As COVID continues to affect our world, cinemas continue to be closed down and even be completely abandoned. Even with theaters reopening, very few people have the time, money, energy or patience to go to the theater, especially those who never liked theaters to begin with. Thankfully, streaming services supply users with a vast amount of movies to choose from, some even being exclusive.
Streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and more have risen in prominence within the last decade. And now it seems, especially with the pandemic going on, streaming services have taken over the film market. Netflix alone has a wide selection of original films, ranging from high school rom-coms to science fiction and horror to animated kids films. Some movies, like Disney’s 2020 remake of Mulan, were released on streaming while still costing money.
On top of streaming, some studios have also taken to releasing their films to DVD and on Video On Demand. Movies released right before the outbreak, such as Birds of Prey, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Onward were pulled from theaters and put onto Video On Demand and DVD (except Onward also was put onto Disney+). Other movies, such as Trolls World Tour and Scoob! were simply put their films straight onto Video on Demand and skipped cinemas all together.
Movie theaters continue to thrive, however. In the case of Weatherford’s own Film Alley, they’ve taken to showing older films alongside newer ones. They’re also enforcing new guidelines for optimum safety, such limiting party sizes to 10 people maximum. On top of their traditional theater experience, they also allow customers to rent out an entire theatre and watch any film of their choice for $110.
It’s no doubt that streaming has definitely taken over the way most people watch movies, even if theaters have survived. The common living room might not be as fancy or whimsical as a cinema, but there’s no doubt that streaming has made a major impact in how people watch movies. Movie theaters, however, have survived through the advent and rise of television, so they may still be around long after COVID dies down.