Is Movie Magic Still Magical?

The death of the movie theatre.

In 1930, during The Golden Age of Hollywood, approximately 85 million people attended the cinema weekly (according to the U.S statistical abstract). That’s over 65 per cent of the population. Since the 1960s, that number has fallen below 10 per cent and continues to decline. As streaming platforms continue to rise in popularity, are we witnessing the death of the traditional movie theatre? 

Cable television also seems to be experiencing a setback in viewership, losing millions of subscribers in just the last year alone. Since 2023, multiple cable TV companies have shut down their television services and announced partnerships with Youtube instead, with some even starting their own streaming services. As of 2024, as recorded by the data analytics group Kantar, more than 85% of U.S households subscribe to one of the major streaming platforms. 

The advent of this streaming revolution isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For starters, streaming platforms offer directors more leeway when it comes to creative freedom, the ability to experiment with different, diverse stories, and take artistic risks. David Fincher, one of the most famous directors of our era—responsible for churning out esteemed classics like 1999’s Fight Club and 2011’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo—recently praised Netflix, the platform housing his recent film The Killer, as the future of cinema. 

“Let’s be honest. I have worked for most of the major film studios. When you tell them, ‘I have to do these special effects in 4K,’ their first response is, ‘Oh, gee, why do it so expensive?’ They balk at the slightest expense. Netflix adopted an industry standard that made sense to filmmakers. Netflix has by far the best quality control in all of Hollywood,” said Fincher in an interview, applauding the streaming giant’s support of creative liberty. Niche, unconventional genres and indie flicks, that most likely wouldn’t have resonated with a mainstream audience, now have a home on these services. 

Perhaps one of the greatest feats of the streaming revolution is the democratization of content. These platforms have enabled accessibility to all kinds of films and shows, from different time periods and countries, to watch at your own pace. International directors are no longer confined by geographical borders, as non-English films from different cultures skyrocket in popularity. It offers a voice to a plethora of diverse storytellers and promotes an intercultural, globalized cinematic exchange. Netflix’s Squid Game from South Korea, for instance, was the most popular show in the history of the platform and garnered 1.65 billion viewers in the first month of its release, as well as receiving 14 Emmy Award nominations. 

In spite of all the pros of binge-watching your favorite shows in the comfort of your living room and advice to let go of the nostalgia, there’s still something beautiful about watching a film at the cinema. That feeling of watching the trailers for upcoming films on the big screen, immersing yourself in pitch-black darkness, the sound system increasing, experiencing the same plot with a community of strangers simultaneously, and then being in absolute awe afterwards—it’s difficult to replicate at home. 

1999’s found footage horror drama The Blair Witch Project is widely considered one of the first movies to go viral, marketed during the early days of the Internet. The marketing team launched a website, where they put out newsreel-style interviews about the fictional missing students the film revolves around and fabricated police reports. They went so far as to hand out physical flyers, asking people for information about the students. On IMDB, the actors were listed as “missing, presumed dead” and the filmmakers created a realistic mockumentary broadcast on the Sci-Fi channel, with made-up newspaper articles to add to the hype. 

There was a magical sensory aspect to the communal moviegoing experience. In 1973, when The Exorcist was released in theatres, people lined up in harsh, rainy and snowy weather just to see Linda Blair portray demon possession on screen. Lineups to get into the film stretched so long that cinemas actually provided free coffee to queuers eager to get in and see what the hype was about. It got so packed that they even sold tickets for people to sit in the aisle. Ambulances were parked outside of cinemas, due to people who puked or fainted from the film (which isn’t shocking by today’s standards, but was for the time). 

I wonder whether such immersive viewing experiences would be possible, or as special today, when watching films on streaming services by yourself is the norm. 

Despite movie theatres dying, they aren’t dead just yet and have along way to go if that dreaded day ever comes. People are still watching movies, with films like Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer breaking records at the box office. Due to a decline in demand though, Cineplex said they were “throwing it back to 1999” and offering 5 dollar movie tickets every Tuesday in February. They’re giving out more discounts in select theatres throughout the upcoming months, like $3.99 tickets every Saturday, so take advantage and go check out a film!