The entertainment industry is definitely feeling the effects of the global coronavirus pandemic, as it was recently revealed that there has been a steep drop in the American box office due to the coronavirus crisis.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, there has been a 25 percent year-over-year decline in the American box office this 2020. This means that box office revenue currently has a $600 million deficit.

Because of the way the coronavirus is spread, governments and health officials have recommended social distancing and discouraged large gatherings of people. This has led to events being canceled or postponed, as well as closures of schools, restaurants, and moviehouses.

Aside from almost all cinemas in North America being closed, what contributed to the decline was the tepid performance of the North American box office for the month of March. Underwhelming performances from new movie releases resulted in $255.7 million in income during the start of the month.

The bad performance is even more apparent when compared to the box office performance during the same period in 2019. From Mar. 1 to 19 last year, the box office revenue was $612.8 million. That meant there was a drop of 58 percent from last year.

The World Economic Forum notes that the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a $5 billion loss for the global film industry, what with cinemas in huge markets like South Korea, Japan, and China being impacted as well.

The economic impact is so massive that even executives of some of the biggest entertainment companies have been forced to take a pay cut. Bob Iger, chairman of the Walt Disney Co., was made to forego his base salary. Walt Disney Co. CEO, Bob Chapek, gave up half of his base salary. 

All across the Disney corporate structure, other executives have also had to take a pay cut. The base salary of vice-presidents has been reduced by 20 percent. A 25 percent cut has been made to the base salary of senior vice-presidents, while a 30 percent cut has been made to the base salary of executive vice-presidents.

It doesn’t look like the situation is going to get any better for the entertainment industry in the coming days. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States is at 186,101, with the dead numbering to 3,603.

Globally, the number of dead is 40,598. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 is 823,626, according to the latest situation report from the World Health Organization.