The/my TLDR: we as the audience probably need to re-frame how we decide which movies we go and see. Instead of just going for the obvious blockbusters … we need to decide on our own hype as we did with barbenheimer. The movie industry might be crumbling, and we, the audience might be as much to blame as the shitty execs.
Post covid, I have definitely become more selective with what I watch in theaters. I no longer go just because a movie is a blockbuster. It has to be a movie I’m really anticipating or I know will be good. I also only watch in IMAX or Dolby, unless it’s a limited screening only at a regular theater; which also helps with me being more selective.
Small theaters are the future, if theaters have a future.
When the only way to see movies was to drive somewhere - big made sense. You’d drive for twenty minutes instead of ten, pay a little more at an enormous location that’s halfway to a theme park, and see things with a thousand other people on a screen larger than god.
Then Netflix happened. First the DVD-by-mail version, where it was pretty painless to routinely have new movies on hand, and they looked great on your enormous 42" flatscreen. Then they started doing video over the internet, which was novel… because now it was legal. It was VHS quality with RealMedia buffering, but god damn, was it convenient.
Ten years later there was no reason to see anything but big dumb blockbusters. Anything intimate, slow, or merely funny was better enjoyed at home, and who cared if you had to wait six months? The DVDs on your shelves were 1% of your “home video collection.” Instant gratification made an expensive three-hour trip - somehow still plastered with waiting through advertisements! - completely ridiculous. You’d only put up with that shit for events. Here’s a dollar, go see a Star War.
Those overpriced movie palaces are boned. Have been for ages. But your home setup can still be blown away by any projection screen and surround-sound setup. (Okay, you might have 5.1, but even a table-sized 80" TV would be tiny compared to a five-seat-wide theater.) Being small means more places can fit one. They can be closer to where you are. “Walking distance” is probably a pipe dream, in the US, but at least they can be a short drive instead of a trek.
Convenience means people will use it more often. Like flipping through channels instead of picking one of a zillion movies to stream, having a very small selection of choices makes those choices easy, and “easy” is a fantastic quality for entertainment. It can become routine, like olden times. You might see every new movie because you could see every new movie.
But I wouldn’t bet on it. Between zoning laws and the somehow-still-ongoing plague, this is a what-if, not a prediction. The industry’s kinda fucked. Films will be made - but streamed. We might see a theater revival in fifteen years or so, when people fondly remember all the cool parts, distilled from several non-overlapping eras. Until then… 80" is a lot.
All good points.
The problem is that most people don’t go to see “good movies” in theaters. Usually they go for spectacle or something that makes use of the giant screen and good audio system. My parents always ask me to recommend them something with special effects and wow factor. Anything else is a hard sell.
I honestly don’t like going to the theater anyways lately. It’s not about “streaming is more convenient” but I genuinely hate talking and distractions. Some people next to me had the phone on for most of Oppenheimer. Blu rays aren’t an option for me either since they’re so expensive. I don’t know, none of the options seem good to me.
Interesting. I’m now wondering if there are cultural issues here that aren’t the same everywhere.
I still go to the theatre occasionally, and I’ve not had any of those problems, like at all. I do also tend to try to go during off-peak times to avoid crowds though. But even so, I’ve been in packed theatres and never had problems like that.
The stuff about spectacle is kinda what the OP video was about. If we’ve lost faith that there’s anything good to be see in a theatre, and so aim only for the obviously shallow offerings of a theatrical experience like the effects etc, then that seems a lot like a downward spiral from a negative feedback loop, where films just got worse over time, or less interesting, in order to maximise profits presumably, and so we lose faith, and so “interesting” films don’t make money, and repeat.
All the comments in this thread are forcing me to realise how on point the video is (more than I had realised at first). From this sample, cinema has died somewhat and it’s probably too late.
For my money, I’d just gotten tired of the whole streaming TV schtick. Modern TV seasons are too often written like cheap LOTR trilogies (8-12 x 40-60 mins = LOTR trilogy runtime) with filler and contrived drama or stakes. Compared to a decent or good film, modern TV kinda sucks IMO. I’m rather sad right now TBH.
For my money, I’d just gotten tired of the whole streaming TV schtick. Modern TV seasons are too often written like cheap LOTR trilogies (8-12 x 40-60 mins = LOTR trilogy runtime) with filler and contrived drama or stakes. Compared to a decent or good film, modern TV kinda sucks IMO. I’m rather sad right now TBH.
What modern TV have you seen? What sort of thigs do you like?
Recently watched Wheel of Time, Silo, Foundation, Generation V, strange new worlds and probably some others I’ve forgotten.
Currently watching Monarch and For All Man Kind.
I like “interesting” which tends to lean fantasy/sci-fi.
Got. I thing against modern TV. It just feels like I can see the pattern in its production now and unless they have really great story ideas (which they tend not to IMO, not great) it wears a bit thin and I much prefer the focus of a film.
Did you like the shows you listed there?
Yea. I’ve got a typo in my previous message.
I liked them well enough. Got nothing against modern TV. It’s just that I feel like I can see the new format that’s settled in. Seasonal arcs, 8-12 episodes, hitting marks in the first, middle and final episodes etc. I like the focus of films is all and sometimes meandering quality TV can have.
I mean this is a specific format of the west. Korean dramas, for instance, do not necessarily have that format. I assume you’ve watched Severance, by the way.
Otherwise I would note Dark, Foundation, Altered Carbon
I also don’t see it’s substantively more notable than the old 20-24 episode monster of the week format that was prominent prior to streamnig.
Yes … watched Severance and really liked it.
Started Dark … dunno exactly why but it kinda threw me off. Mystery shows like that can strangely polarise me. Either they capture me or repel me with a tired feeling of not wanting to wait to know what’s going on.
Haven’t seen Altered Carbon … maybe I’ll give it a shot … thanks!!
Thing about the 20-24 episode format was that it felt different from films. A modern TV season, to me, feels like a stretched out film. Older TV felt more like chill time … like going to a restaurant you like and visit once a week … like hanging with friends. Which may or may not be laudable … but I think it was a different feeling from films.
The only reason I go to the movies is to have some place to take a date. Other than that, I’d rather watch them at home. The movie industry is changing, it’s adapt or perish.
What can they adapt to? Would you see a film for any other reason?
