Will COVID-19 end theatrical movies

[Vakanai]

Megaplexes will never die off - because streaming will never provide these big studios with the money they need. Not unless we part ways with the big special effects blockbusters. And we won't. Only way that could conceivably be profitable is if every studio has their own streaming service - and people are already grumbling about their being too many of those now and missing the days where everything was just on one service, Netflix. I don't even know why people are trying to argue that theaters are a bad thing and the future must be that everything starts out as streaming.

Look, if you're in America like me, we're not going to be able to go to the theater responsibly until next year probably. And some theaters and chains aren't going to survive. But it is inevitable that once we are able to do so safely people will start flocking to the theaters to see the next big MCU movie. The theater is not going to die out forever. It'll survive Corona, it will make a comeback, and ultimately isn't that a good thing?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Once upon a time, I had a friend tell me he would NEVER set foot in a multiplex again after the 2012 Aurora shootings which he said terrified him, and I'm sure scores of people from coast to coast felt the same way. However, a year later, that friend was back in his favorite theater when Man of Steel came out, when I reminded him of that vow he made, he just shrugged and said he changed his mind, saying he wasn't afraid anymore. Now it's impossible to compare a lone madman in one theater with a microbe that's all over the globe and shows little sign of going away, it does, in a way, demonstrate how people can overcome a tremendous fear and return to what they enjoy. I suspect that's what Hollywood is betting on, that people will inevitably return to the multiplex, what isn't known though, is just how long that will take.

[Holt]

People said this when Universal first announced they were going straight to VOD. Now look what happened.

My immediate reaction to "the other chains said no!"

[Havok83]

The movie chains are dying for original content. They'll have to give in to the studio's proposal or risk continuing to have little content to even drive people to the theaters. Universal can wait this out longer than theates can. The chains dont really hold much power here

[Gaastra]

Well this is 2020. Everything turns to crap this year so you never know what's going to happen this year.

The movie chains right now do remind me of the airports after 9/11. They said all airports will die. No one will ever fly again! It looked bad for them. Everyone said all airports will die. Theme parks also will all die. No one will ever go to a theme park again with no planes. Then months later after everything settled down they were both fine.

People started flying again and going to parks again.

Can the movies fly again? We don't know yet.

[Vakanai]

Can the movies fly again? We don't know yet.

I think we do know, and the answer is obviously yes they will. The only reason people are questioning it now is because just like after 9/11 or the Aurora shooting and so on is that we're still in the scary part because the virus is still ongoing. We always see the future as worse or more grim when we're afraid. But the fear will go away, and people will go back to normal like they have before. But until the fear and the virus are both gone people are inevitably going to be all doom and gloom about this.

[Sacred Knight]

The more lasting and potential rival to the movie theater will still remain the home theater; the ever increasing technologies that we are provided for great viewing experiences at home. That has been the past decade and will continue to be the biggest threat, not the virus. That will eventually pass.

[Flash Gordon]

The more lasting and potential rival to the movie theater will still remain the home theater; the ever increasing technologies that we are provided for great viewing experiences at home. That has been the past decade and will continue to be the biggest threat, not the virus. That will eventually pass.

Exactly.

This would be a good time for megaplexes to adapt and offer something more than just a filthy seat and AVENGERS playing on 12 screens.

[Havok83]

Exactly.

This would be a good time for megaplexes to adapt and offer something more than just a filthy seat and AVENGERS playing on 12 screens.

Like what? The only thing the chains can offer that most arent able to replicate at home is the big screen experience of being in a theater

[Flash Gordon]

Like what? The only thing the chains can offer that most arent able to replicate at home is the big screen experience of being in a theater

I don't know, honestly. I much prefer staying home and being the Captain of my own experience, but broadly speaking the "business person" move would be to try and become more attractive to audiences.

[BeastieRunner]

Like what? The only thing the chains can offer that most arent able to replicate at home is the big screen experience of being in a theater

I recently purchased an 8 foot by 6 foot screen. I'm a big cinephile; review movies on the side ... yadada.

I do not miss the theater now.

[regnak]

I recently purchased an 8 foot by 6 foot screen. I'm a big cinephile; review movies on the side ... yadada.

I do not miss the theater now.

How many people can actually afford to spend the money on something like that?

[Vakanai]

How many people can actually afford to spend the money on something like that?

My guess? One percent...

(Or at least feels like that from my social bracket)

[Holt]

This would be a good time for megaplexes to adapt and offer something more than just a filthy seat and AVENGERS playing on 12 screens.

My thought was the exact opposite. People are gonna have even less incentive than they already did to go see small and mid budget movies. Huge blockbuster events may remain the draw to get people into theaters.

[AndrewCrossett]

If you're rich enough to afford your own home theater with a huge 8K resolution screen, seat-rumbling sound and a bunch of hired audience members to cheer and laugh along with, you're going to be able to reproduce the blockbuster experience at home.

Everything else, though, is probably just as good sitting at your computer with headphones on.