Is Our Need For Nonstop Streams Of Entertainment Devaluing Theaters?

As streaming platforms are becoming a new standard for movie releases, our need for constant content consumption has never been easier to fulfill, but are movie theaters dying? With this increasing accessibility to entertainment it is worrying that the moviegoing experience will become a thing of the past.

In today’s world, things move quickly. It can be difficult to focus on one thing at a time while it feels as if a million things are happening all at once, with a new trending topic on Twitter ever 45 minutes.

Do you have time to sit in a movie theater anymore, with no guarantee that you’ll get your money’s worth? Do you have 2 hours to kill to focus on someone else’s life and story, when it feels like there aren’t enough hours in a day to experience your own?

As Variety reported this week, Top Gun: Maverick, which was released exclusively in theaters, just hit over $900 million at the global box office, but will legacy sequels and films starring the biggest actors in the world be the only ones with a fair chance? With theaters back open and the season of summer blockbusters upon us, one can only hope for more films that will get people out of their homes and back into theaters.

While some said that it was a matter of time, the recent worldwide pandemic sped things up, and out combined craving for comfort and instant gratification is something that does not fit into the movie theater mold. A large number of films released in 2020 and 2021 had a limited theater run alongside a streaming debut, or were directly put onto streaming services.

While watching movies at home, attention could so quickly be turned to something else by no other fault than the environment, but so often the blame is put onto the film. We could do the things that would not fly in a theater, where you are expected to focus on the film and only the film. At home we could chat loudly, check our phones, start multitasking, or completely shut the movie off without on consequence.

All of the movies you can think of are available wherever, whenever, which feeds into our impatience and constant need for satisfaction. Content can be paused, skipped back and forth, or abandoned based on how the viewer feels in a second. This kind of power makes the experience about the individual rather than the film, which cheapens the emotional payoff and value of storytelling.

During COVID-19 lockdown, a fair number of art museums around the world began to offer virtual exhibits for those that could not be there in person. This was an exciting opportunity for people all over the world to experience art, but in no way was it able to replace the experience of seeing it in person.

The act of traveling to a location, walking through a space that exists for this one purpose, and being with strangers all reacting differently to these pieces alongside you is something that does not translate when you are alone at home looking through the barrier of a screen.

Theaters are the same way. The Mona Lisa will be in the Louvre forever, but films are only available in theaters for a limited time — if ever — and placed directly into people’s homes soon after. I am not comparing Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous piece to Trolls World Tour (2020), one is a painting and the other is a masterpiece, but the experience of seeing both as they were intended are just as important.

Streaming services can be extremely efficient, and there is no denying that entertainment is more accessible than ever. But as soon as personalized selections and guaranteed instant fulfillment become the expectation for a film, there is no way for it to be fairly received.

As Netflix is already beginning to suffer from, content is becoming diluted. TV shows are canceled right away if viewership isn’t high from the start. Marketing for movies that aren’t spinoffs, remakes, sequels, or adaptations is almost non-existent.

Most movies need the full run time in order to be understood, and that experience can be rushed when there is always something else in the watchlist.

There is something about going to the theater, sharing an experience with a group of people, and taking a break from everything to immerse yourself in a story is something that cannot be replicated in any other atmosphere.

As “made for TV” and “straight to VHS” movies have always been around, “made for streaming” is their new name, and they seem to be a much bigger threat to the big screen. The time gap between theater and streaming releases is narrowing, and audiences seem to much rather stay at home than venture out to theaters.

Though it’s easier than ever, streaming at home or on-the-go is a system that welcomes distractions. Viewers may be watching, but they aren’t paying attention.