Remember how important it was to go see a new movie with tons of people during its
opening? The movie theater was created a long time ago for an important reason, it is how
movies were made to be seen. However after Covid people stopped going to theaters and
streaming had a rise in success. Now there are lots of people that argue that now we have
streaming the movie theater experience is unnecessary. People are still attending theaters despite
what others might say.
After Covid hit in around March of 2020 movie theaters shut down and people looked
for other places to watch movies, streaming services emerged to fill that gap. A couple years later
theaters opened back up and for many it was an adjustment. This gave many cynics the
opportunity to come out and say that theaters are unnecessary when we have streaming at home.
Movies are made for theaters the camera used was created for the theater experience. There is
even evidence to support this.
Back to theaters was a difficult adjustment for many. When theaters first opened back up
people were hesitant to return to theaters. Still according to Joan Solsman, “Judging by the box
office recovery of the last two years, Nolan was right. But what he failed to prognosticate was
that, apparently, we’ll need movies.” This shows how people are working to adjust back and that
in no way are movie theaters dying, they’re changing. Cynics fail to mention how 2023 was a
huge rebound for theaters and that people are coming back. According to Margo Vansynghel, “In
fact, 2023 was a banner year for movie theaters, the best since 2020.” This shows how movie
theaters are still necessary and being used despite others claiming streaming is the only needed
thing. People got so used to using streaming they forgot about theaters, now many feel they are
recovering. According to Javier Rojas, “While it’s still unclear whether it will ever fully rebound
as viewing habits shift, movie theaters aren’t going away anytime soon.” They aren’t and we
have seen recently we are getting back to normalcy for the theater industry.
As the pandemic becomes longer and longer ago people are beginning to return to
theaters, how movies were made to be seen. We are approaching normalcy at a slow but steady
pace. Not only are people returning to theaters but executives are realizing this to shying away
from streaming. According to Margo Vansynghel, “More reasons for optimism: Movie execs are
reversing course on the pandemic-era trend of straight-to-streaming film releases. And, driven in
part by social media platforms.” This proves how people are ready to make a return to theaters.
Yes, theaters may have had a harsh closing the pandemic swept through but once they opened up
they had a steady come back that is clearly present. According to Avery Martin, “The success of
these movies prove that studios can target a niche audience and make seeing the movie
something to post on social media. People will pay to go out rather than watch from home.” This
shows how yes streaming was good for what it is, but seeing a movie in the way it was filmed to
be seen is becoming normal once again. One of the ways we are heading towards normalcy as a
movie goer is the theater experience recovering and innovating. According to Sarah Whitten, “As
the space contracts, cinema operators are investing in the basics, improving sounds, picture
quality and seating as well as in bolstering its food and beverage offerings, events and alternative
programming. The aim is to improve the baseline experience for moviegoers regardless of the
type of ticket they purchase.” This shows how movie theaters continue to work as we head
towards normal movie going.
The movie theater is an experience like no other. When going to a movie theater there are
many different things that make up the experience. The unifying experience of seeing a movie
with tons of people. According to the Avery Martin, “Being able to share the space to watch this
movie with like-minded people is a massive draw. Getting overpriced popcorn and food — or
sneaking in your own food — is part of what makes the movies an experience.” This shows how
the experience of a movie is needed, it just doesn’t compare when at home. Yes watching a
movie at home can be considered more convenient but many argue that when seeing it at a
theater the unifying experience of seeing the same thing with tons of other people is such a great
feeling, everyone coming together to watch something as great as a movie. According to Avery
Martin, “If released straight to streaming, you could have watched all three of these movies from
your living room for the mere price of your subscription. However, you could not have dressed
in pink to see ‘Barbie’ or suits to see ‘Oppenheimer’ to take pictures with your friends and
experienced the ‘Barbenheimer’ hype alongside other fans.” This is true, seeing at home just
doesn’t have the same impact as seeing it on the big screen. Also during the height of streaming
it became very crowded with just about every company having a streaming service, it became too
much for many. Now people are making a return. According to Javier Rojas, “After a heavy dose
of streaming at home during the last two years, consumers have decided that the cinema is the
place to go for an experience that can’t be replaced at home.” This shows how irreplaceable the
experience is. Nonetheless there is still another side to this argument.
Yes a lot of people are returning to theaters, there are still people who claim that since we
have streaming going to theaters is pointless. When streaming emerged in 2020 thousands of
theaters across the world shut down. This lead the way for streaming to become the primary way
to watch movies for a while… until they opened back up. According to Joan Solsman, “The
pandemic disrupted both film production and exhibition, shelving movies for years and keeping
people out of cinemas. But beyond the pandemic’s direct disturbances to theaters, North America
still has way more movie screens than it needs. And your options to stream films at home are
wider — and arriving much sooner — than before.” Many skeptics continue to claim the theater
experience was stupid to begin with because watching at home is more convenient. I argue the
theater experience is unmatched in how incredible it is. The movie theater has existed and has
innovated for several decades. There was still several who claimed even before the rise of
streaming theaters were unnecessary. Many disagree because the theater experience presents
movies in the way they were made, a truly unifying experience. According to Joan Solsman, “For
generations, going to the movies meant ‘sitting in a shitty seat eating bad food, just to be able to
watch the movie you want,’ said Bob Cooney, a location-based entertainment industry expert.
Like airlines that get away with a punishing customer experience because flying is the only way
to get from one far-flung place to another, theaters enjoyed cushy, long-lasting theatrical
exclusives that were sacrosanct before the pandemic.” This shows how a lot of people felt about
theaters before.
So to put this all together I’m saying that yes streaming was nice while it was here, but
people have forgotten why we go to theaters and the experience it provides. We still need to keep
in mind why we go to theaters, to watch a movie in such a great place. The place meant for
movies, on the big screen. Personal comment or a call to action: Finally at the conclusion of this
essay I am going to display my personal connection to this topic. I remember always thinking the
theater was great, but it was really only a few years ago I was enchanted by it. I went to go watch
a movie and it was incredible, it gave me a passion for the theater and for filmmaking as a whole
that watching a movie at home can’t exactly recreate. All of this being said, next time your at a
theater really try to appreciate the movie theater and the experience as a whole, you might find something special
Cinema Rules 