Imagine going to see a new movie, excited not only to see it, but to watch it with others who feel similarly. Just to get to the theater and see it empty. Disappointed, you take your seat and watch the movie by yourself, taking an element of the movie away.

For decades, going to the movies has been a staple activity. It was something everyone does, maybe not all the time, but more than once a month. Now, there are many people who don’t go to the movies, and if they do go, it’s usually not more than once or twice a month. This is leading many movie theatres to go out of business.

Recently there has been an influx in the amount of movie theaters closing. This is caused mainly by the pandemic. People were advised to stay home, and if they had to leave, to try to be in open spaces with not a lot of people. Because theaters are enclosed spaces that have many people sharing the space, people stopped going during the pandemic. This made theaters lose tons of money, causing many to close. According to Variety as many as 5,691 have closed as of this past spring.

Movie theaters closing has brought about a new way of releasing movies, straight to streaming. While this is convenient for many, it can’t replace the experience of going to the movies. Even today, well after the pandemic has ended, there is a large amount of movies that are released directly to streaming. While they may also be accompanied with a theater release, people are more likely to stay at home and watch the movie than to go out to a theater and see it.

With the loss of people going to theaters, some of the magic of going to the movies is lost. One of the best parts of going to see a movie is seeing it with other people. Sharing the laughs with strangers is just part of what makes the movies so amazing.

Some may argue that going to the movies is expensive. While this may be correct, the experience of going to the movies is worth the amount it is for a ticket and some concessions.

Though it is not realistic to expect everyone to go see every new movie, going at least once or twice a month keeps theaters in business, and the generational experience of the theater alive.