End of a Movie Theat(era)s
Will movie theaters ever make a comeback? It seems as though with the continuous rise of instant streaming and entertainment, attending movie theaters is quickly becoming an affair of the past.
March 30, 2023
“Can I have a large popcorn and a red ICEE?” As local movie theaters close for good, few ask this question anymore.
The whole experience—the snack bar, the big screen, and if you were lucky, the 3D glasses—is dying out. The reason for this is unknown. It may be the low attention span of new generations, a lasting effect of COVID-19, or perhaps a rising preference for watching movies through streaming services.
B-CC junior Emily Grolleman shared, “I love going to the movies, but I just think it’s way more work and takes way more time to have to go to the physical movies when I can just watch it from my house.” Now that everyone is back in the fast-moving speed of post-COVID life, especially high school students, few have the time to spend an entire afternoon at the movies.
Another potential reason behind the end of movie theaters could be the monetary aspect. Junior Anna Antinolfi stated, “I pay for my Hulu subscription out of my allowance, so financially, if I already pay for Hulu, I don’t have any reason to spend more money on a movie ticket in theaters.”
A Hulu subscription with ads can be as low as $7.99 a month, and this includes access to a multitude of movies and TV shows; however, one movie ticket often comes out to between $16 to $20. Movie theaters can no longer compete with these low prices. This new reality has caused Regal Cinemas, the second-largest chain of movie theaters in the U.S., to close 39 movie theaters and file for bankruptcy last year.
Another possible cause of the closing of theaters could be traced back to the newer generations and their non-existent attention spans. Junior Met Korsa shared, “Every time I go to the movie theaters, I get so bored. I just can’t watch movies. My attention can’t hold on to one plot for that long.” Perhaps TikTok and social media, in general, is shrinking our attention spans, fostering the desire for amusement from five to 30-second clips as opposed to longer films that can require a long-term attention span to receive the same joy.
However, there is still a chance for movie theaters to bounce back. It’s not a secret that Netflix passwords get shared across families and friends. But unfortunately for us, this may be coming to an end with the beginning of the “Netflix Password Sharing Crackdown.” Although unsuccessful, Netflix has been attempting to enforce fees for “extra members,” and implementing new policies to put an end to password sharing. Freshman Maya Shweiki shared, “I have my own Netflix, but for the rest of the streaming platforms, I have my friends’ logins. You need all of the sites because depending on your mood, they all have different shows.” Since each streaming platform has its specialty, sharing is inevitable. If this crackdown ends up being successful or other streaming sites implement these strategies, this could bring people back to movie theaters.
Regardless, the bigger question still stands: will movie theaters ever make a comeback? It seems as though with the continuous rise of instant streaming and entertainment, attending movie theaters is quickly becoming an affair of the past.
