The last film I saw in theaters was “Project Hail Mary.” Stepping out with my brother and dad, after our takes on whatever we just watched or listened to — the post-experience debrief is essential — but something about doing it during the walk out of the theater heightens it tenfold for me. I felt like I had stars in my eyes as I expressed my enjoyment in the movie, my head still spinning from the story, cinematography, acting and everything else that made it so great.
There’s a difference between finishing a great movie in a theater versus in your living room. The screens are huge; the only lights are those of the film and the sounds come at you from every angle. It’s far more immersive than your home television and speaker setup; it’s an entirely engrossing experience.
On top of that, the effort it takes to create a popular movie is worth appreciating in the environment it was made for. Films with beautiful cinematography and engaging sound work play best on the big screen. Movies are still good when experienced in a more relaxed viewing atmosphere, but they’re robbed of the chance to truly thrive like they can in the theater.
Movie-going is a very communal experience. It is more than experiencing it with the people you went to the theater with, every other person in your theater goes through the movie with you. You jump together, laugh together and hold your breath together. Movies capturing the human experience are meant to be experienced with other humans.
Movies like Barbie and the Minecraft Movie brought together so many people and became national phenomena. They set trends of wearing pink to the theater and being your most obnoxious self in the cinema. Those cultural moments were all about getting excited about the film, spending time with people and experiencing them together.
My family and I are avid movie watchers. When the awards season comes around, movies become much more salient. I remember talking to someone a few days before the Academy Awards asking if they’d watched my personal favorite of the lineup for best picture, Hamnet. Their reply was, “No, it’s still $30 on Amazon Prime.”
This bothered me for multiple reasons. One, who on Earth is paying that much for a movie just to watch it on their couch, and two, why not just go to the theater?
In a post-COVID world, streaming sites have been thriving like never before. Less people are going to the theater. But theaters aren’t solely about movies. They’re about the overall experience where a film is transformed into a shared moment for everyone in your theater, strangers and friends alike.
When you choose to skip out of the theater release, you’re also skipping out on the active culture happening within the walls of a theater.
Often, movies don’t go to streaming services immediately. It takes a few weeks after the movie has been in theaters for it to be available. Even then, the prices are about as much as they’d be to go out and watch it. The later streaming releases mean missing out on the initial hype and excitement for movies that might’ve already become a staple of the latest pop culture movements.
Movies reflect and feed our culture, influencing trends like fashion fads, popular music and slang. When they first come out, it’s all anyone in entertainment spaces are talking about. By watching them once streaming, you miss out on the cultural experiences movie-going creates.
Streaming services fall short on all the great things that make watching movies something fun to do. Theaters provide an immersive, communal experience that lets you be a part of culture as it happens. There are a lot of great films at the movies right now and Amherst cinema is about a three-minute drive while the Hadley Cinemark is around ten. So, what are you waiting for? Grab some friends, pick a movie and go watch it!
Grace Blawie can be reached at [email protected]