If there's a surefire way to make sure this writer -- who, according to her Letterboxd app, has watched 54 films this year alone -- never sets foot inside a theater again, some of the suggestions on this list will do it.
Movie theaters are struggling in a post-COVID lockdown (thanks, politicians!), woke Hollywood world where streaming services are ubiquitous.
So they're trying to come up with ways to entice viewers back into the seats:
Movie theaters are trying everything to bring audiences back — from pickleball to cocktail bars https://t.co/okWfaX6v15 pic.twitter.com/PKKcPqCSM3
— New York Post (@nypost) March 28, 2025
More from The New York Post (emphasis added):
They want butts in seats.
Years after the pandemic forced movie theaters across the country to close down — sending everyone home to their streaming devices — cinema chains are struggling to figure out how to bring audiences back.
And they’re looking at everything — from lifting strict anti-phone policies to raucous sing-alongs.
'We need to find a way to get people back into the habit of going to theaters,' John Fithian, co-founder of consulting firm The Fithian Group, told Variety. 'You can’t stay stuck in a 100-year-old way of doing business — that’s not going to work anymore.'
No, no, no, no, no.
This will actually hasten the demise of movie theaters.
A couple of years ago, this writer saw 'Godzilla Minus One' in the theater and a woman kept pulling out her phone whenever the titular monster wasn't on the screen. Which was distracting in a movie where the dialogue is in Japanese and you have to read subtitles.
(Aside, 'Godzilla Minus One' is a great movie worth a watch).
Want audiences back?
— NC Optimist (@NC_Optimist) March 28, 2025
1) Lower ticket prices
2) Higher quality movies
3) Enforce rules against disruptive viewers
Correct.
It's not that the '100-year-old way of doing business' doesn't work anymore, it's that there are too few good movies and too many disruptive viewers.
Try making good movies.
— Texas Darlin' 🎀 (@TexitDarling) March 29, 2025
This is a common refrain.
Theaters could also buy and play classic movies -- imagine the killing they'd make if they played the 1937 animated 'Snow White' instead of the 'reimagined' trainwreck.
This writer also saw 'Interstellar' on its iMax re-release a few months ago. Theater was packed.
How about…instead of pickleball… pic.twitter.com/h5kFY3B0hz
— Brutus Maximus (@BRVTVSMAXIMVS) March 29, 2025
Or sing-alongs. Or weed policies. Or lax phone policies.
Maybe if Hollywood would go back to developing good movies rather than garbage people would start showing up. 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
— Ikta (@IktaSentrosi) March 28, 2025
Exactly. And start casting celebrities who don't openly hate half the movie-going population.
Looking at you, Disney and Rachel Zegler.
Theaters are cooked
— Robert Hughes (@_startupalchemy) March 29, 2025
Most people are willing to wait a few months to watch movies from the comfort of their homes.
The only way to fix this is to make really top tier movies and space out the time more to between the release and becoming available for streaming
BINGO.
You had to wait months, if not upwards of a year, for a movie to go to video.
Streaming is a big problem here, and if theatres don't demand longer periods before a movie drops on streaming, they will go out of business.
If you could guarantee me a phone-free theater filled with well-behaved people, showing only movies more than 15 years old, I’d go a few times a month!
— Rocky Mountain High (@subsix848) March 29, 2025
Fantasy. https://t.co/yZJbr5DGzV
So would a lot of other people.
Stop making crappy movies?
— tree hugging s*ster 🎃 (@WelbornBeege) March 29, 2025
Just stabbing in the dark here. https://t.co/318MxHExN9
Worth a shot.