out in the months ahead,” he said.
— CNBC’s Whitney Ksiazek contributed to this report.

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Walmart’s corporate employees will return to the office starting the week of Nov. 8, the company said in a company memo.
The big-box retailer is the largest private employer in the country, though most workers are based at stores and warehouses.
Chief People Officer Donna Morris said team leaders will notify employees about expectations for return to office, based on their role.

Cars drive past a Walmart store in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2020.
Nicholas Kamm | AFP | Getty Images

Walmart’s corporate employees will begin to return to the company’s Arkansas headquarters and other offices across the country in early November, according to a company-wide memo obtained by CNBC.
In a memo to employees on Friday, the big-box retailer said workers will “transition to working together in our campus offices on a more regular basis” starting the week of Nov. 8.

“We are a company whose success is attributed to our people,” said Walmart’s Chief People Officer Donna Morris in the message. “While technology has enabled us to succeed while working virtually throughout the pandemic, there is no substitution for being in the offices together — it helps shape our culture, collaborate, innovate, build relationships and move faster.”
Morris said company leaders will notify employees about expectations for return to office, based on their role. She said Walmart’s global tech team will continue to primarily work virtually. That team includes software engineers and data scientists.
Walmart is the country’s largest private employer with nearly 1.6 million workers. Most of those employees work in stores and warehouses across the country that have stayed open throughout the pandemic. The retailer is requiring corporate employees to get Covid-19 vaccinations, but stopped short of requiring them for its entire workforce.
Morris cited the vaccine requirement in the return to the office memo, saying that all campus employees will be fully vaccinated or have an approved accommodation in November.
In a statement in early October, a Walmart spokesperson said the “overwhelming majority of campus associates and field leaders have been vaccinated.” She said some employees received an approved medical or religious accommodation, which will mean regular Covid tests, mask wearing and social distancing in most cases.

Over the past several months, major employers have pushed back return to office dates and shared updates about their plans. Amazon said last week that the company will leave it up to individual team directors to decide how often their employees work in the office. Target said in August that it won’t require employees to return to its headquarters until 2022.
Walmart is in the process of building a new home office in Bentonville, Arkansas.

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Ticket sales in 2021 have already outpaced 2020’s paltry box office. But sales still lag nearly 70% behind 2019’s $11.4 billion haul.
Box office receipts have steadily improved throughout the year, as new films have become available on the big screen and audiences have grown more comfortable venturing out of their homes.
These trends suggest that as the threat of the coronavirus dissipates and major blockbuster titles continue to enter the market, the box office will return to more normal levels.

Jeenah Moon | Reuters

With just two months before the end of the year, the coronavirus pandemic continues to loom large over the film industry.
Ticket sales in 2021 have already outpaced 2020’s paltry box office. But sales still lag nearly 70% behind 2019’s $11.4 billion haul. As of Sunday, the domestic box office has tallied $2.84 billion in ticket sales, according to data from Comscore. 

Box office receipts have steadily improved throughout the year, as new films have become available on the big screen and audiences have grown more comfortable venturing out of their homes. Exclusive theatrical releases like Disney’s “Free Guy,” Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and Sony’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” have proven that there is a future for movie theaters, even if overall attendance and ticket sales are smaller than pre-pandemic times.
These films had strong opening weekends. The “Venom” sequel, which debuted the first weekend in October, currently holds the record for the best opening during the health crisis, with around $90 million in ticket sales. Even better, these titles continued to lure in moviegoers in the weeks after their debuts.
This pattern suggests that as the threat of the coronavirus dissipates and major blockbuster titles continue to enter the market, the box office will return to more normal levels.
“To say the box office has turned a corner would be an understatement at this point,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com.
With two weeks of sales yet to bake in, the October box office is the second-highest grossing month of the year. Theaters have already tallied $415.6 million in ticket sales in the first half of the month, putting it behind July, which garnered $583.8 million in sales, according to Comscore. July featured the release of “Black Widow” as well as continued ticket sales of “F9,” which debuted the last week of June.

“The industry is still working to overcome certain obstacles, like caution among older audiences and the anticipation of vaccines for kids, but a large share of the moviegoing audience has returned in staggered waves over the course of the last six months,” Robbins said. He added, it’s a promising sign for theaters heading into the holiday season.
“October has been a rejuvenation period for Hollywood, something studios and exhibitors have been patiently waiting for,” said Jeff Bock, senior analyst at Exhibitor Relations. “The outlook for fall has the industry headed in the right direction, as evident by the plethora of strong debuts.”

Prior to the pandemic, the fall movie season — which encompasses October, November and December — accounted for around 25% of ticket sales each year. In 2019, that 3-month period tallied nearly $3 billion.
Box office analysts do not expect the fall 2021 slate to match that, but they are confident that titles like Disney’s “Eternals” and “Encanto,” Warner Bros.’ “The Matrix Resurrections,” and Sony and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” will be enticing enough to help the 2021 box office reach around $4 billion.
“Recovery has always been a multitiered process and, as strong as 2021 looks to finish, 2022 has the makings to take the box office rebound even higher,” Robbins said.
But Bock expects the first part of next year “will be a slog,” because there are few major releases as the year begins. However, the summer looks as “strong as ever,” he said, likening it to 2019’s blockbuster line-up. The summer slate includes new releases from major franchises like Marvel, DC, Jurassic World, Top Gun, Fantastic Beasts, Minions and Transformers.
Still, audiences have been less predictable during the pandemic, and the availability of some blockbuster features on streaming at the same time as in theaters has led to cannibalization of ticket sales.
“One of the most intriguing aspects of the theatrical restart during the pandemic has been the fact that young audiences are turning out in strong numbers and on a consistent basis,” Robbins said. “Before the pandemic, there had been various narratives about how young consumers were turning away from so-called traditional habits in lieu of the litany of content distribution platforms across social media and streaming.”
It seems older generations, many of which have kids that cannot be vaccinated, are now the ones that are less inclined to venture out to theaters. However, as vaccines become widely available to those under the age of 11, this could shift once again.
“Films with appeal to younger demographics have thrived while those aimed at more mature moviegoers have had a tougher time gaining traction,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore said. “At least for now.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal distributed “F9,” and “Halloween Kills” globally and distributed “No Time To Die” internationally.

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