Introduction

Let me preface this article by saying this—I hope I’m wrong with my title. When I was younger, I’d go to the movies all the time with either my parents or my friends, and we’d watch whatever new movie released that month. I didn’t care that popcorn and soda cost a bit of my allowance, and I equally didn’t care that it was a school night, meaning I’d get home and probably wouldn’t sleep thinking about the film I just watched.

Movie theaters have been around since the early 1900s and have been a staple for those wanting to go out on a date, escape the summer heat, or just escape the current world and see a new one via the giant screen in front of them. However, in recent years, movie theaters have consistently faced financial ruin. It isn’t unheard of to see local mom-and-pop theaters go bankrupt and shut their doors abruptly. A slew of issues has plagued movie theaters over the last few decades—from the fact we can watch most movies at home and pay a small fee or wait until they release on Blu-ray/DVD, to the impact of COVID-19, which didn’t help social gathering places like theaters. Regardless of the numerous reasons, movie theaters are destined to die, and here’s why I think it won’t be much longer—sadly.

The Cost for Them and You

I’m not going to mention the various ways to save on movie tickets via apps and such, but instead focus on the two biggest threats to movie theaters: the cost to air a movie in a theater and the cost we face as moviegoers. I won’t claim to be an expert in the cost of bringing a popular movie to a local or chain theater, but I know from friends in the industry that it isn’t cheap. Movie theaters can negotiate prices, but often they are forced to give upwards of 75% of their earned revenue for a movie to the film’s rights owner. That makes sense to some degree—the theater didn’t make the movie, the studio did, and they spent the most to bring the director’s vision to life.

That being said, with everything rising in price, this means movie theater rent has also risen, forcing them to charge more just to make some form of income. It seems cruel to spend anywhere from $12–$20 for a movie ticket, but come on… even games are becoming more expensive.

The second issue plaguing theaters is the lack of people actually going. Some simple research on my end showed that over the last several years, movie attendance has dropped almost 17%, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping. Can you blame us? I understand the cost of making a movie and how hard it is for theater owners to make money, but I recently saw The Fantastic Four: The First Steps (read my review here), and after buying tickets, two sodas, and a giant popcorn, I was looking at nearly $60! I could easily buy a movie and snacks for home for maybe $30, making it hard to justify going to the theater. That’s why I rarely see a lot of movies—and between work and time, I can just wait until it releases on one of my subscription services and watch it there.

Owning a Movie

Let’s rewind to when I mentioned a person could just wait to buy a movie on Blu-ray/DVD. Movies in the past would take quite a while to be released physically—unless you got yourself a very sketchy and illegal bootleg of said movie—and that could be tough to deal with. One, you don’t want to be that person avoiding spoilers as friends and coworkers talk about the latest summer hit. Two, it could be a movie you wanted to see so badly but now must wait for a physical release. Or lastly, by the time it comes out, you’ve either forgotten about it or it’s no longer worth it to you.

Still, despite these issues, owning a movie means you save tons of money versus seeing it on the big screen. You may lose that theater experience, but some of my friends have home setups that rival the movies. On top of that, I can see the movie 50 times and still only have paid maybe $20. That’s a steal in my book, and many would follow suit rather than spend big at the theaters.

Streaming… Seriously

Streaming services are getting out of control as of 2025. I own maybe six streaming services, and I use most of them often. I know that might be even less than what some others have! Regardless of my poor money choices, streaming is without a doubt going to annihilate movie theaters. Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max, and others are buying up numerous movies the minute they can, and often you can watch major releases there. During COVID, most movies were available to watch on various platforms to maintain social distancing. Even now in 2025, many movies find their way onto streaming services rather than being exclusive to theaters. I can guarantee that in a few years, many more streaming platforms will have quicker access to films, and more people will stay home rather than go out to a dark theater.

One important deal to pay attention to was the recent release of Happy Gilmore 2 exclusively on Netflix. The huge success of viewership it drew in was shocking, to say the least. This could be the momentum streaming services need in order to remain on top and eliminate their competitors…movie theaters. Unless the two industries can work together on how to sustain each other, one will end up dominating and the other, well… You know…

Conclusion

I want to believe I’m wrong and that all of this won’t spell the end of movie theaters, but unless you’re ignoring reality, you can’t dismiss the signs. Movie theaters are dying out quickly, and there doesn’t seem to be any boon in sight to reverse the trend. I don’t think they’ll disappear in just a few years, but maybe within a decade, they’ll be almost all gone—relics of the past like drive-in movie theaters. I hope I’m wrong, but for now… it seems to be the destined fate for the once-golden screens we used to adore.

ーAaron