REELING THEATERS
Text and photos by TIM HUNG
CORONAVIRUS AND THE SILVER SCREEN
T
HE WHIFF OF STALE So while it may seem like six-feet social The culprit certainly wasn’t lackluspopcorn and $6 Coca-Colas, distancing is responsible for threatening a ter movies. 2017’s lineup included “Spithe sensation of spine-kick- fatal blow to an otherwise healthy industry, der-Man: Homecoming,” “Wonder Woming and immersive surround in reality, the industry has been on a down- an” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” and chatter — uncherished experiences ward trend for decades. 2019 was a landturned fond memories of a lost era. In “There are fewer mark year for film There are fewer and our current uncertain commercial cross- and fewer reasons to — including the roads, one historic business looks poised go to the theater now- fewer reasons to go to movies “Joker,” “Parto go under: your local movie theater. adays, regardless of the and “Avengthe theater nowadays." asite,” Due to the coronavirus outbreak, cine- whole corona situaers: Endgame.” — ADAM HASHMI, junior mas across the U.S. have been forced to shut tion,” Palo Alto High For the year their doors. In an attempt to stay afloat, School senior Adam Hashmi said. “Corona- 2019, specifically, the culprit is clear: Netflix. many theaters have turned to selling curb- virus might just be an unexpected catalyst.” While the National Association of side popcorn to-go, mirroring the struggles To start, even though a few block- Theater Owners has insisted the rise of of shuttered restaurants across the nation. busters are killing it at the theaters, fewer streaming only stimulates more theatriIt is hard to imagine a world with- people are going to the movies overall. Ac- cal moviegoing, 2019 was a year without out the silver screen, cording to Statista.com, precedent in regards to the caliber of digespecially with box of- It is hard to imagine the number of tickets ital features. Netflix received the most fice records being brosold in North Ameri- Oscar nominations of any company (24) ken left and right. In a world without the ca has been in steady for films like directorial legend Martin 2019, “Joker” became silver screen. decline. An average Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and emerging the highest-grossing 18 million fewer tick- talent Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story”. R-rated film and “Avengers: Endgame” ets have been sold each year since 2002 “Why pay so much to go to the theater nearly doubled the previous record for — a marked decline of nearly 2% per when the newest, best films can be seen on-dethe highest-grossing opening week- year. And the two lowest-selling years of mand, right in our homes?” Hashmi said. end — 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War.” the last two decades? 2017 and 2019. Along with taking away crucial talent from the traditional movie industry, through which theaters earn their cut of the distribution, streaming services can provide much cheaper options — $6 per month for thousands of films as opposed to $10 for one viewing. But that’s not to say movie tickets were always this expensive. According to The Numbers, ticket prices today are 109% higher than they were in 1995 — far outpacing inflation. Furthermore, the theatrical window — the periTEMPORARILY CLOSED — From outside its padlocked doors, downtown Palo Alto's Aquarius Theatre is a somber sight. With only one auditorium, the cozy theater is best known for showing independent and foreign flicks. od of time between
32 JUNE 2020
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