Movie Theaters Are Coming Back (for the Saddest Reason)

It's a five-letter word that starts with G.

What’s killing movie theaters? Pretty much everything.

COVID started the process. But after the pandemic, Netflix did more damage than any virus—the company’s CEO told the world that cinemas are outdated. Who needs a multiplex, when you’ve got a tiny home screen and a lumpy couch?

It didn’t help that Disney and Paramount also decided to bypass theaters and stream directly to home screens. Add in Apple, Amazon, HBO, and all those other cinema-killers—and now you’ve got more suspects and weapons than a game of Clue.

The results have been devastating. Between 2019 and 2025, movie ticket sales dropped from 1.24 billion to 780 million—a bloodcurdling decline of 38%. I can practically hear Professor Plum screaming from the billiard room.

But things will now change. Movie theaters are coming back.

And for the least likely of reasons.

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For years, people like me have been begging Hollywood to support theatrical distribution. We had persuasive reasons:

• Showing films in theaters is good for audiences, because it’s the best possible way of experiencing cinema.

• Showing films in theaters is good for filmmakers, because it amplifies the artistry and grandeur of the idiom.

• Showing films in theaters is good for communities, because it supports the local creative ecosystem and provides jobs in the neighborhood.

But I now anticipate a huge increase in theater ticket sales over the next 18 months, and it will be for none of those reasons.