As you enter the cinema, you instantly smell the buttery popcorn. As you walk through the hallway to your theater, you see on the walls the posters for upcoming movies. You excitedly talk to your friends about how you want to see this or that new movie. Inside the theater, you’re halfway done with your popcorn before the movie even starts. When the lights dim, everyone in the theater cheers, and the excitement soars.
When comparing watching movies at the movie theater to watching them at home, it doesn’t even seem like a fair comparison. At the cinema, it is a transportation into the movie. There are surround speakers that blast the sound. The screen is huge and high quality. There is a sense of community with the others in the theater with you, as you all react to the same twists and turns of the movie. Because of this, it feels like you are being sucked into the world of the movie, and it’s easy to lose yourself in a good adventure.
Most people agree with my stance. Based on a survey taken by PHS students, 85% say that when a new movie is out, they are more likely to go to the movie theater to see it.
But, the other 15% who prefer streaming movies have some valid points to back their opinion. Some people like watching movies at home because they can pause the movie at any time. Also, it often costs less to watch movies at home. Some movies you can find for free on streaming services. Renting movies often costs less than $5.
During the COVID pandemic, streaming services came in handy. We couldn’t go to the theater, so watching movies at home became our only option. The lockdown is now over, but many people I know still haven’t gone to the cinema since COVID. Based on the survey, 14% of students went to the movie theater more before the COVID lockdown.
Ever since the pandemic, new Disney films have come to Disney+ after a couple of weeks. This makes some people decide to just wait until the movie is on Disney+ to watch it. For example, Inside Out 2 was playing in theaters starting June 24, 2024. It was available on Disney+ less than three months later, on Sept. 25. The same goes for Netflix and Max; because many new popular movies are available to be streamed there within a few weeks of its theater release.
People have loved the cinema for over a century. But still, the cinema is very popular with the current generation. Based on the PHS student survey, 85% of students prefer to see films at the theater.
“Movie magic simply cannot reach its fullest potential without the necessary aid of the good old movie theater,” film critic Fiona Creadon says in Visit Movie Theaters.
Experience what made people fall in love with movie theaters from the very beginning: the Dolby Surround Sound speakers that reach up to 104 decibels, IMAX screens that provide the highest quality visuals, and of course, delicious and buttery popcorn that always seems to taste better at the cinema than anywhere else.
