As COVID-19 decimated economies worldwide, countless businesses were hit hard. And some companies were already struggling before they took a battering by the virus. Now that effective vaccines are being rolled out across the globe, there's plenty of hope on the horizon, but many firms will still struggle to get through 2021 in one piece. Click or scroll through 15 companies facing a make-or-break 2021.

The threat of bankruptcy has loomed large for many businesses across the entertainment industry during the pandemic and the movie industry is among the worst affected. In fact, the sector is projected to have lost $32 billion (£23.7bn) in 2020, with box office revenues down a whopping 71.5% from the previous year. Needless to say, the world's largest cinema chain AMC has been feeling the pain.

Along with ticket sales and profits, the company stock has plunged to record lows as the movie-going public stay home. The US firm, which also owns the UK's Odeon cinemas, has been scrambling to raise the capital it needs to stay afloat, and has received $100 million (£74m) from Mudrick Capital and is set to sell 50 million shares, which analysts predict could raise $125 million (£92m). But it will have to find a further $625 million (£458m) to avert bankruptcy in 2021, and deal with the financial fallout from Warner Bros' decision to stream its entire film schedule on HBO Max in 2021, a move AMC vehemently opposes.

The year 2020 was especially tough on airlines as coronavirus brought global air traffic to a halt. With flights grounded and revenues vanishing, the entire industry has been fighting to survive with as many as 40 airlines going bust before autumn. Among the big names that may not last the winter, let alone the next 12 months, is Europe's third-largest budget carrier Norwegian Air. Just six of the firm's 140 aircraft are in operation and these are restricted to domestic routes. 

State aid has dried up for the airline, which has let go of thousands of staff and seen subsidiaries in Sweden, Denmark and Ireland file for bankruptcy. Norwegian Air shareholders have backed an ambitious restructuring plan that will involve the company selling off planes, converting debt to equity and issuing new shares, but even if these cost-cutting measures do the trick, Norwegian will likely re-emerge as a shadow of its former self, focusing its flights primarily on Norway and Sweden.

Bricks-and-mortar retail was already in bad shape before COVID-19 arrived, with the pandemic only serving to hasten the demise of troubled companies in the sector. Traditional department stores have been at the sharp end. Major players have filed for bankruptcy including America's venerable JCPenney, which faces a tough road ahead.

The storied American retailer was split in December with the operating company emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early December but the property side not expected to follow suit until March. By that point, as many as 165 JCPenney locations will have shut for good, with more closures expected to follow. Here's hoping the restructuring efforts work out for the company and help boost its share price, which dropped 86% during 2020.

Coronavirus has bankrupted some of the world's best-known gym chains from 24 Hour Fitness to Gold's Gym. Could LA Fitness be the next to go bust? Already up to its eyeballs in debt before the pandemic struck, the chain has been bleeding cash throughout 2020. By September, the company was carrying $1.7 billion (£1.3bn) debt and grappling to make ends meet after its credit rating was downgraded.

Since then, the US government has come to the rescue with a $300 million (£225m) loan from the Main Street Lending Program, the emergency fund initiative for small- and medium-sized businesses adversely affected by COVID-19. This state aid won't last forever though, with the company's future prosperity more likely to hinge on a relatively speedy return to normality.

After Virgin Australia hit the skids and went into voluntary administration in April, Virgin Atlantic, which operates out of London's Heathrow and connects to long-haul destinations in North America, Africa and Asia, met a similar fate in August when it filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in a New York court after almost running out of cash. Delta Air Lines has a 49% stake in the airline.

The filing is part of a $1.6 billion (£1.2bn) rescue package and debt restructuring plan, and protects the airline's US assets, but the process is proving to be painful and drawn-out. The airline has laid off nearly half the workforce and has been busily selling off Boeing 747 and 787 planes to balance the books, but has a long way to go until it returns to profitability, no doubt in a more compact form.

While deliveries have surged during the pandemic, fast food and casual dining chains have had to shut their restaurants for extended periods of time. Business has been so bad for NPC International, the world's largest Pizza Hut and Wendy's franchisee, that the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July to help it gain control of its mounting debt situation.

NPC International has cut costs by closing 300 Pizza Hut locations, but this hasn't stopped the vultures from circling and a takeover could soon be on the cards. Talks are ongoing between the firm and Flynn Restaurant Group, America's largest franchise operator, which has submitted a bid of $816 million (£613m) to acquire the company.

Back to flagging department store chains, Sears has been ailing for years and was one of the first victims of the retail apocalypse. After slipping into Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the end of 2018, the chain has been rapidly shrinking. With COVID-19 adding fuel to the fire, Sears has shut down hundreds of stores with more closures likely.

Still, the once-mighty department store chain, which is now reduced to just 83 stores in the US, won't have an easy time in 2021 with its bid to win back customers. According to Forbes Sears is at high risk of going bankrupt for the second time, which if it ends up happening could really spell the end for the American institution.

The pandemic has pretty much destroyed the $150 billion (£112.5bn) global cruise ship industry and the recovery could take years say experts. Cruise ships were subject to a no sail order in the US until the end of October, when it was replaced by a conditional sail order which allows a gradual return to cruising, and across the world many ships have had to remain stationary until the world opens up again. In fact, in Turkey cruise ships have started to be dismantled for scrap. Cruise ship companies really have their work cut out in 2021, including Carnival.

Carnival is pinning its hopes on enhanced safety measures throughout its fleet and the launch of the billion-dollar Mardi Gras, the company's largest-ever cruise ship, which features a theme park, complete with a roller coaster, and an opulent French Quarter zone. The firm will have to pull out all the stops in 2021 to drum up business and help boost its share price, which dropped by 61% during 2020.

North America's oldest company and Canada's number one department store chain, Hudson's Bay dates back to 1670, but its days could now be numbered. With many branches shut due to COVID-19, revenues have dropped and the company has gone as far as to take legal action against the Ontario government for the lockdowns in Toronto and Peel.

In November the Toronto Star reported that the chain had stopped paying its rent for 20 locations in malls across Canada, a sign the company was in big trouble. Since then, several stores around the country have been closed by landlords due to unpaid rent, and the situation isn't likely to improve significantly until restrictions ease and the iconic company can start making money again.

German travel firm TUI has been in turmoil in 2020. During the 12 months preceding September, the company lost over €3 billion ($3.7bn/£2.8bn) and saw its turnover fall by 58%. The package tour operator has been doing all it can to keep its head above water. As part of its commitment to reduce costs by 30%, TUI is shedding 8,000 jobs and has closed scores of retail stores.

The German government has thrown the firm a lifeline, propping it up with financial support totalling €4.8 billion ($5.9bn/£4.4bn), but TUI stock fell by 52% during 2020. The company will have to concentrate in 2021 on reinventing itself and its outdated business model, which relies on in-store travel agents with high fixed costs.

COVID-19 has proved catastrophic for WeWork with demand for the office space provider's services tanking big time as an unprecedented number of people work from home. Although the firm sold off its core assets earlier this year and has laid off hundreds more employees to cut costs, it nonetheless burned through $1.7 billion (£1.3bn) in 2020. How the company performs next year is crucial to its future survival...

However, WeWork is positive about its recovery and executive chairman Marcelo Claure announced in July that the firm was on track to deliver positive cash flow and profit in 2021. One way the firm is aiming to achieve this is through the expansion of its pay-as-you-go model. Already launched in New York, it offers employees and freelancers who are fed up with working from home, on-demand, socially-distanced desks and meeting rooms in WeWork facilities, and could be a boon for companies looking to ditch their permanent offices after 2020.

COVID-19 has done Barnes & Noble zero favours. America's largest bookstore chain heavily relies on in-store sales rather than internet purchases, so has suffered while online-only competitors such as Amazon have thrived. The company, which was snapped up in 2019 by a hedge fund, is trying to reposition itself as an indie-style, local-focused chain with more enticing food options, gifts, stationery and games.

Yet this model is entirely dependent on coronavirus beating a retreat, which could of course take quite some time yet. And so 2021 could offer only more bad fortune for Barnes & Noble, which has had to shutter store after store and slash jobs to keep the business ticking over during the pandemic.

British sandwich chain Pret A Manger has more or less lost its major revenue stream as a result of the pandemic: the hordes of office workers who would flock to their nearest Pret to get their morning coffee and lunch. With many people choosing to work from home on a permanent basis, the chain will have to think outside of the box to survive in 2021.

After slashing thousands of jobs and closing 36 stores in the UK, the powers that be at Pret are rising to the challenge in various ways that include opening more outlets in suburban areas to win back the custom of people working from home, massively expanding its delivery service with additional hot dinner options, launching supermarket coffee and ready meals, and even debuting a coffee subscription service.

The German big pharma company's acquisition of controversial agrochemical firm Monsanto in 2018 continues to be a millstone around its neck with the pandemic battering the agrochemicals division it inherited. During the third quarter of 2020, Crop Science revenues declined 11.6% compared to the same quarter in 2019 and seed sales fell by almost 40%. Revenues for the pharmaceuticals side of the business dropped as well. 

Now read about the companies facing a make-or-break 2020 fared

Bayer also inherited the swathe of lawsuits surrounding Roundup, the glyphosate-based Monsanto weedkiller that allegedly causes cancer, and litigation is still dragging on and costing the company billions of dollars. Basically, none of the firm's problems have gone away and may not be resolved for some time yet, setting Bayer up for a trying 2021.

Changing tastes and the declining popularity of processed foods were harming Kraft Heinz well before the pandemic, which has actually been beneficial to the US processed food giant, with customers who have been stuck at home for long periods of time stocking up on the company's products in their droves. This upsurge in lockdown sales made for a stronger than anticipated third quarter for the firm.

The company has formulated a strategic turnaround plan, and is bullish about its prospects – CEO Miguel Patricio now expects next year's results to exceed those forecast in the plan. Still, the Kraft Heinz share price has dived 65% since February 2017 and the firm's management will have to do everything in their power in 2021 to get it anywhere near those heady heights.

Now take a look at the economic catastrophe of COVID-19 in pictures