Is it happening?
I’ve gotten my hopes up before and I’ve been burned badly. Specifically, when it comes to being excited about movies (and sports and music and lots of other things but that’s a different conversation). Before 2023 started, it felt as though this year had the potential to be a good – if not great – movie year. So far, I can say with confidence that it has exceeded my expectations. The best part? We still have 4 months left with some real BANGERS waiting in the queue. David Fincher, Martin Scorsese, Sofia Coppola, Ridley Scott, and Michael Mann (just to name a few) all have films that are set to release later this year, which is just wonderful news for people like me. That aside, there’s been something else that has made this year special for movies. Something that hasn’t felt relevant for quite some time now. That’s right, THEATERS. Theaters are back (for now) and we (I) have been rejoicing.
This year – and summer especially – has been nothing short of spectacular for movie-goers. With all honesty, I thought I might never again see the day when movie theaters were crowded. And I’m not talking just the screening rooms, but the actual buildings themselves. Having been to my local AMC multiple times in the last month or so, I’ve been slightly caught off guard with each experience. I actually had to wait in a real line – with other humans – for the concession stand. Who would’ve thought!? But it didn’t stop there. People were meeting up with friends out front, mingling at the bar to discuss what they had just seen, huddling in little circles around the lobby waiting for their movie to start, taking pictures next to the displays that were set up to market the movies; people were everywhere! The excitement was flowing through the air and the buzz was absolutely real.
So was the nostalgia.
That’s what I remember about movies growing up, and that’s what I’ve longed for for quite some time now. Going to the movies didn’t used to be such an event-based activity. It was just another thing to do, as common as going out to dinner or grabbing drinks at a bar. People would go to the theater without even knowing what they were going to see! They would just walk up to the ticket clerk, look at the movie times listed above, and pick one at random. It was absolutely absurd. Needless to say, those simple and carefree times are but a distant memory now. Even in 2019, before the pandemic effectively destroyed theater-going as we know it, crowded theaters still felt like a rarity. It took something extremely special for people to venture out of the comfort of their homes and see a movie with an audience, and it usually involved some sort of superhero IP and/or a long-awaited sequel. I’m not upset about that, though. A lot of memories that I cherish greatly have stemmed from seeing movies like those on the big screen.
I’ll never forget going to see Avengers: Endgame on opening weekend, all by my lonesome. Only – I wasn’t alone. Sure, I didn’t know a single other person in the theater, but the theater was completely packed. All of us were there for the same cause, anxiously awaiting the three hour event in which we had been preparing for since May of the previous year. I had no idea who the people were that I was surrounded by, but we were sharing an unforgettable experience. Laughing, crying, pondering how the hell Tony Stark effortlessly invented time travel in the dining room of his remote cabin. It was wonderful. And when Captain America lets out the final “Avengers, assemble” and the army of good guys charges into Thanos and his army of bad guys, we all started levitating. In reality, I was probably just standing on my seat but I swear to Odin all of us were ready to take on Thanos and his nutsack of a chin ourselves. The entire theater was screaming and cheering and hollering and you would’ve thought that this giant group of nerds just won the fucking Super Bowl. It was one of the most memorable times I’ve ever had at the movies – and I didn’t know a single person in there. That is the magic of the theater.
In my humble opinion, seeing a movie on a giant screen with a large group of people is simply superior to any other medium of watching. Even though you’re surrounded by total strangers, there’s a comfortability to it. You have a bond with these random people because you’ve all chosen to go see the same movie at the same exact time and location. Just think about how hard it can be to collectively decide on a movie that everyone wants to watch when you’re watching at home with your family or friends or significant other. At the movies, you don’t have to worry about it. It’s already been decided and all you have to do is show up. Everyone who is there is there because they want to watch the same movie you do! Sounds pretty ideal to me. So, the real question is, can they even be considered total strangers if it’s so easy to have something in common with them?
The majority of this recent theater mania can be credited to two MASSIVE hits from this summer, and I’m sure you can guess what they are. The same-day release of two of the most anticipated movies in years (Barbie and Oppenheimer) did the best they could to transport us back to the heyday of movie theaters. And it worked. Tremendously. But unfortunately, all good things must eventually come to an end. The corresponding writers’ and actors’ strike could very well send movie theaters back to the shadows, so let me say this: We must not mourn that which we lost but instead cherish the time we had with it. Or whatever the hell the saying is. Either way, I’ve enjoyed this forgotten ripple of the movie-going experience enormously and will continue to do so with whatever limited time we have left. Who knows, maybe that epic collision of events that was “Barbenheimer” will get people excited about going to the movies again, no matter what they are seeing.
One can only hope.
The Hollow Muse 