Editorial from the Chicago Tribune editorial board
These days, people watch movies on their iPhones, their tablets and laptops, and of course in the cozy confines of their living rooms — nestled in couches underneath warm quilts, a spot of wine within reach.
Before the pandemic, moviegoers went to local theaters like CinemaSalem and a slew of megaplexes including the Showcase Cinemas in Revere.
Even in pre-COVID days, however, the siren call of the couch and a movie on Netflix had become increasingly irresistible.
Will that siren call win out, even after the pandemic? Maybe. Like other movie lovers, we’re trying to wrap our heads around Warner Bros. Pictures’ decision to stream all of its releases in 2021 on Warner-owned HBO Max at the same time they play in theaters.
After a month, streaming will stop, though movies will cycle back into HBO Max and other streaming vehicles once interest in a given release at theaters drops.
Knowing that COVID-19 likely will force reduced capacity at movie houses through much or all of 2021, the studio took a bottom-line approach toward getting through another pandemic-challenged year.
But Toby Emmerich, the studio’s chairman, was vague about whether the hybrid model would become the company’s new norm once the health crisis was over. “We have to see what happens,” Emmerich told The New York Times. “We’re not predicting much of anything beyond next year.”
Understandably, the decision sent a shudder through owners of megaplex chains and movie houses, and especially during holiday breaks when moviegoing is tradition.
North Shore residents learned in June about CinemaSalem’s closing and news broke in October that the Showcase Cinemas site is reportedly a future location for Amazon. The Squire Road theater’s days as a movie destination and weekend flea market site are numbered.
Until the pandemic eases, it’s safer to keep microwave popcorn stocked and watch your favorite flicks at home. During the pandemic, you can even support cinema icons like the Music Box by renting their releases online.
But with vaccine distribution underway, we can imagine what post-pandemic movie viewing will look like. Will it include a wholesale shift in movie-watching from theater to living room, on a scale that threatens the future of cinemas?
We hope not.
There’s no substitute for watching a movie inside a cavernous room packed with people bursting into laughter in unison when Jim Carrey’s face contorts, or gasping collectively when the great white clamps its jaws around Quint’s torso. The scent of theater popcorn, the previews, even the sticky floor — it’s all part of that movie house dynamic you can’t replicate at home.
So don’t give in to the couch. We know it’s a siren song, and its pull is powerful. The pause button is a wonderful thing; the kitchen and a fridge full of leftovers are just a few feet away; and your dog, cat or guinea pig can hop on your lap as you settle into movie night.
But you can’t re-create in your living room the movie theater popcorn with a few pumps of warm butter and shaker salt. Fountain soda is much tastier at the movies. And that wide wondrous screen? All of that, we hope, is more than enough to keep the movie theater experience alive and thriving.