Will We Go Back to the Movies...And How Long Can Movie Theaters Hold Out If We Don't?

Movie Still from The Broken Hearts Gallery

Me sitting around thinking about a movie for an evening is not an unusual activity.  Me sitting around thinking about a movie I genuinely have no interest in is, well, another story, but that's what happened to me last night.  I under normal circumstances would largely ignore a movie like The Broken Hearts Gallery, a seemingly disposable rom-com produced by Selena Gomez opening in a few weeks.  At the height of the summer blockbuster season, this would just be considered good counter-programming, a date movie that might take a distant third to some giant blockbuster or animated sequel.  But we are not in the height of summer blockbuster season-we're in the middle of a pandemic, and The Broken Hearts Gallery is poised to become the first major studio release to go public as movie theaters begin to open.

This is a big deal, and has a lot of question marks around it for me, both in terms of curiosity of how the public reacts & how filmgoers will react to this more personally.  Let's take a look at the industry first.  Broken Hearts Gallery is one of several major releases that are going to be among the first movies to be released back in theaters in July, alongside Disney's live-action Mulan, Christopher Nolan's Tenet, and the Russell Crowe vehicle Unhinged.  Particularly when it comes to Tenet and Mulan (both movies that would have been amongst the biggest of the summer), this seems like a pretty big bet from the studios that they can turn a profit on films that might have easily been moved to the fall.  As a result, it does look like Hollywood is ready to start betting on the public's willingness to return to movie theaters.

It's also worth noting that movie theaters, which unlike other sheltered industries (retail, restaurants), are in a position where they have not been able to find another online revenue.  Yes, you can stream through movie theaters if you so choose (and you should if you are able-even if it costs extra to do so), but that's not the same sort of revenue that a used bookstore or a popular eatery might be able to assume.  AMC, the world's largest theater chain, announced last week that they were considering filing for bankruptcy or closing down permanently, so we're in a position here where an entire industry might not be able to survive if there isn't some sort of revenue stream, and it seems extremely doubtful that Donald Trump is going to sign a bill that would be able to help movie theaters stay afloat (considering his antipathy toward coastal elites and artists).

But the big question here is-is this safe?  Even with social distancing in place, even with people sitting a seat or two away from each other, can a movie theater guarantee a safe experience?  Movie theaters are dependent on crowds not just to stay in business (those packed theater houses), but also to function.  Put a group of people, stationery, for two hours in a movie theater, breathing the same air-isn't it logically going to be a situation where a very contagious virus will spread?  I'm not an epidemiologist, but I definitely want to read one of their takes on such a situation (as I also have this question about gyms and churches).  Not to mention that movie theaters would have to be regulated not just by chairs, but also by concessions (you can't take the concessions home and move them to other plates like you can with takeout), or even exiting a theater in an orderly fashion in case of an emergency or when the movie gets out.  These are all things I'm positive that theater chains are thinking about, but it's a genuine question-how do you do this safely?

Cinephiles are put in an impossible situation here.  I want to support the film industry.  If it was safe I'd be buying a ticket to that Selena Gomez movie the second it came out, even if I didn't have an interest, just to support movies in general.  I desperately, completely want these movies to succeed-I don't even care if they're good, any win for the moviegoing experience is a win in my book, but I don't know what I'm going to do since there are no guarantees of safety.

I know that everyone has their own threshold of what they're willing to tolerate in terms of public safety during the pandemic.  Mine has been on the extreme side-I only grocery shop twice a week, and the only other errand I've done was my annual physical at my doctor's office.  I have been a bit under-the-weather the past few weeks (not Covid-related) and so I haven't been willing to go to a drive-in yet, but it's on the agenda (and if I'm feeling up to it, might even be something I do tonight).  I have had human contact with exactly two people in the past four months-my parents-and that was only after we took our temperatures daily and basically quarantined for two weeks prior.  In normal circumstances I wouldn't dream of going out to something as comparatively dangerous as a movie theater.

But I don't think movie theaters are going to survive if we don't support them soon.  I think the wonder and magic of a movie theater might slip away in the same way radio serials or soap operas did-just not enough of a market for a long enough time, and without the theater chains like AMC, there's little hope of reviving them.  And I don't want to be dramatic here, but I cannot imagine my life without movies.  Movies are how I stay alive-they are my favorite thing in the whole world.  Even if I hate the film, going to the movies is literally the thing that brings me joy; quite frankly, it's sometimes the only thing that brings me joy.  It not only makes me cry thinking of a world where we wouldn't have movie theaters, it genuinely makes me anxious it's so alien to what I know in my life, that I wouldn't know who I am.

So we've got a few more weeks to think about it, and I most certainly will be doing just that, but I feel like this is a decision I'm going to have to make, and something everyone is making right now-what risks are you willing to take as we straddle the line between "returning to normal" and "staying safe," and will going to a movie theater be one of them?