I like to call myself a cinephile and I certainly have watched enough films to be one. Now, when you talk to anyone who grew up in the 80s or 90s or before, watching a lot of movies meant you spent all your time at the movie theatre even during the DVD era. While I have spent a lot of time in the theatre, it could not compare to someone who was a cinephile in that era.

Communal Ritual to Personal Convenience

Going to the movies is something we still do today but on a much smaller scale. It used to be a cultural, communal event that brought together people for a nice day out. Something you planned in advance, got dressed up for, grabbed your popcorn as you waited in line, ready to watch the previews. Today, a lot of us choose to ignore that hassle and just stream it on our phones or TV’s.

Although the practice of going to the movies is not totally ancient as people still do this, it has seen a major decline with the rise of OTT. The availability of mainstream films on OTT within a month or two of release makes a generation that is drowning in technological conveniences even more lazy. The idea of spending energy to plan an outing to the theatre seems unattractive when you can watch the same thing at home whenever you want.

Impact of the Pandemic on Theatrical Releases

An average person can live without the theatre experience and be satisfied with having just watched the film while the avid cinephile would push the idea of only experiencing certain films only in theatres. One major factor that has been linked to the downfall of movie theatres was the pandemic during which they had to shut down like everyone else. This was a defining point in the film industry as people had to contemplate bypassing the theatrical release for an OTT release.

Christopher Nolan, a famous director most of us are familiar with, was completely against non-theatrical releases and delayed the release of his film ‘Tenet’ which was supposed to release in 2020, urging people to watch it only in theatres. He has been a longtime theatre advocate much like a lot of his peers like Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson and more.

In fact, Nolan’s next film Oppenheimer, which released in 2023 alongside Barbie created such a big social media movement “Barbenheimer”, it brought back a huge theatrical audience. The theatre audience still exists now and then, but it has become much more selective. Gen Z usually need a big, trendy reason to go to the theatres.

It doesn’t help that since the pandemic; a lot of movies are released straight on OTT these days, with Netflix Originals and such bypassing a theatrical release. There is a lot of conflict regarding this issue in the film industry with a lot of traditional directors like Nolan emphasizing the importance of theatres while a lot of newer directors are happy enough to get their film made, they can’t make such demands.

Theatre Magic Will Always Remain

While it is perfectly fine to watch a lot of movies at home, as I have done, I also do believe the theatre has to be a prominent source for watching films. There are a lot of films I watch at home that I wished I could have watched at a theatre.

In the case of Indian cinema, there will always be a wide theatrical audiences when it comes to certain stars like Vijay, Ajith, Rajnikanth, Kamal Hasan, etc.. Although, the craze is not as it used to be, it is still there. These movies are made specifically to be seen in theatres since they are not really good quality movies that can be enjoyed at home. As long as Indian cinema keeps producing these, people will keep coming. But it remains to be seen how much longer they will persist as the profits begin to decrease.

Times change and so does the film industry. Gen Z don’t watch as much movies in general as the era of short form content grows stronger. Tiktoks, Instagram reels, Youtube are the primary sources of media which creates a shorter attention span. It makes sense that we would prefer to doomscroll rather than plan an outing to the theatres.

This doesn’t mean that the theatre magic has disappeared. Cinema will always have a say in the cultural and artistic world but for now, it is no longer the primary source of media and that is fine. Theatres will always stay relevant to those who care. 

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