The movie industry has gone through so many changes in the past several years. People are actually starting to question whether the movie industry is going to survive in its current form. The COVID-19 pandemic has essentially halted the movie theater business, and many movies are being released on streaming platforms now. Some movies are even having simultaneous releases in movie theaters and streaming platforms.
The Convenience of Streaming Video
Streaming video services are undeniably convenient, and many people love just being able to go to Netflix to turn on a movie at any time. No matter what your preferred streaming service is, it’s easy to see the appeal of being able to watch movies or shows at any time from the comfort of home. While watching movies at home is nothing new, being able to stream thousands of movies whenever you want is still great. Some people don’t think that it’s worth it to get up and go out to the movie theater any longer when they can just watch so many different movies at home.
When you combine this with the fact that there are many original movies premiering on stream platforms, it’s easy to see why the movie industry is changing. If you take a look at many of the most talked-about movies and television shows of the past two years or so, you’ll see that many of them premiered on Netflix. A movie doesn’t need to release in a movie theater any longer to reach a large audience. In some ways, hitting it big on Netflix or another huge streaming platform is more culturally relevant.
Pandemic Issues and Movie Theater Closures
It’s also true that many movie theaters have closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have opened back up in limited capacities, but not every movie theater has been able to survive. The American movie theater industry is in a drastically different situation than it was in 2019, and many movies have been pushed back because movies just aren’t doing big box office right now. You’ll find that many big upcoming movies, such as the new Ghostbusters film, have been stuck in limbo.
Time will tell whether the movie theater industry will go back to normal. In the years before the pandemic, box office records were being shattered by Marvel movies left and right. Will those times return, or will the Marvel movies start to become big events on Disney+ rather than making hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office? No one has the answers right now, but the future of the movie industry is certainly up in the air.