The place where people gather to escape the real world for a few hours is now at the mercy of the very real COVID-19 illness that is spreading rapidly across the globe.

It started when China, first hit by the novel coronavirus, began closing their movie houses in January, one of the busiest times for moviegoers in that country. Reports indicate the Chinese box office, vital to many multi-billion-dollar film franchises, has dropped $1.91 billion in the first two months of 2020 compared to the $2.1 billion collected during the same time last year, according to Variety.

Closer to home, this past weekend’s box office receipts were a stark reminder of the effect this pandemic has, with North American numbers posting $55.3 million between March 13-15 — a 20-year low.

Spooked by the numbers and the warnings from the CDC to curtail large gatherings, Hollywood began moving release dates of highly anticipated films.

Large tentpole franchise movies like the newest James Bond venture “No Time To Die,” Disney’s live-action retelling of “Mulan” and, most recently announced, “Black Widow” have either pushed their release dates or have yet to secure a new one.

Locally, theaters are being affected by the illness and taking action where they can.

Regal Entertainment Group, which owns Bend’s Regal Old Mill 16 & IMAX, made the decision Monday to shutter all locations across the country.

Bend’s Tin Pan Theater, owned by BendFilm, closed starting March 13 after Governor Kate Brown made an Executive Order to limit public gatherings to 250 people.

Redmond Cinemas, Odem Theater Pub, The Pine Theater, Madras Cinema 5 and McMenamins Old St. Francis School Theater also made the decision to close starting this week.

Sisters Movie House owner Drew Kaza announced the difficult choice to close the small cinema Monday morning. Kaza hopes to open May 1.

“At the beginning of (last week), we felt like a lot of folks that we could ride this out (by) taking certain measures proactively,” Kaza said.

“It became apparent at the end of the week that it wasn’t tenable. So we wanted to give folks a couple of days to see (the films)… and let our team know what was going on.”

With the studios pushing their release dates, Kaza said that the choice to shut his doors was almost being made for him.

“We don’t consider ourselves a second-run movie theater so it would have been changing our brand and doing something quite different even just to stay open. And that didn’t seem to make a lot of sense.”

Choosing to close his doors was difficult but necessary for Kaza and his team.

“We hope like everybody else that it flattens the curve. We hope that it brings this virus into some sort of state of control over a reasonable timeframe, … We can do something but we’re a small part of the puzzle.”

While all Central Oregon movie theaters have all shut down because of the virus, there are still options for Central Oregon cinephiles.

At the time of writing, Bend’s famous Blockbuster is still open for those wanting to pick up a fresh DVD or Blu-Ray that hasn’t hit the streaming sites or a classic flick that warms the heart.

OSU-Cascades will be streaming the 26-minute documentary ‘Heceta Bank — Oregon’s Hidden Wonder” on YouTube after the public screening and discussion during last week’s Science Pub at McMenamins Old St. Francis School Theater was canceled.

Hollywood is also trying to help with the situation by releasing films on streaming and for digital rental weeks (sometimes months) ahead of schedule.

Disney+ has released “Frozen 2” three months ahead of the previously scheduled date.

NBCUniversal is offering some of its new releases for $20 to rent on on-demand services including “The Hunt,” “The Invisible Man” and “Emma.” It will also release “Trolls World Tour” for digital rental on April 10, the date it was to be released in theaters.

Warner Bros is following suit by releasing “Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey” “Just Mercy” and “The Gentlemen” digitally on March 24.

While this ordeal will undoubtedly shape up to be a big hit on the major studios, it’s the local chains that will feel the strain most.

Sisters Movie House will not be open to the public for the duration of the planned closure, with no events of any kind to help shoulder the financial burden.

Kaza’s employees are mostly part time, and while they are devoted, he says he will understand if they don’t come back after all is said and done.

“It’s a tough situation,” he said.

But the community of Sisters is already planning their return to the local cinema.

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of support from the folks here in Sisters with our situation both from local businesses. … Lots of folks have said … ‘let us know how we can help,’” he said, adding, “Ride the wave. And hope it’s not too long for all of us.”