I haven’t been to the theater since 2011. As someone who has lived at or below the poverty line my whole life, it was always a luxury to go anyways, more so in recent years and not just due to monetary expense. So when I see social media rants, blog posts, articles, and videos saying nothing is like the theater experience and how people need to go see movie there or they’re not real movie fans or supporters of their favorite genre (especially among the horror community) I cannot help but roll my eyes. They go on and on about big screen, big noise, forced focus (lack of distraction by phones, lives, etc), and how this is how directors and creators intended their movie to be viewed. The thing is, I agree that nothing is like the theater experience but not necessarily for the same reasons.

Expense

In case you haven’t noticed, the price of everyday items and the not so every day ones keep going up. What the average person makes doing full time work however is not on the rise. So when theater prices keep climbing, its harder and harder to spent the money to go.

If my partner and I go see a movie tonight, a Sunday evening, and say we share a popcorn and each have a drink, the total cost (not including tax or fees) is $58.52. For us, living pay check to pay check with a small entertainment budget, it comes down to going to see a movie once a month OR spending that budget on a couple of streaming services with cash left over for cheaper snacks and drinks through out the month. Its not a difficult decision to make when you look at one movie sitting or multiple sittings for multiple movies on services that will likely get the movie we wanted to see in theaters eventually.

Covid

Say money isn’t the problem. Covid is still present among us and while people continue to go around unmasked, unvaxxed, and ignoring their symptoms in favor of moving around in the world, there is still a strong risk of infection. With each Covid infection there is the additional risk of Long Covid and various health issues. It is a mass disabling event so sitting in a movie theater for a long period of time, up close with people that don’t respect their own health much less the person next to them, isn’t appealing to many of us.

Interesting enough, a lot of people blame Covid for the fall in theater attendance but articles about the decline were coming out before 2020. In 2017 The Verge released an article listing the decline in attendance and in revenue at theaters. While Covid is a valid reason not to attend, it likely isn’t the killing blow to theaters a lot of people claim it to be.

Disability Access

Theater seats and access isn’t the most comfortable situation to watch a movie in anyways but the situation is even worse for disabled attendees. While theaters, like any public place of business, are legally required to be accessible for all, it doesn’t mean that they are compliant.

In 2018, Deaf voices were heard across the US with the premiere of A Quiet Place in theaters. They all called out for theater accessibility. Subtitles are supposed to be available for deaf and hard of hearing attendees but many theaters weren’t compliant or the subtitles themselves did not work like they should have (dropping off screen too quickly, blurry, and other issues). Then there was the backlash — abled theater goers complaining about the subtitles and not caring about their fellow attendees who needed them.
You can read more about it here.

For those who use wheelchairs, access to theaters becomes even more complicated. Handicap seats often have to be reserved in advanced and are not available on demand (and in either case are very limited). Said seating is often in the front row which all theater goers know to be the worst seats in the house. Kristen Lopez, in their article How Movie Theaters Are Failing Viewers with Disabilities, shared Tiara Simmons’ story. “Simmons had an issue at a New York Regal when a family used the wheelchair space for a stroller. Simmons was told by a manager that the seats were “first come, first served.” The party was asked to move but refused. Simmons didn’t get any compensation, such as a return ticket, for being unable to see the movie.”

Mass shootings

In the United States there have been 261 mass shootings in 2024 to date. Shootings in theaters have happened and are on my mind every time every time a friend or loved one goes to one or when I contemplate going to one. Twelve people were killed in a theater shooting in 2012, two in 2015 (nine injured), two in 2021, and so on.

Admittedly, I suffer from anxiety and gun violence is a threat everywhere in the United States until we have nation wide gun reform, but sitting in a crowded theater to watch a movie where this is a risk isn’t high on my to-do list when I could be in the comfort of my home.

Comfort

Seeing the rants about how movie theaters are best for the experience of seeing the movie often refer to this weird situation of forced focus. They cite that we won’t be distracted by our phones or our lives (getting up to do something and missing key parts). When discussing this, many of my friends who fall under the neurodiverse spectrum disagreed. One shared that they could concentrate better on what they were watching if their hands were busy doing something like crochet or a puzzle. Fidgeting in the theater with a quiet fidget toy does help but its not the same. Another pointed out that having to get up to go to the bathroom happens in the theater too but at least at home they can pause the movie. Lastly, a few of us who are fat or plus sized pointed out that the seats themselves often aren’t particularly accommodating to larger bodies so the idea of being more comfortable in a theater was laughable.

Movie nights for me mean sitting on my comfortable thrifted couch with cozy cover, my dog snoozing warmly in my lap, favorite snacks nearby, and a movie on my large tv with surround sound speakers. I don’t have to crane my neck, listen to strangers around me, and I can pause, fidget or move around as I like. What could be more comfortable than that? I don’t think I’m losing anything by not experiencing something super large, super loud, and super new right at the moment its released to the public.

People being People (also derogatory)

I mentioned strangers around me. That is also a very tricky part. Say they don’t have Covid, perhaps they’re even masking, are just as excited to see the movie, and there’s no danger of someone bringing in a firearm and ending things. There’s still the chance that they might be enjoying the movie…too much.
This was the case with theater goers in Detroit at a viewing of Love Lies Bleeding. Man was caught with his genitalia out, passed out, in the theater. Not my idea of a good movie date and surely not what people writing about how theaters are the ideal movie watching experience are referring to.

All this to say, see the movie how you are able to see it but don’t think for a second that the fan on the couch streaming a movie is any less a fan than the person in the theater.