In three weeks a new film is coming out, and you’re super excited about it. What’s more likely? Are you going to head to the theater and pay $13 for a ticket? Or are you going to head to your streaming service and watch it there? I’m guilty of it too. Why should I go to the theater and watch it there with the overpriced snacks and the kid behind you kicking your seat? It’s the 21st century. I should be able to relax in my living room and watch the movie from the comfort of my couch with my snacks, right?

When you go to a theater, bottom line, you see the movie in a better quality than you would at home. The screen is so much bigger than your TV, laptop, or cell phone screen. The large screen immerses you in the movie and you become part of the reality unfolding on-screen. Not only is the visual experience enhanced, but the speaker system in the theater is better than your sound bar or headphones at home. Filmmakers spend months crafting the sound for your movie, and the surround sound system in the theater will allow you to hear things you probably never would have otherwise heard. The point of watching a movie is to escape into a different reality. To enter the different reality well, you need good visuals and audio. 

Being in a theater helps you to focus on the movie. In our day and age, when we watch a movie at home, we are prone to be distracted. We often scroll on our mini screens while the movie plays on a larger screen. In a theater, the films hold our full attention because we can’t be on our phones or talk to other people. A lack of distraction creates an environment for a more enjoyable movie because you can focus on the story, understand the symbolism and message, and appreciate the work and detail the filmmakers put into a film. 

Watching a newly released movie in a theater is a great experience. One of my favorite theater experiences was going to “Avengers: Infinity War” because I watched it in a full theater the night it was released. The energy was high. Experiencing the shocks, twists, and turns with a group of people was so fun. We gasped, cheered, and held back our tears together. The energy is lost when you’re sitting on your couch with two or three friends (or alone).

You go to a theater to watch a movie, but at home you’re watching a movie to pass the time or as a distraction. 

Why do we like streaming services? We like them because they satisfy our desires immediately. We can watch what we want when we want it. We can squeeze in 20 minutes of the movie here and 30 minutes there. Practice some self-restraint and patience. Our lives are filled with work, to-do lists, and packed schedules. What do we lack in our lives? Patience. Wait until the movie comes out. Wait in line to buy a ticket. Sit through the previews and get excited about the films coming up. Watch the film in one sitting. That’s how it was designed to be watched. Respect the people who poured years of their lives into the film, and give the film your attention.

The theaters are dying, and COVID-19 was the catalyst. Theaters closed, and people still wanted to see their movies. During this time, many movies were released directly onto a streaming platform and skipped their time in the box office. Now that the theaters are back open, people have lost interest in seeing the movies in the theater. Keep your local theater afloat because theaters need to be supported. If you want good films to continue to be produced, you need to support theaters.

I don’t know about you, but I am willing to pay a little bit more money for an enhanced movie experience. I will continue to watch new movies in the theaters simply because I appreciate the value it brings to an individual movie, and also because I want to see the film industry thrive. I can support the industry by going to the theaters, and so should you.