The outbreak of the novel coronavirus is affecting the film industries not only in China but also many other countries where the epidemic is spreading on a large scale. 

As of Tuesday, China has reported 77,779 confirmed COVID-19 cases while the number in South Korea and Italy climbed to 1,146 and 323 respectively in just a couple of days. Other countries like Japan, the U.S. and Iran have also been hit by the epidemic. 

Film industry has been worst hit by the novel coronavirus as this art medium requires physical presence of the filmmakers and audiences on a large scale. As the first country to be hit by the virus, China pulled many films – some are potential blockbusters – out of cinemas before the Lunar New Year (January 24) holiday. Now, some other countries are following suit to contain the spread of the highly contagious virus.

China: Standstill affects global film market

As the world's second largest film market, China has shaken up film business around the globe. 

Nearly all of the China's 70,000 theaters have been shuttered since late January and all production activity has been suspended since early February, although the country's biggest film shooting base Hengdian Studios, partially reopened recently.

A report from The Hollywood Reporter in early February predicted that global box office would suffer a loss of about one billion U.S. dollars due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

The impact of the virus will continue through much of this year, according to renowned Chinese director Jia Zhangke. "Films that have to shoot in winter or spring are going to be in trouble, as will summer films that need to be prepared in spring. I think there will be a six, or seven-month production delay," he said during the ongoing 70th Berlin International Film Festival. 

That also means a smaller selection of Chinese titles to choose from for this year's film festivals, including Cannes International Film Festival in mid-May. It's still unclear whether this year's Beijing International Film Festival (scheduled in April) and Shanghai International Film Festival (scheduled in June) will be postponed or not.

U.S.: Hollywood may find harder to make a profit

More and more big-budget U.S. movies in North American markets rely on Chinese sales. However, a slew of Oscar-awarded films including "Jojo Rabbit", "Marriage Story" and "Little Women" had canceled their China releases due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. 

Disney's epic action drama "Mulan" certainly has the biggest ambition in Chinese market of all the American films released this year. It stars several heavyweight Chinese movie stars Crystal Liu, Gong Li and Donnie Yen. It was scheduled to hit cinemas in North America on March 27. Although its release date in China hasn't been announced, many assumed it would be day-and-date with North America. However, due to the the COVID-19 outbreak, it's unclear when it will get a wide release.

South Korea: Film releases canceled, tough prevention required

Data from the Korean Film Council shows that the box office in South Korea has dropped by over 50% in a week. 

Academy Award winning film "Parasite" also postponed the released of its black-and-white version, which was due for release on Wednesday. Several other films scheduled to be shown in early March have also been canceled, including Pixar's animated film "Onward" and Lee Chung-hyun's domestically made thriller "Call". 

The Entertainment Management Association in South Korea on Monday called for people in the entertainment industry to wear masks and wash their hands frequently during work. The association said that they did so because many people didn't take enough prevention measures during the shooting of films and TV series.

Italy: Nearly half of all cinemas closed

A planned three-week shoot in Italy for Tom Cruise's new "Mission: Impossible" film has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, Paramount Pictures said on Monday. Filming for the seventh in the lucrative action movie franchise was due to have started on Monday in Venice, where the final two days of the lagoon city's annual Carnival festival was intended to take place before its cancellation on Sunday.

According to the National Association of Cinema Retailers in Italy, the country has closed 850 cinemas, accounting for 45 percent of all cinemas nationwide. What's worse is that most of the closed cinemas are located in areas with high box office outputs. Official data show that the film tickets revenue in Italy dropped 44 percent last week, compared with the week before. 

Meanwhile, several upcoming releases have been postponed, including comedy "You Only Live Once", "After the Wedding" and the latest in the "Lupin III" franchise.