It’s been a steady decline for years, and one that many of us are predicting.
How good is going to the movies, grabbing some snacks, getting some buddies and going into your local cinema to catch the newest flick. But with the cost of living surging, cinema prices also constantly growing, our trips to the cinemas have been slowly diminishing. COVID of course was a huge contributor to things getting worse, cinemas didn’t really have a whole lot of options to keep revenue coming in when no one can literally come in.
With streaming becoming the new norm and people becoming more and more patient with waiting until a digital release at home, as well as cinema runs becoming smaller, people are becoming less motivated to go to the cinemas. You may have seen a few stories about cinemas the last few weeks, this is mostly in part to the Warner Bros. situation. Warner Bros. are being taken over and when Netflix made their bid to buy them fire alarms went off everywhere. Warner Bros. is still one of the few major production companies that devote proper theatrical runs for properties. With them being bought by a streaming service like Netflix, many individuals became petrified that the cinema going experience has finally seen its days numbered.
Look, personally I don’t think we’ll ever permanently say good bye to cinemas. But if they don’t get some more love then the experience will certainly change forever. I can see a future in which major chains die out, and each town and city has maybe one cinema or they turn into a time of year business. Every July (during the American summer holiday when all the block busters release) and Christmas period cinemas will open for certain windows before closing down for long periods of the year. Honestly, I hate the idea of it, but it might soon be a reality.
If you love going to the movies, getting that intense but amazing experience of being in a crowded room full of people watching a breath taking story then now’s the time to show them some love. Nothing will ever top the cinema experience of watching an Avengers level block buster in theatres. I want my kids to experience that someday. It doesn’t have to be every week, or hell every month. But if you love cinemas and want them to hang around, consider going back sometime soon. I know it’s expensive these days and it’s not as simple as just going, hell I absolutely can’t afford to go every month anymore. But I’ll try because I’m passionate about the industry.
