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“Just Thinking”
I was searching for a movie on the TV the other night while sitting in my chair, in my sweats with a fire going in the fireplace. There were plenty of new titles to choose from, many of which were in the theaters a month or so ago. Netflix, Amazon, HBO plus others now have their own studios and are releasing movies directly to television. This trend of front-line movies being released directly to streaming services started a while ago, but escalated during the pandemic and does not seem to be returning to pre-pandemic trends in the future. This started me thinking if movie theaters would be following video store and drive-ins on the road to obsolescence.
Going to the movie theater has been more then just seeing a movie, it has been a destination, a place to go on a date or a social event with friends. From the time when we were young, going to the movies was a treat, an adventure, an excuse to check out from the normal day to day. Going to the movies has gone through many changes over the years, the Saturday matinees showed movies, serials, cartoons plus other entertainment. There were double features, cartoons, newsreels, promotions and giveaways. The movie theaters have undergone significant changes over the years to adapt to evolving technology, audience preferences, and competition from streaming platforms. Multiple theaters in one venue, reclining seats, spacious rows, and apps for purchasing your tickets ahead of time and choosing your seat. The growth in IMAX, Dolby surround sound and 4DX for immersive audio-visual experiences. There are theaters that have expanded menus to include full meals, waiter service right at your seat, and a full bar. It’s not just popcorn and junior mints anymore or let’s catch dinner and a movie, it’s now lets grab a beer and burger while we catch a movie.
Just thinking about drive-in theaters, piling into my Datsun Truck and heading to the Geneva Drive-in with buddies during my high school years. During the summer and fall of 1976, I believe that we saw Rocky at least six times, followed by pizza at Bravo Pizza. Thinking back on the family piling into the station wagon to watch a western, Mom & Dad in the front seat with the corded speaker propped on Dad’s window. Or sitting on sleeping bags and lawn chairs wearing shorts and tee shirts in the back of Dad’s truck on hot nights in Clear Lake. I looked up the stats, there were over 4000 drive-ins at their height in the late 50’s early 60’s and now there are less than 300 nationwide.
What about video stores? There was a small mom-and-pop video store on San Jose Ave. that we first frequented to rent VHS tapes when that became a thing, it was call VHS World or Video Heaven, I don’t remember. You would go in and ask for a title that was inevitably checked out, you would then pick a more obscure movie but reserve the movie that you wanted to see in the first place. The small shops gave way to the big franchises, “Blockbuster Video” that had multiple tapes of the current hot titles. There were over 9000 Blockbuster Stores worldwide before the company filed for bankruptcy in 2010. There is one remaining store in Bend, Oregon that was independently owned, it operates as a mix of a working video rental store and a cultural landmark.
I truly hope that movie theaters continue to evolve and never fade away. They remain a destination, a place where stories come to life on the big screen and memories are made. Beyond just entertainment, they are an intrinsic part of Americana.
Let me know what you think.
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