Let's think about the past decade of movies...action flicks, raunchy comedies, and super hero movies. In between all the noise were some gems, many of which remain favorites of many. When will be the next film renaissance to grab everyone's attention? Arguably the last time it happened was the late 70s into the 80s. Lucas, Kubrick, Scorsese, down to Tarantino and Nolan paved the way showing how art house films can have mass appeal. I've found movies to have been quite the opposite lately, very standardized, heavy template use, and overall easy to pass on.
What does the future hold?
Enter COVID-19 March 2020. AMC has shut down for 3+ months and talks of a positive rebound are slim. If AMC can't make it, would Regal, Cinemark, or other small independent theaters survive?
Enter streaming platforms... Will these companies be able to survive on straight to VOD? Will people pay? Will a huge industry topple?
My thoughts are yes, the movie theater industry will topple. Think back to the 90s, Tower Records, a huge music distributor in the nation, where are they now? Closed down. It was unthinkable to any music lover that the beloved store could shutter its doors. Enter the mp3, digital download age of music. It was life changing, nothing prevented a band from gaining popularity except their talent. In another 10 or so years something remarkable happened. Vinyl is back, independent record stores are back... owners who used to work or shop at huge music retailer stores hoping to bring that brick and mortar feel in their own communities. The industry is alive again, with a new found love and appreciation.
Could the same happen to Theaters? Big and small theaters going out of business, forcing all to stream and now bye bye popcorn smell. But in 10 or so years what could happen? A resurgence? A renaissance? A new found love for the cinema with now independent theaters popping up. They don't show super hero movies, they show original artistic movies that people who craved real cinema had made while people we're streaming billion dollar movies on their cellphones. Could it happen? Will it happen? Given the history of the music industry I think it will, I hope it will, because in the end it could yield a new found resurgence for cinema.
Submitted June 06, 2020 at 04:55AM by jaycharpomp https://ift.tt/3gURJdo