Movie Theaters Aren’t Going Anywhere. Here’s Why.

I was a college student when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Effectively isolating everyone to their homes, the pandemic brought about a number of changes to the way we did things. Seemingly no stone was left unturned, from new practices being implemented in education to entirely revamped business strategies based on the premise of social distancing and more limited human-to-human interaction.

Plenty of pandemic-era lifestyle changes remain- Mask wearing is still prevalent in many public spaces, hybrid work models seem built to last, and an increased focus on our general enjoyment of life has permeated American society. There are lots of aspects of life that we’ve gone back to, as well. The American movie-watching experience seems to be one of them. In a country so deeply entrenched in celebrity culture and the consumption of film and television as means to interact with those around us, it seems unbelievable that we’d almost lost such a cornerstone of American society.

Movie theater ticket sales in 2020 dropped 80% from the year prior, per CNBC. It made sense, as people didn’t want to risk contracting an illness from a visit to the movies- and so the push to streaming began. Movies began going directly to streaming, often coinciding with their theatrical release dates- ushering in a dark era of movie consumption. There was an abundance of options to stream from home, but that inundation of video content left viewers with an issue: How could they decide whether or not a movie would be worth a two hour investment of their precious day? It’s a loaded question, of course, but a relatively novel one. At least in the old days, you rarely left a movie theater feeling as though you’d wasted hours of your life. O.K. movies were brought to life on the silver screen, providing entertainment and an opportunity to enjoy a movie for what it was- or, if the film was truly bad, a chance to laugh with friends.

Streaming services are the most dominant form of media distribution of the 21st century. As of March 2023, 78% of American households subscribe to them. Naturally, it made good business sense to distribute films through streaming, especially during the pandemic’s height. However, many of the films that were given streaming releases flopped, likely a result of some combination of the aforementioned content inundation, poor marketing tactics, or simply consumers’ desire to do something else with their time.

The magic of movie theaters lies in their committal nature. Before streaming releases, going to the movies required a concerted effort to buy tickets, travel to the theater, and find seats. It made movies more enjoyable by simply lowering the standards for enjoyment- no one wanted to admit to themselves that they’d spent their time and money on a subpar experience. Much more importantly, the experience itself brought its own array of benefits: high-fidelity sound, stunning visuals, and a sense of camaraderie with other moviegoers made a trip to the movies a day, week, or month-defining event.

There’s something visceral and cathartic about going to the movies, and their return to theaters is more than welcomed by me. Watching John Wick killing scores of assassins just gains a bit more gravity when it’s done the justice of proper sound and display- and other viewers seem to agree. As of the time I’ve published this, the first 4 months of 2023 have already beaten out the entirety of 2020 at the American box office. Hopefully a sign of resurgence, but at the very least a step in the right direction- Americans return to the movie theater bodes well for the medium, and for all of us who love it, as well.