Movies have been an influential part of our culture for decades. They’ve shaped pop culture, shown us new worlds, and gave us a greater insight into our own world. So with movies being so big in our culture why are theaters seeing a decline in attendance? Is the movie industry dying?
Theaters saw a huge drop off in attendance due to the Covid lockdown with many having to close completely. But since then the theater’s attendance has not recovered. With movies struggling to bring people in, what is the issue? Well, streaming services have a big part to play in this. With people knowing movies will be on the streaming service a couple of months after their release there is no draw to go out and see them early.
Another factor leading to the decline in movie theaters sales is a drop in the quality of story and quality of movies. Over the past couple of years studios have been steering away from the art of film making to the business side of it. They are using basic story archetypes that are known to make money leading to boring overdone movies that you feel like you have seen before. The superhero movie, for example, has been done so many times it’s hard to find one that feels original. Everyone is trying to make the most money and the art and passion behind it has been somewhat lost. People don’t want to spend money on a movie that isn’t original, that has no passion behind it. In the last few weeks when I have gone to movies that were well anticipated and well made with good original stories, there is no one in the theaters.
So what is the answer to this problem? It’s hard to say. More people need to go to the theaters and support original movies. Go out and support your local theaters. Encourage indie made movies and stories that have not been seen before. Movies will always be a part of our culture, they are an escape from reality, but we need the return of good stories again.
