Introduction
Well, hello there, fellow adventurers! Blaziker is here for yet another essay and today, I am going to share about something close to not just myself, but to movie fans all across the world, and that is to share about my thoughts on watching movies in theatres.
Ever since the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the world for almost two years, it changed the global movie theatre industry forever as streaming services became a popular alternative for family and friends to gather around and watch movies and TV series together, to the point where we lost movie theatre chains from across the world. Even if the industry was not irreparably impacted by the pandemic, we saw the reduction of movies going to theatres and instead ended up on various streaming services instead in order to cut any potential losses as much as possible.
However, despite this, we still see more moviegoers going to theatres to see movies, especially in my country of Singapore where the number of moviegoers in theatres just keep on growing, even when streaming services are in abundance. I myself have seen to it myself as I had been to theatres to watch latest blockbusters, not just the various animated movies I had reviewed and I came to the conclusion that compared to watching movies on my computer and mobile phones, watching movies in theatres is a more superior experience.
So, today, in this essay, I wanted to share three main reasons why I loved the movie experience in theatres more than that on streaming services and mobile devices and why we still need to support movie theatres and the industry in total.
Reason 1: Superior Movie Viewing Experience
Obviously for me and passionate movie theatre fans, the cinema viewing experience back at home, whether it is watching movies on the computer or on the TV, even with a DVD player in play, is nothing compared to the cinema viewing experience in the actual cinema itself.
Before I go on any further, let me show you my set-ups for watching movies. This is my default set-up for watching movies, and also where I filmed my Instagram Reel reactions to the animated movies I covered at my home in Malaysia:
Here is the set-up whenever I watch movies at my Singapore home:
And finally, here is my set-up if I am watching movies outside:
Comparing those three set-ups, and I feel that even when I have some upgrades on my viewing experience, such as a sound bar in the first set-up or my wireless earbuds for my third set-up, nothing compares to enjoying movies in theatres with comfortable seating, superior sound systems and higher quality projector screens and something, unique personalities in each and every cinema I had visited.
In addition, there is something special about watching movies in theatres with other moviegoers that amps up the movie experience, especially for top-tier blockbusters. Watching movies like Barbie, Oppenheimer and even indie favourites like Poor Things together with other people in cinemas felt so much special as I get to enjoy, laugh and cry at every moment within those movies and the lot, and that is another reason why the movie theatre experience felt so special.
In addition, let us not forget about other ways to watch movies in theatres! While the regular 2D movie experience is still amazing on its own, the alternative screening experiences also improve on the experience, especially when it comes to watching selected movies in IMAX format. Some cinemas also offer premium seating options in premium cinema halls, though I have yet to try out one mostly because they are too expensive, and the regular 2D experience is as good.
Regardless, even if going to cinemas is more expensive and less cost-efficient than watching movies at home (more on that later), I would still prefer going to cinemas to watch movies 9 out of 10 times as the cinemas offer a way superior experience than watching at home in almost every aspect.
Reason 2: Better Movie Selections and Quality
The second movie why watching movies in theatres just feel so much better is that they offer a better quality movie selection compared to streaming services, and no, before you ask, I am only comparing movies releasing in theatres to the original movies produced for streaming services, and not including the movies of the past that are already inside those services.
Alright, let’s face it, there are times where the bad and mediocre movies found a spot in theatres, and that is honestly par for the course if you had been in the industry for quite some time. However, the cinema would usually showcase much higher quality movies and animated movies compared to original movies from streaming services most of the time, especially those from highly acclaimed studios and indie crowd favourites.
It is not just the quality that the movies in theatres are superior in, but also in the variety. While streaming services are also capable of providing you their own movies of various genres, chances are, most of them would probably use similar formulas which resulted in these movies actually feeling the same. Theatres, on the other hand, showcase a whole range of different genres, from different countries and different ways of producing movies, not to mention different movies catering to different types of moviegoers, whether it is adults or families.
Honestly, despite the numerous streaming services in existence, especially with original content, the quality and amount of original content of those streaming services could not compare to the vastly superior quality and variety of movies in theatres, resulting in a variety of moviegoers still going to theatres, especially in Singapore where there are loads of movies, whether from mainstream studios or from indie studios, and film festivals all year around showcasing a different perspective into filmmaking and stories.
Reason 3: Just Like the Good Old Days
The third and final reason I prefer going to cinemas or movie theatres to watch movies is the sense of nostalgia, and yeah, this is coming form someone that was born in the 1990s.
I remember my first ever theatrical experience when I was about 8 years of age, watching Cars in a slightly run-down theatre with my Mum, and the journey to my first theatrical experience was insane. Long before the internet became a global phenomenon, you have to search for movie screening timings in newspapers, you have to travel a bit if you are not close to a theatre (though I was blessed Singapore’s public transport system is one of the best in the world) and you had to hope there are seats available for the seating. Regardless, my Cars screening kick-started my love for cinema, more particularly my speciality in covering animated movies.
Every time I watch a movie in theatres, especially as a movie reviewer specialising in covering animated movies, I let out my inner childhood and enjoy some quiet time watching movies with other moviegoers, including families, while also maintaining my professionalism as an animated movie adventurer covering animated movies as a side hobby.
In contrast, watching movies on the computer and my mobile phone just does not provide the same nostalgic feeling as watching movies in theatres, for obvious reasons. You watch movie either at home or out and about with these devices, and while they provide a more versatile experience, they do not provide that childhood feeling of watching movies in theatres for me.
Therefore, watching movies in theatres just feel like a nostalgic childhood experience that I feel most will appreciate as compared to watching movies elsewhere, and if you grow up watching movies just like me, I am sure you appreciate the sentiment too.
(Some) Reasons Against Watching Movies in Theatres
On the other hand, there are a few reasons why watching movies at home might be better than watching movies in theatres, and even though those reasons do not swayed me from still insisting to watch movies in theatres, there are two major reasons why some might hesitate to watch movies in theatres:
- Watching movies in theatres is now more expensive compared to watching movies on streaming services and online. A typical weekend movie ticket in Singapore costs around S$13 to S$15 (US$9.59 to US$11.07), not including convenience fees for booking tickets online. On the other hand, while a Netflix subscription in Singapore in its most expensive form is S$25.98 (US$19.17), when sharing with a family of four, the costs per month per person goes down to S$6.50 (or US$US$4.80). This is why some families prefer to watch movies at home rather than in theatres
- Some moviegoers are not privileged to live near a cinema, or one that offers a movie they wanted to watch, especially in rural areas. This is on a case by case basis, and for mine, I was fortunate to be in Singapore where it is easy to hop onto a bus and then onto an MRT train (which for those readers is what they would call a ‘subway’) to the nearest station where the cinema is located at, so convenience does not play a huge factor.
However, at the end of the day, the advantages of watching movies in the cinema for me heavily outweighs the disadvantages, and the above factors can be mitigated through certain means. Renting a movie is still an option and I am privileged to be in a country where it is easy to travel anywhere to watch a movie.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these are just a few of the many reasons why I still support watching movies in theatres even with the negative impact the movie theatre industry is suffering from. People have different reasons to support more movies in theatres, but for me, almost everything about watching movies in theatres is just as superior.
For one, the viewing experience in cinemas is superior in almost every aspect, the movie selection is fantastic and provide a wide variety for different moviegoers to enjoy, and finally, it invokes some great memories of the childhood past for me. Regardless of the reasons, do support the cinemas for providing us with so much entertainment and memories for our lifetime, because they deserve to be seen, not be shuttered.
Thank you so much for reading my personal thoughts on watching movies in theatres. I will be taking a break from this Blog to focus on other commitments, but tune in next time as we start exploring more of what the 2nd half of this year the animated movies got to offer. Until next time, see you on the next adventure!
