For over a century, the cinema has been a cultural institution — a place where people go to experience stories that are larger than life on screen, and escape for several hours from their lives in the outside world.
Yet, in the current age of streaming, traditional cinema is undergoing a profound transformation, and many argue that theatres are dying. To many, particularly the younger generation, movie watching culture is still alive and well — but the way we watch films may be forever changed.
“I can’t remember the last time I sat down in a movie theater and watched a movie. It has to have been with my family or friends years ago,” said Nadia Gomez, a senior at Arizona State University and DVC alumni.
Gomez’s experience may apply not only to other members of Gen Z, but to the broader movie-watching culture as a whole. The rise of Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Disney+, and other streaming services in recent years has fundamentally altered people’s viewing habits, as audiences favor convenience over tradition and, in most cases, opt for the comfort and lower cost of watching a movie from their own home.
This shift became most prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when movie theaters closed worldwide and studios released new films directly on streaming platforms, changing the whole notion of a “movie release.”
From the Golden Age of Hollywood to the rise of blockbusters in the late 20th century, movie-going represented more than just buying a pricey ticket to see your favorite film in theaters. It symbolized the cinema community, ritual, and culture.
But now, some wonder if that culture will return in the same way.
“After the pandemic, it was really clear that no one even wanted to go to the movie theater anymore,” Gomez said.
Alex Noor, a sales representative at Netflix, the world’s earliest and most successful streaming service, saw the change from his front row seat.
“During the pandemic, I felt a shift in how people were responding to our platform, and how, overnight, it seemed like everyone bought a Netflix subscription,” said Noor.
Now, people are less willing to pay or go out of their way to get tickets when they can just watch at home for a fraction of the cost — even if that fraction is rising.
“Although theaters have since reopened, the patterns established in lockdown five years ago have persisted,” Noor added.
“Movie ticket prices have gone up, but don’t get me wrong, so have subscriptions for streaming services. You have to pay more for ad-less content, which doesn’t make a lot of people happy.”
According to an article in Commercial Appeal, over about the last decade, “the price for the standard plan has increased 180%, and the premium plan has increased 208% in the same 12-year period.”
Streaming has also reshaped the way movies are made and consumed. Five years ago, building anticipation for theater releases was all the rave.
Today, streaming services flood audiences with advertising and trailers in a way that deflates the public sense of anticipation that used to build ahead of a film’s theater release.
“There are so many spoilers and conspiracy theorists online that ruin the experience of watching a movie for the first time,” said Gomez.
“I don’t remember being spoiled about anything when I was 12 or 13 before going to the movies with my friends,” she recalled. “We felt every emotion for the first time when watching something on the big screen. It felt almost freeing.”
A 2025 Pew Research survey found that as many as 83 percent of Americans are using some form of streaming services — which might help explain the lack of audiences supporting theaters of late.
“The last time I was in a movie theater it was a ghost town. Only one of four concession stands were open, and the employees had a negative attitude,” Noor added, which “definitely sets the tone for the future of cinema culture.”