Movie theaters don't provide anything anymore. Big screens and sound systems are relatively cheap. You can watch new movies within weeks of theater release, or sooner of you yarrr. And people have only gotten more retarded so why intentionally go somewhere that is crowded?

Goddammit AMC

I guess it makes sense. I'd rather yoho or otherwise see a movie after the theatre release if it means not having to strain to listen to the movie over loud kids and obnoxious dindus with a pinch of potential mass shooting.

That's not getting into the hospital bill wannabe that is theatre food prices

Partially, yes.

Movie theaters had a symbiotic relationship with the movie industry. Theaters existed to show the movies and movies brought people to the theaters. In this arrangement the theaters take a small cut from ticket sales but make the bulk of their profits from concessions. That's why 25 cents worth of popcorn is sold for $6.

The big issue now is that h-llywood is unwilling to share even a small portion of their profits with the theater chains. That and streaming allows producers to jew directors, actors and their kind out of gross profits. You can't get a percentage of Disney+ subscriptions like you can ticket sales.

So in typical h-llywood kikery they're trying to hold onto every dollar they can.

Theaters see the writing on the wall too. They understand that their business model's days could be numbered. That's why we're seeing theaters with fancy seating, food service, classic movie screenings and full bars. The theaters know they're competing with your living room now and nobody wants to spend $100 on tickets to go sit in a smelly theater with dingy seats and pay twice the cost for candy only to watch a 2.5 hour long movie that tells you White people are evil.

I wouldn't be surprised. It'll be a shame if they go away for good. There is nothing like watching, say, Lawrence of Arabia on a movie theater screen.

People watching a film in a HoMe ThEaTeR or worse, a phone or computer screen, are shooting themselves in the foot.

But then again, with all the dross Hollywood churns out today, of course people wouldn't want to go to theaters.

They were dying long before the Covid Swindle. It's a product of digital-age misanthropy. Most people would just rather watch films alone at home, or with their girlfriend. The quality you get on 50-inch home screen these days is as good as anything you'd see in a theater, and you don't have to deal with all of the fat, loud, sweaty people.

I'd say that this is a sink or swim moment for cinemas, the ones that rely primarily on big Hollywood films to bring people in so they can make money off of the food and drink are going to sink.

Those that can adapt and change (offer the ability to rent out screens or entire theatres for a day, have a playlist of old classics or even do a bunch of school or preschool screening of safe for kid content) will survive and probably be more like the community cinema everyone likes to hang out at once a week.

On purpose, I don't think so. It's just a product of things changing. I mean myself I feel like I just outgrew going to the movies. I'm not even the type that believes you have to gatekeep adulthood with a requirement to quit having "kid" fun, just that I can't really see any of my friends at my age thinking "hey, let's go watch a movie" it just sounds like something none of us would want to do together.

Then add in that I'm not sure kids care all that much anymore...I mean a ton of them will watch TV series on their phone. They'd rather watch movies at home. I'm not sure they are interested in new movies either. I'm hanging out with my teen cousin for a weekend soon and all he wants to go on about is wanting to stay up all night watching old horror/slasher films. I don't think I've heard him mention interest in a new movie since he was about 10.

So what's left? Only examples I can really come up with is parents taking their small kids to the latest Disney animated indoctrination drivel, but that's being replaced too.

Technology and oversaturation. Movies used to be kind of an event. You saw them when they were at the theatre, and then, maybe never again. It used to be something else to see a movie more than once, because it meant you went out of your way to see it at the theatre that many times.

Hell, even renting a movie was a big deal - when it was a new thing. Then it just became a hassle, and Netflix (in its original form) came along at just the right time, and was able to offer a wider variety of stuff than your local video stores could.

Now there's movies coming out of every pore of everyone's ass, AND its easier to get the foreign films that used to be so hard to find, it's everywhere.

Movie theatres will have to make movie-going an experience again, and I know some places have worked towards that (the one with the dragon in West Edmonton Mall is about the fanciest I've seen), but that started ages ago. That's why they were so hot about the 3-D thing, they figured it'd be something that you'd pay for to go out of your way to experience (even if home 3D TVs flopped.)

I know some theatres actually do involve themselves in E-sports events; and a second-run theatre here has special nights, special shows for parents with babies, etc. and discount midnight showings on holidays, which is kind of fun.

They don't have to die, but they do have to evolve to survive. And I've seen where drive-ins are making small comebacks here and there.

I would actually chock this up to market forces. We're entering an age where kids have had internet and """smart""" devices for as long as they've been alive, and have no nostalgia for the movie theater. Where once kids were begging their parents to take them to see the next Harry Potter, the new generation can't be bothered. Combine this with the absolute shit that Hollywood has been producing, and the prevalence of direct-to-streaming movies, and you get a theater collapse.

Why would I pay to watch a giant screen while screaming babies drown out the dialogue and others' bright phone lights pull my attention away?

I recall reading about Disney making fairly crazy demands (before the coof) regarding how much cut they want and how many screens must show film X and how many weeks film X must run. Tolerable for a massive place with many screens but a killer for a small place with few. X was either star wars or marvel so if you want to show it you'd be stuck with it after the numbers drop 70% next week.

To answer your question: yes, partially. Studios can capture more money with streaming (or so they think). On the other hand people dislike cinemas for various reasons (some mentioned in other comments).