I’m slightly more dubious of that reality. For starters, we need to first accept that this streaming option didn’t come about because the market necessarily demanded it. Yes, Netflix had created a new streaming reality, but even there with some of its major titles Netflix was trying to knock down the door in the opposite direction by getting theatrical releases for films likeRomaandThe Irishman. Even Netflix, King of the Streamers™, didn’t want a streaming-only future even though their business model relies on subscriptions. And part of the reason for that is that in a streaming-only future, as we’ve seen this year, everything gets reduced down to “content” and it’s hard to make anyone care about one thing over another.
The streaming world we’re entering came about because COVID-19 forced all of us to stay home. Some may argue that it merely hastened an inevitable future, but after spending a year stuck at home, it’s difficult to make the case that this is somehow preferable to being out in the world. Since March I’ve watched hundreds of movies at home, and there’s yet to be a single 2020 release where I thought, “Boy, I’m sure glad I saw this by myself and not with a group of people.” Movies are their own experience. It’s not simply a matter of consuming content. Sure, people can order takeout whenever they want, but no one’s going to say, “Restaurants are dead now because DoorDash exists. This is our food future.” Humans are social creatures, and we want the communal experiences, especially after a year where they’ve been denied to us.
But for viewers, it seems like an option that misunderstands why we go to the movies in the first place. As we’ve seen from this year, we have more options than ever for staying home and staying entertained, but we don’t watch movies just so we can see flickering lights and sounds pass in front of us. That’s not “going to the movies”. Going to the movies is an experience on its own and trying to shuttle that audience from a public experience to a private one misunderstands what people want from each. I’m not saying that there won’t be people who prefer to just pop onDuneon HBO Max. What I’m saying is that no one should underestimate the people who want to leave their house, get together with friends, seeDuneon the biggest screen imaginable, and lose themselves in a movie.
I don’t mean to be Pollyanna about our future. As things stand right now, we’re going to lose a lot of theaters. Without government assistance, a lot of independent theaters are going to close, and they’re not going to come back because studios don’t see the value of arthouse cinema as a communal experience. Smaller movies will be shuttled to either Premium VOD or a streamer. The major chains will survive, but it will be packed with more blockbusters rather than smaller films that would also benefit from a theatrical experience. I’m also fully willing to admit that I might be in the minority and that people have spent the past year watching movies at home and concluding there’s no reason to ever go to a movie theater again. The theatrical experience is not pristine, and the major chains are clearly trying to figure out how to co-exist with streaming now rather than make the case that they’re the superior option. That’s not to mention the cost of movie tickets versus the cost of a monthly subscription.
And yet I would not go so far as to say “theaters are dead” from this news. Companies clearly see a lot of upside in streaming services and will invest in them as such, but I have yet to see anything that tells me that audiences are ready to abandon movie theaters simply because the big movies are now coming to the homes where they’ve been sequestered for the last nine months. Once this pandemic is over, the last place I’m going to want to be is my house. I’ll see you at the movies.
