Edgar Wright might be preaching to the wrong choir at the moment as he attempts to get people on board with supporting movie theaters at the moment by joining movie memberships or keeping those that are already owned. It’s very true that the cinematic experience is one that still stands as a luxury and something that is quite special since for many of us that frequented the cinema as young kids it became a time that was both special and meant something whenever we parked our butts in a seat and proceeded to munch on popcorn and candy for the duration of the movie. But at this time too many people are out of work, too many are having to prioritize just where their money is going to go, and theaters are feeling that impact in a big way since as Ryan Scott of MovieWeb affirms, many theaters have had to close their doors at this time thanks to the coronavirus outbreak. It’d be great to keep them open, but with the mandate concerning social distancing in place and the idea that no more than 10 people can gather in any one place, movie theaters would still be losing massive amounts of money if they had to rely on groups of ten to keep them running. Thankfully that’s not going to happen since the doors have closed and at this time the word is that they might not open for at least two to three months, if the virus is contained in that time. Edgar had this to say, via Ryan Scott:
“One way of showing your unwavering support is to become a member of your favourite cinema. After you’ve read this, why not buy a membership for yourself, or for someone close to you. Buy some gift cards. Donate where you can. Consider, if you can afford to, not asking for your unlimited subscription to be refunded. Yes, you may not be able to go back in the coming months, but you’ll feel better for having helped now than if you later found your local church of cinema had been forced to close for good. I myself have been buying memberships to cinemas I frequent that I hadn’t already joined. This is not a luxury that everyone can afford, but for those who can, think of the many hard-working staff at your favourite cinemas who may have just lost their jobs. This might help ensure they have a place of work to return to.”
One thing to say about that is that there’s no secret that the cinema’s have closed, and updates on the situation are likely to happen fairly frequently since there’s not a lot that people are missing out on with the current crisis. It does feel fair to state that should the cinemas continue to decline in business that we’ll continue to hear and report on it since that’s going to be big news. Herb Scribner of Deseret News has more to say on the subject. Another thing to say however is the unfortunate fact that theaters have already been suffering for a while thanks to the streaming networks that can bring the movies and TV shows people want to see directly into their homes that much quicker. It’s true that big productions are still bound for the big screen and won’t be making their exit for a while depending on the demand of the audience, but things are still moving ahead quickly and aren’t bound to slow up as the shift in Hollywood is bound to start taking note that people want to see movies without the massive costs and are more than willing to pay for the privilege of seeing said movies in their own home, so long as they can afford it. This would mean that a shift in the industry could very easily take place as Hollywood might have to start thinking up ways to evolve, adapt, and survive the coming months and beyond to accommodate the needs and desires of the fans while keeping itself rolling in the kind of green it’s become accustomed to over so many generations. It’s not bound to be easy, and there will likely be a great deal of loss before any real lasting and effective gains can be noticed. But as of now, looking at things from a worst-case scenario, Hollywood might have to shift to survival mode eventually and bite the bullet in a big way.
Personally I don’t want to think that theaters are on the way out since it’s still very enjoyable to watch a movie on the big screen and relax for a couple of hours while turning off the old thought-processor. This is harder to do at home since there are far more distractions and it’s more difficult to just fall into the story. But when weighing the idea of having the responsibility of keeping theaters around and being able to watch the same movies at home, a lot of people are going to see the choice as pretty simple.
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