In a poll posted by the Foghorn on Fizz, we asked students if they still go to the movie theater for new releases. Of the 895 student responses, 60% voted “No.” According to Statista, movie theater attendance declined for nearly two decades before the pandemic hit in 2020. At its peak in 2002, movie theaters in the United States and Canada sold more than 157 billion tickets per year. In 2019, that number had fallen to 122 billion, before hitting a low of just 220 million in 2020. In 2023, movie theater ticket sales had climbed back up to 830 million tickets, still 395 million tickets below pre-pandemic levels.
The growing popularity of streaming services has decreased movie theater attendance. Due to theater closure during the pandemic, audiences have become accustomed to the ease of streaming as well as the variety it has to offer. In 2020, Netflix subscriptions spiked to 203.66 million subscribers from 167.1 million in 2019. This number has only continued to grow, with Netflix currently having 282.7 million subscribers. Today, Netflix has around 282.7 million subscribers. The increase in subscribers is correlated with the decrease in ticket sales which has gone from an average of 3.73 per person per year in 2019 to 2.47 as of 2023.
Watching a film on the big screen offers the best video and sound quality. It can also be a social experience, as audience members are surrounded by a crowd who help amplify the energy and excitement that comes with watching the movie. A trip to the movie theater allows viewers to escape from reality and become completely immersed in the experience, free from outside distractions.
A survey by Showcase Cinemas showed that 64% of people surveyed enjoyed going to the movies with other people. “The co-presence of (predominantly) anonymous others often has a strong effect on our film experience – particularly once emotions and emotional expressions come into play,” said Julian Hanich, an author and professor of film studies at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. “Laughter allows the audience to become aware of itself as a social group with shared emotions.”
Not only does watching movies in the theater allow for people to connect within a social group, it could also act as a “third space.” According to the English Language Institute at the University of Chicago, third spaces are “the places outside of the home (the first place) and the workplace (the second place) where people go to converse with others and connect with their community.” As third spaces continue to disappear across the U.S., watching a movie in a theater with friends or families can bring us closer together and even connect with new people in our communities.
Editor-in-Chief: Jordan Premmer, Chief Copy Editor: Sophia McCrackin, Managing Editor: Jordan DelFiugo, Opinion Editor: Dakota Duran, Scene Editor: Elina Graham
