Cinemas hope James Bond and Black Widow will spark 2021 moviegoing

Apart from 'No Time To Die' (pic), other anticipated summer movies include 'Top Gun: Maverick', 'Minions: The Rise Of Gru' and 'Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings'. Photo: Handout

Movie theatre operators, after a year of dismal ticket sales during the pandemic, are hoping a lineup of superheroes, fighter pilots and cinema’s most famous spy will help them stage a comeback in 2021.

Roughly two-thirds of theatres remain shut in the United States and Canada, normally the world’s largest film market. Box office receipts in 2020 plunged 80% from a year earlier.