Opinion | The dying art of going to a movie theater

Each year on my birthday, my grandma would whisk me away in her magical Subaru Forester to a movie of my choice at our local AMC. Afterward, we would end the night at Friendly’s for a Monster Mash sundae and debrief the movie we watched. This tradition of ours was as certain as Christmas, Halloween or Thanksgiving, and are some of my most treasured memories from childhood. As a matter of fact, I’m convinced that it was this experience that ignited not just my love of media, but also for movie theaters. 

But as time goes on, theaters close their doors for good, and streaming services become the hottest commodity. As I’ve aged, so has the prospect of going to a movie theater — I’d even go so far as to say that it’s a dying art.  

There are many different explanations for this decline in movie theater-going — the global pandemic, the invention of Netflix and subsequent streaming services or the idea that having thousands of options is better than a select few. Regardless of the cause, the effect is glaringly apparent. Ticket sales were down 46% in 2023 compared to 2002 and 39% compared to 2019. Additionally, 99% of American households are subscribed to at least one streaming service, with Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV topping the charts. 

Aside from the prevalence of the streaming services, films themselves have been doing worse from a financial standpoint, with many struggling to meet expectations at the box office. For example, “Megalopolis” only grossed about $9.2 million globally, though its budget was $120 million. Another flop was “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which has only grossed around $66 million globally since its release, though its budget was a staggering $200 million. According to IMDBPro’s Box Office Mojo, in 2015 the total amount of revenue from movies was $11.1 billion, while in 2023 the box office only amounted to $8.9 billion. In terms of growth and decline, that is a massive difference for just eight years. 

Removing the statistical evidence from the equation, I’ve noticed that people are abandoning movie theaters. Personally, I adore The Manor — a quaint four-screen movie theater in Squirrel Hill. With the unbeatable price of $7 or $8 per ticket and the convenient 10-minute bus ride that drops you off just steps from its entrance, The Manor is truly an underrated Pittsburgh attraction. Unfortunately, underrated may be the perfect word to describe it — each time I have gone, the theater has been relatively empty, leaving me with plenty of seats to choose from. 

While I do love to have my pick of seating, there’s something about a packed theater — transporting to a different time and place with the strangers around you — separated from the outside world but lost in the one you’re watching. It’s truly poetic. Nicole Kidman says it best in her famous AMC advertisement that shows before each movie at the company —  “Not just entertained, but somehow reborn together. Dazzling images on a huge silver screen. Sound that I can feel.”

It’s been years since I went to see a movie and the theater was packed, with the only one I can recall being “Star Wars The Force Awakens.” It seems as though the loss of allure to movie theaters signifies the end of an era and even the decline of notable American culture. Throughout American history, theaters have provided a spark of joy and hope in times of darkness — the vivid nature of movies from the Great Depression or the influx of patriotic films during WWII being prominent examples of how theaters themself serve as an escape, if only momentarily, from the responsibilities, the mundane routine and the struggles of everyday life. 

The movie theaters that I know and love today are a product of the history of creativity, imagination and engineering in society, and they truly don’t compare to surfing through streaming platforms in bed. The scent of popcorn that hits you like a wall upon entering, the massive movie posters hung on every wall, the deep maroons and bronzey gold decor, the dimly lit hallways and the buzz in the air — all characteristics one can only find at a theater.  

While I can understand that the slowly approaching death of movie theaters does not mean the end of movie viewing, there is truly something special about a theater that you just can’t recreate from your home. I knew it at 8 years old, and I know it now — there is a magic that enchants movie theaters, and their death would truly be an irreparable loss. 

Tessa Powers loves to watch dramas and biopics, and is always open to movie recommendations at tep49@pitt.edu