The smell of fresh movie theater popcorn wafts through the air while the lights dim and the movie starts to play.

 The sad truth is that fewer people are going to movie theaters. There are many reasons for this, but the main reason is because of the surge of online movie streaming options. According to Statista.com, only 14 percent of adults said that they strongly preferred seeing a movie for the first time in theaters. One reason is because they would rather watch movies in the comfort of their own homes.

Another reason for this is cost. The average movie theater ticket in the U.S can be anywhere from $11 – $16. Although people still have to pay to stream new movies from home, they do not have to buy expensive drinks or snacks from the movie theater. 

One reason the movie theaters are shutting down that people overlook is the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic forced movie theaters to close and people had to start using home viewing options. This also created a surge in companies trying to exploit this. Also because of this it has made it hard for movie theaters to recover, and get to their pre-pandemic box office levels. Which creates an infinite loop and makes it hard for the theaters to stay open.

In theater experiences have also become more common. This can include anything from using your phone during the movie to completely disturbing the movie. This was a big thing with a relatively new movie that was released this year, “ The Minecraft Movie.” This movie packed the theaters, but a Tiktok trend was created where people would go into the theaters and scream the lines from the movie that would soon become a meme. This got so bad some people were sneaking in live chickens and silly string into the theaters to go along with the screaming during the movie. While this is one of the most recent movies to pack a theater like that, it was not ideal for people that went there and were wanting to watch the movie in peace. This does not make the movie theaters look very good and certain people could be affected if they ever go back.

Besides alternative ways to watch new movies, another reason for limited crowds in theaters is the lack of hyped up movies. The movies that got the most crowds recently have been sequels like Zootopia 2 and Avatar Fire and Ash. As sequels, these only appealed to people who have seen the previous movies. If society wants to keep movie theaters around, the first step is to create new blockbuster movies instead of sequels.

I believe that movie theaters were here way before us and they will be here long after us. Even though people can make alternatives for streaming options, nothing can replace the feeling someone gets when they go to the theater with their friends and family.