Theaters are shuttering. Blockbusters are getting shelved. Studios are scrambling to find their way. That could be a good thing.
www.inputmag.com
Much like electric cars and solar power, it's coming, and if you insist on clinging to the old way*, you're gonna get run over.
--Patrick
*Incidentally, as regards electric cars, there's this tidbit:
One in six Cadillac dealers opt to cease operations rather than sell electric cars.
1) No, the average person cannot recreate the theater experience at home. If you care about matching screen and sound quality, you will have to drop a minimum of 10k to truly set up something comparable. And that is a lot of money for many people. It takes more than buying a “cheap 4K HD tv” (which is not cheap for many - what a load of privileged bullshit).
2) The audience experience is about more than just sitting in the dark next to strangers. Science has proven that jokes seem funnier to us if others laugh; sorrow is more poignant if others feel it too; tension is higher if you are in a group that feels it with you. They have to be in the room with you, and so the online group watching experience is not going to cut it. And many of us don’t feel as misanthropic as that author clearly does.
3) Going out to see a movie is an event that social activities can be built around - and not everyone is happy or comfortable going to a person’s home. Dinner and a movie doesn’t always work if you don’t know or trust the other person (maybe it’s a first date?). Sometimes your friend with the awesome home theater lives far away, or the rest of the house is shit, or the neighborhood is a problem for some reason.
4) Luxury theaters offer a special experience that cannot be replicated. The smell of popcorn, maybe some wine or beer, movie trailers/posters to discuss with your friends, comfortable recliners, etc. are all part of a night out.
5) Always staying at home is lame. This pandemic has shown us that people need social interaction. Movie theaters offer that outside social interaction at a reasonable price.
6) Kids birthday parties! I cannot convey how much nicer it is when a young child’s party is outside of your home, so you don’t have to handle all the logistics and cleanup.
7) Theaters and the movie industry employ a lot of people. Maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to applaud their demise, since we’re are talking about a massive amount of people losing their jobs.
I could go on and on. We should not be so quick to cheer for the loss of theaters. Watching at home is NOT a superior experience at all. And it sounds like the same gleeful cackling of people who claimed that e-readers like the Kindle would kill libraries and book stores. They’re still here, and theaters will stick around too.