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Chris Suellentrop: Is this downturn in moviegoing an existential threat to Hollywood, the way that journalism is in crisis because of the internet and changes in habits? Will it change the kind of movies we see? Why do I care about this?
Matt Belloni: Because there will be a time, likely in the next five years, where you do decide to go to your local multiplex to see a movie, or go on a date, or spend some time with your kid — and it’s not there anymore. We are likely going to see a contraction in the theater business. The United States in particular is over-screened.
The construction of movie theaters in the ’80s and ’90s went completely bananas with the rise of the cineplex and the rise of the traditional summer blockbuster — and then year-round blockbuster. And the tentpole business, which is what the studios are in now — they know that to compete with streaming, they have to create theatrical experiences that people will say, “I need to see it now and I need to see it in a theater.”
And for the most part, that means pre-branded intellectual property, stuff you already know, sequels to movies you’ve already seen and loved, or certain genres like horror and big action movies. That is what’s called “theatrical” in the business now. Everything else goes to streaming.
Alyssa Rosenberg: What is the optimistic version of the future of theaters and do you think it’s actually even likely or possible?
Belloni: I think there is a future for theaters, but it will necessarily be a smaller, more boutique, more niche — and likely more expensive experience. This whole notion with when movies started in the ’20s and ’30s, it was for everyone. It was the populist art. If you had a quarter, you could go to the movies. I don’t think that’s gonna be the case.
People nowadays, they don’t go to the movies, they go to a movie. A movie will pique their interest and they will say, “Okay, I want to see that in a theater.” It’s not the same as it once was, where it was “It’s Friday night, we’re going to the movies, what’s playing?” I don’t think it’s gonna be like Broadway. I don’t think it’s gonna be opera. But it might be like sporting events, where people who care go and people who don’t just don’t go and don’t care.
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