The strike carried out by US actors is already one of the largest in the United States in at least thirty years. The 160,000 striking members of the actors' union Sag-Aftra have paralyzed Hollywood for 39 days – that's nearly 4.5 million work days of strike action. Since 1993, there have been only two strikes with increased number of days off work in the United States.
The largest strike, in 2000 (over 17 million days off work), was also the Actors' Strike, by actors in the advertising world. In July, the actors joined the staggering group of more than 11,000 screenwriters, who had not written a screenplay since May.
For both actors and screenwriters, the main points of contention are rewards for streaming success, the use of artificial intelligence, and higher wages. Three-quarters of American actors earn less than $29.60 per hour.
The schedules of many major productions have been thrown into disarray by strikes. For example, Disney announced that it would postpone production on the next two films, Avatar and Avatar 2 – two of the most profitable films of all time – by a year. Avatar 4 and 5 will now only be available in 2029 and 2031.
The release of films and series already on the shelf was also delayed due to the strike. Actors are no longer allowed to appear on red carpets, give interviews or carry out other promotional activities. Because of the writers' strike, scripted awards shows and late-night shows like The Jimmy Kimmel Show have not been shown on American television for months.
