During the holidays, most people go to the movies to see the latest superhero movie or a film that is getting a lot of buzz. But the last few years have been anything but normal. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the lights to go out in many theaters. Some movie studios have tried to deal with this by putting out more movies through streaming services.
Many movie theaters reopened, and there have been other good signs that theaters may be making a comeback, especially as more Americans get vaccinated. Still, some customers are still hesitant to go back to places like theaters that are open to the public.
What makes going to a movie theater different?
From the beginning, the movie theater has been a place where immigrants, women, and all kinds of other people can mix in ways that weren’t possible in other public places. We don’t usually choose who sits next to us at the movies, and that’s a really powerful thing. It means that we might experience something big, emotional, and empathetic with someone we wouldn’t necessarily pick.
There’s something great about watching something on a big screen with great sound and lighting. Iit’s becoming more and more valuable to not be able to walk away and get distracted, because it’s almost impossible to find a similar situation.
How did the pandemic affect smaller theaters that didn’t belong to a chain?
It was a bit of an advantage over commercial venues that couldn’t count on the same kind of loyal customers. Some nonprofits, like The Avalon in Washington, are in a good financial position. I’m worried about how we move forward and what the future looks like. Unlike some of the smaller, for-profit theaters, our kind of theater and theaters with a lot of customers.